Shepherd's migas
The quintessential shepherd's dish of the sierra: stale bread, garlic, paprika and pancetta. Eaten hot with grapes or melon.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- Easy
What you need
- 500 g day-old bread, cut into small pieces
- 200 ml warm water
- 6 whole garlic cloves
- 150 g pancetta, diced
- 150 g chorizo (optional), sliced
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Grapes or melon wedges (to serve)
Step by step
- 01
The day before (or at least 4 hours before): sprinkle the cut bread with the salted warm water, mix well, cover with a damp cloth and rest. The bread should be moist, not soaked.
- 02
In a large pan or wide pot, heat the oil and brown the whole garlic. Remove and set aside.
- 03
In the same oil, fry the pancetta and chorizo until they release fat and brown. Remove and set aside.
- 04
Lower the heat and add the paprika off the heat (so it does not burn). Stir.
- 05
Return the pan to the heat, add the moistened bread and start stirring continuously with a wooden spoon.
- 06
Cook over medium-low for 20-25 minutes, stirring almost constantly, until the migas separate, brown and become loose and crispy outside.
- 07
Return the pancetta, chorizo and garlic to the pan. Mix and serve immediately, hot, with grapes or melon on the side.
- Bread: Castilian or village hogaza, dense. Soft bread does not work.
- Grapes or melon balance the pancetta fat: an essential part of the dish.
- Variant: add a fried egg on top when serving.
Other traditional recipes
- MeatsGallina en pepitoriaPepitoria is one of the oldest Castilian stews and an emblematic dish of Atienza cuisine: chicken, almonds, saffron, hard-boiled egg and white wine.
- MeatsWood-fired roast lambThe star dish of Atienza mountain cuisine: milk-fed lamb roasted whole, with lard, garlic and white wine. Traditional recipe for the home oven.
- SweetsTraditional Easter torrijasThe undisputed sweet of Atienza Easter: bread slices soaked in milk infused with cinnamon and lemon, coated in egg and fried in hot oil.
Taste it in Atienza
The village restaurants serve the traditional recipe book all year round.