- Peter Engler
- Norma Zaragoza’s capirotada
This week in Omnivorous, I took a Cuaresma cruise, checking out some of the more unusual meatless and near-meatless Lenten specialties that show up in Mexican restaurants this time of year. One ubiquitous and oddly indulgent dessert everybody seems to feature is capirotada, a mildly sweet-savory, cheesy bread pudding, usually studded with nuts, dried fruit, and shredded coconut and sprinkled with grageas, rainbow-colored cake-decorating candies. Its origins are uncertain; some say it derives from meaty Roman bread puddings, others say it was originally a Spanish dish. Everybody seems to have their own version, but the one constant seems to be that it’s not an eggy, custard-based bread pudding but rather soaked with a thick syrup made from unrefined brown sugar piloncillo cones
It’s no secret that that Birrieria Zaragoza makes some of the best damn goat in town, but on Fridays during Lent they also put out the most delicious capirotada I tried. Norma Zaragoza’s pudding—her mom’s recipe—is a crusty, chewy-soft textural marvel studded with raisins, peanuts, and coconut. There’s also a secret ingredient in the syrup. Recipe after the jump.