Tocinillo is an Italian dessert made of flan, sherry, and chocolate. This traditional recipe is easy to prepare, and the flavors are sure to please. It’s great for breakfast or brunch, or as an after-dinner treat.
Origins
A cursory look at the history of tocino will reveal that it is a product of the nexus of trade between Spanish settlers and the Philippine masses. It is a savory delight that can be found throughout the archipelago from Manila to the prickly pear cactus covered coasts of Puerto Rico. It is not uncommon to be served with a bowl of soup and some form of plantain to boot. One of the earliest documented references to tocino dates back to 1324. This makes it a bit of a time consuming affair to prepare, but the experience is well worth the wait.
The best tocino is made with a mix of pork fatback, beef and chicken breasts. After curing, the meat becomes moist and tender. An impressive feat for a product that is not overly processed. Various variants are served up in a variety of flavors.
Tocino has become a staple of the Filipino diet. While it isn’t a particularly healthy option, it certainly is satisfying in the right setting. Despite its many incarnations, one of the most popular is the tocilog. For the most part, tocino is prepared as a breakfast item – with a side of fried rice, of course. Of course, it is also available as a snack in the form of a tocino sandwich. However, the sandwich can be quite dry as is the case with other tocinos.
Varieties
There are several varieties of tocino. You have the traditional pork tocino, the oh so yummy Filipino tocino and the savoury beef variety. Some versions even feature the requisite salt and annatto. Tocino is usually fried to a crisp and served with a bowl of rice.
Traditionally, the tocino de jour is made with pork belly, or shoulder meat. It is a hunk of meat that has been cured to a sweet, fatty state. When it is cooked, it makes a nice sauce to pour over rice. For a special treat, try it with mofongo, a Puerto Rican staple. Of course, tocino can be found all over the world.
The tocino has many variants, but the most popular is the oh so delicious Filipino tocino. This is a traditional dish, a must have for any Filipino food fanatic. The tocino is traditionally served with garlic fried rice.
One of the more interesting variants is the tocino de santa, which features a swaddled baby and the requisite santa, making it a fun and festive holiday treat. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, a food shortage prompted the flurry of tocino production. It is also a popular breakfast treat in parts of the Caribbean. So what’s your tocino of choice? Is it a pork tocino or a beef tocino? Let me know in the comments! Make it a weekend tradition and see your family giddy. oh, and if you need any help, don’t hesitate to drop me a line. Lastly, if you are looking for a truly scrumptious Spanish feast, head over to Cadiz and sample the best in town. Despite the tourist crowds, the tastiness will be hard to beat.
Flan
Tocinillo is a small custard dish originating from Spain. It is made with egg yolks and sugar, and resembles mini leche flan.
It can be served on a plate or with a spoon. It is sweet and smooth. You can also serve it with ice cream, or shredded coconut. If you want to make the dish more festive, you can add some vanilla extract.
This recipe is easy to prepare. First you need to heat the sugar syrup. You can make it by boiling water and sugar in a saucepan. Once it’s dissolved, you can add the rest of the ingredients.
Then you need to beat the eggs with a fork or whisk. Beat the mixture well until you get a cream-like consistency. Add the hot sugar syrup gradually. When the mixture is ready, you can pour it into a baking dish.
Tocinillo de cielo is an excellent Spanish dish. Similar to Spanish flan, but it is lighter on the tongue. The most common flavors are lemon-citrus or almonds.
Tocinillo de cielo also comes in individual custard cups. There is no bacon, and it is lighter on the tongue.
It is often served with whipped cream or ice cream. The flavour of the dessert depends on the sweetness of the custard.
Flan is a traditional dessert in Mexico, and most Latin American restaurants will offer it as a dessert. It is available in grocery stores, but you can easily make it at home.
When the recipe is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool. You can then place it in the refrigerator for at least three hours. After it has cooled, you can slice it and serve it.
Sherry
The tocino de cielo (Spanish for custard) is a dessert that is a big deal in Spain. It’s not just because it’s delicious, but also because it is a great way to utilize leftover egg yolks. This is a tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages, when the nuns of the convent in Jerez de la Frontera donated their egg yolks to the wineries, who in turn used them to clarify their sherry.
Tocino de cielo is a complex concoction, containing a mix of sherry, raisins, orange peel, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla. It’s a complex and time consuming dish, but the results are worth the wait.
One way to make a tocino de cielo is to use the juice from a lemon in place of the sugar. You can also add a bit of vinegar to balance out the sweetness of the drink. However, it’s the zest of the lemon that adds a surprising level of complexity to the recipe.
There are a lot of recipes for tocino de cielo on the web. However, the best is to find a good recipe and make it yourself. This is the only way to guarantee you’ll have a high quality concoction. Also, don’t forget to leave your tocino de cielo to cool for an hour before serving. For a truly scrumptious dessert, serve it with a glass of chilled sherry. Of course, you may also want to serve it with a spoon to savor every last bit. And of course, you should always follow the directions.
Ways to serve
Tocinillo de cielo is a dessert made with egg yolks and sugar. The flavours of the tocino are generally lemon-citrus or almond. It is served with chilled sherry. You can also serve it in individual custard cups, with a knife and a serving platter.
Tocinillo de cielo is based on the same ingredients as Spanish flan, but it is lighter in taste. Because it uses egg yolks, it does not have the same level of fat as flan, but it is a sweeter dessert. In the past, the egg yolks were used by wineries in Jerez de la Frontera to clarify the wine. They were then given to the nuns at the Convento de Espiritu Santo to make this dish.
In order to prepare tocinillo, you must first melt one cup of sugar in the bottom of a metallic baking pan. This mixture is then poured into a small, oven-proof dish. Once the mixture is ready, it is placed in a bain-marie (water bath) in an oven at 150o for about 20 minutes. After this, the tocino is removed from the oven and sliced. Then, it is cooled and refrigerated for three hours before serving.
The egg yolks are beaten by hand and then blended with the cooled syrup. The melted sugar and water are then stirred with sticks until it forms a stringy, golden brown consistency. Finally, the tocino is baked in the water bath. When it is ready, it is turned out with a knife and served.
Tocinillo de cielo was invented in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia. Today, it can be found in many places around the world. Its name literally means “bacon from heaven”. If you want to try making it, you can find the recipe here.