Filloas

The story

Filloas are thin Galician crêpes made from a batter of eggs, flour and milk or water, and in some homes from the broth of the cocido or from pig's blood. They go by several local names, among them freixó, afilloa and fisuelo, and they belong to two moments of the Galician winter: the pig-slaughter season and the Entroido, the Galician Carnival, when they are most typical on Shrove Tuesday, February 9 in 2027. Cooks traditionally bake them on a filloeira, an iron or stone plate with several hollows to make a few at once, greased with a piece of bacon or cow's butter. They are eaten plain or with honey, sugar, cream or chocolate, and on the savory side with cheese, lacón or cocido broth, or wrapped around a piece of chorizo. Lestedo, in Boqueixón, has held a filloa festival for more than 35 years, usually in early March, where a locally built machine turns out filloas by the thousand. At home, a 9- or 10-inch nonstick pan rubbed with bacon fat does the job; mix the batter an hour ahead so it can rest.