Migas

Spanish Migas

Migas Manchegas
Origin
Alternative name(s)	Migajas
Place of origin	Spain
Dish details
Course served	Appetiser
Serving temperature	Warm
Main ingredient(s)	Bread

Migas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmiɣas]) ("crumbs" in English) is the name used for a dish in Spanish and Portuguese cuisine and a significantly different dish in Tex-Mex cuisine.

Spanish migas

Migas are a traditional dish in Spanish cuisine. Originally eaten as a breakfast that made use of leftover bread or tortas, today, migas are a fashionable first course served for lunch and dinner in restaurants in Spain.^[1] Some historical sources associate the origins of this dish to North African couscous.

Andalusian migas

The ingredients of migas vary across the provinces of Spain. In Extremadura, this dish includes day-old bread soaked in water, garlic, pimentón, olive oil, and contains spinach or alfalfa, often served with pan-fried pork ribs.^[2][3] In Teruel, Aragon, the migas include chorizo and bacon, and are often served with grapes.^[4]

In La Mancha, the migas manchegas are of a more elaborate preparation, but contain basically the same ingredients as the Aragonese migas.^[5] In Andalucia, migas are often eaten the morning of the matanza (butchery) and are served with a stew including curdled blood, liver, kidneys, and other offal, traditionally eaten right after butchering a pig, a sheep or a goat. The migas are often cooked over an open stove or coals.

Portuguese migas

Migas are also a traditional dish in Portuguese cuisine. They are usually made with leftover bread, either wheat bread traditionally associated with the Alentejo region in Southern Portugal, or corn bread as used in Beira. In Alentejo migas can also be made with potatoes (Migas de Batata) and no bread is included.

Garlic and olive oil are always an ingredient. Other ingredients such as pork meat dripping, wild asparagus, tomato, and seasonings such red pepper paste and fresh coriander are usually included in Alentejo, while in Beira the other ingredients typically are cooked kale cut in caldo verde style, cooked beans (pinto or kidney beans) and sometimes cooked rice.

Migas usually accompany meats or other main dishes.

Tex-Mex migas

Tex-Mex migas

In Tex-Mex cuisine, migas are a traditional breakfast dish consisting of scrambled eggs mixed with strips of corn tortilla; the meatless version includes diced onions, sliced chile peppers, diced fresh tomatoes, and cheese, plus various spices and condiments (e.g. salsa or pico de gallo). Migas are typically served with refried beans, and corn or flour tortillas are used to enfold all of the ingredients into tacos. In some areas, it may have been traditionally eaten during Lent.^[6] The meat version adds a spicy chorizo to the standard ingredients. The tortilla strips can also be deep-fried until crunchy (not traditional).

See also

• Gachas
• Torta de gazpacho
• Chilaquiles, another Mexican dish based on cooking tortillas
• Matzah brei, a somewhat similar Ashkenazi breakfast dish in which matzoh is used instead of tortillas
• French toast

References

1. ^ Barrenechea, Teresa (2005). The Cuisines of Spain. Ten Speed Press. p. 132. ISBN 1-58008-515-6. 
2. ^ Migas extremeñas
3. ^ Migas de Cáceres
4. ^ Migas de Teruel
5. ^ Migas manchegas
6. ^ Amaya’s Migas

External links

• Recipe for Tex-Mex migas
• Traditional recipe of migas. Take a taste of Andalucia, Spain