Tonight I had one of the best meal. My friend Johno, who’s family is originally from Almeria in Southern Spain, makes this dish called Migas. This is a wonderful dish, the perfect complement of a winter dinner party.

Migas translated as “Crumbs”, was originally served as breakfast in Spain and parts of portugal as a way to use up all the left over of bread. To me, this comfort food at its best!

The flavor are definitely from Spain and I think it’s one of those very convivial dinner. To me this is the smells of winter.

Ingredients:

olive oil

6-8 cloves of garlic (depends on how much you like garlic)

Saffron (a pinch)

2 Can of whole tomato (Johno makes is own every summer)

5 Roasted Spanish peppers (red and green) bell peppers can do too

Canned Sardines in oil

3 pounds of pork shoulder

5-6 cups of grapes

Flour

Bisquick Pancake mix (you’ll see why)

and a good group of friends, it’s very important I will tell you why later.

This recipe will feed about 8-10 people.

The Migas have a few component: A Caldo the base soup, the Migas (it looks like a thick couscous), and the side dishes.

For the side dishes:

Cut up your pork in dice size pieces and then pan fry it in about 1/4 inch of olive oil. When your pork bites are nice and brown, pull them out and give them a nice sprinkle of salt. I drained them over paper towels to soak up the excess oil. Keep warm in a very low temperature oven. When you are ready to eat, just put then in small bowls and spread them on your dinning table.

Then wash your grapes, and separate them, put them in 3 or 4 bowls  and spread them on your dinning table.

Plate your sardines, same thing, use a couple plates for the table, so that all of your guests can have access to them.

The caldo: In a big pot, drizzle about 4 table spoons of olive oil, throw 4 or 5 finely chopped cloves of garlic in the oil, just to infuse the oil with the garlic, you don’t want it to cook because it will taste bitter. NO color. After that had your 2 cans of tomato. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Throw in your Saffron. Then add about 32 oz of water (you can add more water if needed).

Throw in your peppers already roasted.

You can roast your peppers in advance, in the oven or if you want to be faster, just put them on the flame of your stove until the skin become totally black. Let them cool off and then peel the black skin off, it’s ok for this recipe to leave some of the burnt skin, it will give the Caldo an extra smoky flavor. Slice the peppers in thick length wise strip. A little, not a lot. Your Caldo now should look like this picture on the left. Let the Caldo simmer for about 30 minutes and wait for your guest to arrive to start the Migas.

Once your guests arrived you can start to cook the Migas, it will take about 40-45 minutes and you will need plenty of help, so serve cocktails or wine and let your guests chef-guest for the evening!

In a bowl add 4-5 cups of water with 1/2 flour and 1/2 bisquick (I was told that if you use only flour, it will take a lot longer for the Migas to cook, so the American spin on the Migas is to use Bisquick pancake mix). You should add the dry ingredients until you have a thick consistency, it shouldn’t be solid but thick enough to drop of your whisk in big clumps. Add a couple pinch of salt. Then you should use a metal bottom pan and a metal spatula for the cooking process, my friend Johno has one from Spain but a deep dish metal pan would do the trick. On a medium-high heat put a little olive oil in the pan (2 table spoons) add 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic, and before the garlic takes too much color, add the mixture.

Now, with the spatula you’ll have to pull the batter of the bottom of the pan because you don’t want it to burn or take color. This is when you need your friends, because this is an intense labor that can last up to 40-45 minutes. You will have to break the dough apart with the spatula and you will see olive size piece of cooked doug forming. Make sure everyone takes a turn, it’s part of the fun and part of the experience!

When your Migas have turned into a thick grained semolina then you know it’s done!

Now the best part is to come. You can give every one a small bowl of Migas or if you want to serve family style like we did last night at Johno’s then put the Migas in a couple bowls, every one should have access to it. Serve your guest a soup bowl full of the Caldo.

Then, this is how you eat Migas, you take a spoon full of the Migas, but a piece of the fried pork on top and a grape and then you dip it into the Caldo. Trust me this is the best thing you will ever eat. It’s also fun and convivial. You can also put a piece of sardine instead of your meat and it’s really good too. No fuss for the vegetarian friends, because they don’t have to eat the meat or the fish, the Caldo is vegetarian!

Don’t plan on any big desert, this dish will stick to your ribs and now you understand why it was used to be served as a breakfast. Now it’s more of a late lunch or dinner affair.

I can’t wait for you to try and tell me what you think about it!

Bon Appétit!