In the kitchens of Servigroup Hotels, the calendar is always our ally in order to get the most out of seasonal products and enjoy the traditional recipes typical of each season and its holidays to the full. The fantastics buffets in the hotels vary daily so that at each moment of the year you can taste the authentic flavour of the gastronomy of our land.
Autumn cuisine is one of the richest and most entrenched, both for the variety of products that reach the market at this time but also for the many customs that fill houses with pots and pans full of wonderful stews, to help us face the first cold, along with the countless desserts to sweeten the longer evenings at home when the days are shorter.
Today we go into the kitchen so that our chefs can show us the recipes of some of the most popular sweets and desserts in our destinations. Do you dare to try them at home?
Sweet potato pasties
If there is a sweet that represents the province of Castellon at this time, it is sweet potato pastie or “pastissets”. These classic sweet patties that also have their variant in caramelized fruit zest are a classic in every home during the fall when pumpkins and sweet potatoes flood the markets.
Ingredients for the dough
- 125 ml mild olive oil
- 125 ml lard
- 125 ml of aniseed
- 1 egg yolk
- 250 g sugar
- 700 g flour
- ½ lemon
- A teaspoon of cinnamon
Ingredients for the filling
- 1 ½ kg whole white sweet potatoes
- 1 kg sugar
- 225 ml water
- Zest of 2 lemons
- Cinnamon to taste
Preparation
- To prepare the filling we will have to have previously baked the sweet potatoes until they are soft. Once roasted and peeled, mash the inside obtaining a puree.
- Heat the water in a pan and add the sugar to form a syrup but with a slightly thicker texture. At that moment lower the heat to a minimum and add the sweet potato puree, the lemon zest and the cinnamon. Taking care that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan, stir the mixture for a few minutes until all the ingredients are well integrated, forming a fine cream. Then put to one side.
- For the dough melt the butter and gently heat the oil in a frying pan so that it takes in some temperature but without frying. Once the oil is hot, remove it from the heat and dissolve the sugar in it. Wait for the oil to cool a little and mix all the ingredients until you get a compact, homogeneous and creamy dough.
- With the help of a rolling pin spread the dough to form small envelopes in which to put the filling. Once closed, brush them with egg white and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
- Place them in the oven for 15 min at 180ºC. After this time, let them cool down, and all that is left is to eat!
Pumpkin Fritters
The pumpkin is the queen of autumn, and not only when it comes to Halloween. This vegetable so characteristic of the Valencian Community is the protagonist of countless recipes during the autumn, both salty and sweet, but if there is a dessert that everyone loves, it is pumpkin fritters. Next, we show you how to prepare them following the traditional recipe, a real delight!
Ingredients
- 250 g pumpkin, peeled and seeded
- 150 g flour
- 2 medium eggs
- 10 g sugar
- Zest of the skin of ½ orange and ½ lemon.
- ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
- Salt
- 5g yeast
- Frying oil
Preparation
- Start by cooking the pumpkin, already cut, in a saucepan full of water until it is almost covered. The heat must be at maximum until it begins to boil and at that moment lower the heat so that it continues to bubble softly for about 25 minutes, until it is tender.
- Strain the pumpkin, saving the broth, then blend the pumpkin (dry) until it is a smooth creamy consistency with no lumps.
- Take the eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. Adding a pinch of salt, whip the egg whites to a firm texture so firm that if you turn the container upside down, the content will not fall out.
- Add the flour little by little, sifting it through a strainer. Next, add the yeast, sugar, cinnamon, the zest of the orange and lemon peel, the yolks and the pumpkin puree. Mix well until you get a completely homogeneous dough. The texture must be similar to that of a béchamel, if it is too dense it can be corrected with the pumpkin broth that was saved.
- To fry the fritters, heat the oil in a deep saucepan, taking care that the temperature is around 170ºC, that is, very hot but without actually smoking. At that time, with the help of two spoons, add the dough balls to the oil, taking care not to touch each other for about 3 minutes until they have a golden hue.
- When removing them from the heat, put them on kitchen paper to remove the excess oil and sprinkle with a little sugar. Let them cool and… enjoy!
Chestnut pudding
With the arrival of autumn, roasted chestnut stalls reappear in every corner of European cities, filling the streets with their unmistakable aroma. This fruit is, without a doubt, one of the classics of the autumn season, but at the same time a complete stranger due to the enormous variety of options it offers in the kitchen. Today we propose a dessert with which to surprise your guests, do you know chestnut pudding?
Ingredients
- 200 g chestnuts
- 230 g milk
- 370 g of condensed milk
- 5 eggs
- Liquid caramel
Preparation
- Make a cut with the knife in the crust of the chestnuts in the roundest part and cook them for 20 minutes until they are tender. Peel them and make a puree with the chestnuts. It does not have to be perfect; it is interesting to notice the texture of the chestnut in the pudding.
- Beat the eggs and then add all the ingredients. Mix well until all the ingredients are completely integrated.
- Pour the mixture into a mold that has previously been caramelized. In turn, put the mold in a larger one and fill it with water to cook the pudding in a Bain-marie. It must be in the oven for about 40 minutes at 180ºC, you will know that it is ready when you prick it and the fork comes out completely clean.
- Leave it to cool down and it is ready to eat. You can use chestnuts in syrup to decorate it and the result will be perfect. Delicious!
What do you think of these desserts? Try them at home and if you don't quite get it right point, don't worry, you can always visit us at one of our hotels and enjoy their fantastic flavour first hand, in autumn or whenever you want.
Bon Appetite!!
