Migas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmiɣas], Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈmiɣɐʃ]) ("crumbs" in English) is a dish traditionally made from stale bread and other ingredients in Spanish and Portuguese cuisines. Originally introduced by shepherds, migas are very popular across the Iberian Peninsula, and are the typical breakfast of hunters at monterías in southern Spain.[1][2][3][4]

Migas
Migas with oranges
Alternative namesMigajas
CourseAppetiser
Place of originIberia
Serving temperatureWarm
Main ingredientsBread

The same name is used for a different dish made from maize or flour tortillas in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisines.

Iberian migas

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Spanish migas

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Migas is a traditional dish in Spanish cuisine. It was originally a breakfast dish that made use of leftover bread or tortas. Migas is usually served as a first course for lunch or dinner in restaurants in Spain.[5]

The ingredients of migas vary across the provinces of Spain.

In Extremadura, this dish includes day-old bread soaked in water, garlic, paprika, and olive oil.[6][7] In Teruel, Aragon, migas includes chorizo and bacon, and is often served with grapes.[8]

In La Mancha, migas manchegas is a more elaborate preparation using basically the same ingredients as Aragonese migas.[9]

In Granada, Almería and Murcia, in southeastern Spain, migas is similar to North African couscous, using flour and water, but no bread. Preparations commonly feature a variety of ingredients, including fish. Andalusian migas is often eaten with sardines as a tapa, in the form of fried breadcrumbs. In some places the dish is eaten on the morning of the matanza (butchery) and is served with a stew including curdled blood, liver, kidneys, and other offal, traditionally eaten right after butchering a pig, a sheep or a goat. Migas is often cooked over an open stove or coals. In Almería, migas is a staple dish when it rains, yet the reason is still subject to much discussion.[10][11]

Portuguese migas

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Migas is also a traditional dish in Portuguese cuisine. It is usually made with leftover bread, either pao Alentejano, a wheat bread traditionally associated with the Alentejo region in Southern Portugal, or corn bread as used in Beira. In Alentejo, migas can also be made with potatoes (migas de batata) instead of bread.

Garlic and olive oil are always an ingredient. Other ingredients such as pork meat drippings, wild asparagus, tomato, and seasonings such as red pepper paste and fresh coriander are usually included in Alentejo, while in Beira, the other ingredients typically include cooked kale cut in caldo verde style, cooked beans (pinto, black-eyed peas or kidney beans), and sometimes cooked rice.

Migas usually accompanies meats or other main dishes.

North American migas

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Mexican migas

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Tex-Mex migas

In different areas of Mexico, migas is a traditional breakfast dish consisting of crispy crumbled corn tortilla chips, to which scrambled eggs are mixed in. This preparation makes use of hardened corn tortillas left over from previous meals. Chilaquiles is a similar meal with whole fried tortilla chips and salsa, where eggs or chicken are added during the cooking process. Both are hearty, inexpensive working-class breakfast meals.

Mexico City migas

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Mexico City also has its own version of migas. It is a garlic soup which is thickened with sliced day-old bolillos (bread). It is usually flavored with pork shanks, ham bones, epazote, oregano and different types of dried chillies. A raw egg is usually added to each plate when served and it is slowly cooked by the warm soup, similar to egg drop soup. It is a very popular dish in fondas around downtown Mexico City, especially in Tepito.[12]

"A la mexicana"

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There is another variation of migas - "migas a la mexicana" - which includes additional ingredients; diced white onion, sliced jalapeño, or serrano pepper and diced fresh tomato. These ingredients together represent the colors of the flag of Mexico. Green from the jalapeño or serrano, white from the onion, and red from the tomato.

Migas are typically served with refried beans, and corn or flour tortillas may be used to enfold all of the ingredients into tacos. Migas breakfast tacos are popular in Texas.

In some areas, it may have been traditionally eaten during Lent.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Sánchez Garrido 2013, p. 93.
  2. ^ Vicent, Manuel (September 13, 2019). "La berrea como acto místico". El País. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  3. ^ Verdeja, Marcelo (February 14, 2009). "El precio de una montería". ABC. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  4. ^ García, José Antonio (January 26, 2010). "Jabalíes de todo filo". La Opinión de Zamora. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  5. ^ Barrenechea, Teresa (2005). The Cuisines of Spain. Ten Speed Press. p. 132. ISBN 1-58008-515-6.
  6. ^ Migas extremeñas
  7. ^ "Migas de Cáceres". Archived from the original on 2014-02-17. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  8. ^ Migas de Teruel Archived 2009-02-24 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Migas manchegas". Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  10. ^ "Migas de harina de Almería". El País (in Spanish). 19 August 2000. Retrieved 2013-03-24.
  11. ^ "Migas de Harina" (in Spanish). 7 November 2011. Retrieved 2013-03-24.
  12. ^ Migas del Tepito gourmet - Filemón Alonso Miranda - Urbanitas 14 de diciembre de 2008
  13. ^ "Amaya's Migas". Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2010-02-21.

Bibliography

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  • Sánchez Garrido, Roberto (2013). Caza, cazadores y medio ambiente: breve etnografía cinegética. Editorial Club Universitario. ISBN 978-84-99481-61-6.
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