103 ~ Quesadillas - Mini Cheesecakes from El Hierro

Quesadilla from El Hierro

Quesadillas, or mini-cheesecakes are traditionally made by one family on the island of El Hierro, one of the smallest and most western of the Canary Islands. In early times El Hierro was thought to be the end of the western world, before the Azores were discovered. In the year 2000 it was named by Unesco as a Biosphere Reserve.

Cut view showing texture and anise grains

Although the term quesadilla is used in Mexican cooking to refer to a cheese filled tortilla, (queso meaning cheese in Spanish,) the quesadillas of El Hierro are small, sweet individual cheesecakes, each one measuring around 10 centimeters (4 inches) across. They have been the specialty of one family, Adrián Gutiérrez e Hijas, made in their bakery using the recipe and method passed down by grandparents since 1900 where the quesadillas, in their distinctive daisy-shaped moulds, were cooked in wood burning ovens.

The above two photos credited with thanks to La Ruta del Buen Yantar

Here is a recipe for making quesadillas at home. They are made in individual molds which originally were lined with a thin puff pastry, but now commercially they are sold with a thin muffin-type paper backing.

Quesadillas

1 kilo (2.2 lbs) unsalted fresh cheese
250 grams flour
500 grams sugar
4 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1 TBS honey
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 TBS anise grains
grated rind of 1 lemon

Mix all well to form a mass, then put into moulds, either buttered or lined with paper inserts. Originally quesadillas were put in moulds lined with a very thin layer of puff pastry.

Cook in 375F (190C) oven until golden.

Note:
The fresh cheese on El Hierro is made from a mixture of 85% goat milk, 10% cow milk and 5% sheep milk.

Thank you for dropping by.

Have a good week and hasta la vista!

80 ~ The Lizard and I

In the Shower

Here on these islands we have many little lizards or lagartos in Spanish, populating our garden, stone walls and warm pathways. Some are endemic to their island, such as the Giant Lizard of Salmor, from the island of El Hierro, which reaches 70 cms (27.5 inches) in length and which is nearly extinct.

But the one I found in the shower recently was a little smaller, although not by much and was of the species
Gallotia galloti, or Tenerife Lizard, Lagarto Tizon. These are plentiful on Tenerife. Their diet consists mainly of plants, flowers, seeds, insects and larva.

Bananas are a favourite food of these little creatures, and one can be almost assured of a good photo moment by offering a little piece of overripe banana to them and waiting with a little patience. I used to feed the largartos in my garden every day at 12 noon, when I'd put out a saucer of milk and some pieces of ripe banana.

If I were late, they would line up along the tiled roof of the garden shed, looking over towards the door and waiting for me to appear with their lunch. When they saw me, they would scamper down a vine that touched the roof and come for their food, arranging themselves around the saucer like spokes on a wheel.

But getting back to our new visitor in the shower, my concern when I found him was how best to remove him and put him back outside where he should have been hibernating. At this time of the year they are usually sleeping until the spring, although winters here are very mild and weather most days is springlike.

I found a ripe banana and made a trail of pieces leading to an exterior door. Later I saw that he had gone so I figured he'd found his way outside, although the banana was still on the floor.

However imagine my surprise a couple of days later when I picked up the kettle on the stove to prepare morning coffee. Here is what I found curled around the burner.

Lizard on the Stove

Well it gave me a shock and when I rattled the stove grate it jumped down to the floor and disappeared under the fridge. I consulted some wise heads on a local forum where I asked for advice on how best to remove this fellow (at the time I wasn't sure if he was a male) but before I could put their advice into practice I found him a couple of days later up on a curtain rail in the living room. I understood that this little creature would be searching for warmth and so I guess he found it up near the ceiling, as we had turned on the heat the night before.

To be brief, my cleaning lady Teresa managed to carefully dislodge him using a feather duster and catch him in a wastebasket. We took him outside where he crawled to a window and looked in, scratching at the glass as though trying to get back inside.

Lizard at Window

Here you see the blue spots on him which indicate that he's a male. His colour looks quite different from the photos I took indoors.

But my cat soon found him there and became overly interested, thinking he might make a good plaything. So Teresa scooped him up again and I suggested we drop him on the tiles of the garden shed, where there are many crannies where a lizard could crawl in for a good long sleep, with the warmth of the sun above.


And so we did, and after a few shakes of the basket, our lizard dropped out and disappeared.
And so the story ended happily with no harm done.

Thanks for visiting... ¡Hasta la Vista!