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| Tegelada |
This monastery was founded by the bishop of Guarda, D. Frei Vasco de Lamego, in the XIV century as a house for nuns.
Later during the plague it lost its entire population and the building was donated to devoted noble ladies who managed the monastery until 1522.
In 1529 a devoted noble woman Isabel de São Francisco restaured the religious life in the monastery and put it under the authority of the bishop of Lisbon.
She requested help from the Portuguese crown due to the lack of water and life conditions of the place. The crown helped with money and ordering some construction works.
In 1541 to avoid being mistaken with another monastery of the same religious order nearby, it adopted the name Our Lady of Grace.
In 1834 there was a state reform in Portugal that ordered the closure of all monasteries and religious houses in the country. The properties were nationalized and it was determined that the religious houses would remain in operation until the death of the last nun or monk.
For the monastery of Our Lady of Grace in Abrantes that day was in the year 1891 when Maria Angélica Godinho, the last nun of this house passed away. The monastery was closed soon after on the 4th November of that year.
As far as its known from written sources, the recipe I'm making tonight has its origins in this monastery. Its name comes from the Portuguese noun Tegela or Tigela which designated the clay recipient used to bake the preparation.
The recipe eventually spread throughout the country and each region and family transformed the original way according to their own taste.
My primary source for this video is an ancient personal book of recipes recorded in Coimbra. So this is not the original Abrantes recipe. My version is the most basic form of this recipe I know of and the fastest and easiest way to make it. Really, you won't believe how something so easy and blazing fast to make can become such a delicious trait. It's so easy that you can ask kids from the age of 5 to help you.
500ml whole milk
6 eggs (if you prefer use 5 eggs and 2 yolks)
1 tablespoon wheat flour
150 to 200g of sugar
A pinch of salt
Optional: butter to cover the recipient
1. The proper way to make tegelada is to pour the preparation into a preheated clay recipient or smaller recipients if you prefer smaller tegeladas. Here I'm simplifying and making the process faster by covering the inside surface of a oven safe recipient with butter. The butter is not really necessary but I think it adds some jazz to the outer parts of the tegelada.
2. Next dilute the flour with a portion of the milk and a pinch of salt.
3. Whisk 6 eggs with a pinch of salt. If you prefer you can add 5 whole eggs and 2 yolks. You decide. You're the master of your own taste.
4. Now pour the remaining milk into the eggs and mix.
5. Add the diluted flour in milk while you whisk.
6. Add the sugar. If you want you can add the entire portion in one step. I personally prefer to keep adding sugar until I have the taste I'm looking for. That means I have to stop from time to time to taste the mix and check for sweetness.
7. Pour this liquid mix into your recipient and bake in the oven at 200ºC for around 25 minutes. That's medium high for 25 minutes or until it looks golden. The end result should resemble a sweet custard transformed into a sort of soft pudding.
Let it cool before you eat. It's a lot better at room temperature. Try it for yourself and tell me what you think about this old recipe.
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