Panocha. Photo by Liddie Martinez

By AUTHOR LIDDIE MARTINEZ

Espanola Valley

As we enter the Lenten Season, I am flooded with memories of quiet, candlelit spaces, ancient novenas read by kneeling families and melancholy hymns sung from brittle pages with Spanish cadence reverberating through my body.

This season of reflection lasts forty days. As a child this seemed like an eternity of fasting, giving up our favorite treats and focusing only on others, but there were rewards.

Much of our religious practice was prescribed so early in our existence that the rhythm of these rituals was imbedded into our everyday lives and, since everyone we knew was a practicing Catholic, we did not know that the whole world was not doing exactly the same. The Holy Family would arrive and, automatically, we would light the candles, kneel and repeat the ancient words and songs led by my Grandmother. While the observance of no meat on Fridays was not clearly enforced with children, we adhered to the custom just as fiercely as the adults in our home. My Grandmother cleaved to the customs and practices sacred to her traditional way of life. Out of respect for her, we never questioned and followed suit.

The meatless Fridays rule set the stage for our young palettes to welcome a treasured menu coveted so, not only because it was delicious but because it was so rare. Eaten only at this time of year, we longed for torta de huevo (egg fritters in red chile), quelites con semillas de chile (Spinach with crushed red chile) and alberjon maduro (mature yellow peas), and treated these dishes as mini-celebrations in the midst of somber reflection. One beloved dish was Panocha, a sweet pudding made from sprouted wheat flour. There are many who attribute this dish to the Aztecs or Native Americans but I do not think that is the case. Wheat did not arrive in North America until the late 1500s during Spanish Colonization.

Native Americans had a similar dish, mush, but it was made from corn meal not wheat. Panocha is more like Hasty Pudding with its roots firmly planted in Europe. Hasty pudding appears in English cookbooks as early as 1599 but, Hasty Pudding is more like Cream of Wheat than it is like Panocha; though all three are made from wheat grain flour.

Panocha is an all-day affair with long cooking times over a low and steady heat. When Mom and Grandma made it, they began at dawn caramelizing the sugar they used to make the syrup that was stirred into a huge pot that weighed a ton and was difficult to maneuver in a hot oven. Stirring every 15-20 minutes for hours was a required task that was a shared chore for all adults in the family and burn scars on hands and arms were cautionary tales for youngsters hoping to assist. The pudding cooked most of the day until it was fairly thick and a deep, rich pecan brown.

Today, with the convenience of a crock pot, it is an easier undertaking. But, be very careful with the caramelized sugar and keep both kids and pets out from under foot while you work this magic; sugar burns are the worst. The hardest part used to be finding the panocha flour but, as luck would have it, there has been a bit of a resurgence in traditional Hispanic foods and I have seen panocha flour at local grocers. Indulge this year and remember the times of old with quiet respect and treasured recipes.

• 2 Cups panocha flour
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 5 cups boiling water, divided
• ½ cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• Additional tea kettle of boiling water

In a large mixing bowl combine flours and salt. Stir in 2 cups of the boiling water and mix until smooth and water is absorbed. It will be thick. Turn into a room-temperature crockpot, cover and set aside.

In a Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-low heat. When butter has melted, add sugar and reduce heat to low. Allow caramelization to occur slowly so that butter does not burn. Stir frequently, smashing sugar balls with silicone spatula. Once the sugar has melted, it will be a rich golden color.

Slowly add 3 cups boiling water to the sugar. (Be extremely careful- nothing is worse than a burn from boiling sugar.) When water contact is made, sugar will bubble up and harden like candy. Stand back a step and let this happen for a few seconds, then stir to help sugar dissolve.

Boil for 10 minutes, then carefully pour sugar into crockpot and mix with silicone spatula smashing lumps against the sides until most are gone finishing with a whisk to dissolve smaller bits. Set crockpot on high and stir every 30-45 minutes adding additional boiling water if needed, for desired consistency.

Pudding will be hot, thick and smooth when finished. It takes about 4 hours. Serve alone or with ice cream.