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Once the gastronomic excesses of Shrovetide are over, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a period of forty days during which tradition imposes a culture of prayer, penitence and fasting. 

Between the early Middle Ages and the end of the nineteenth century, the Church imposed strict rules of abstinence. This fasting was marked by the fact that people were forbidden to eat meat and meat products on Fridays during Lent, which led to the creation of numerous alternative dishes which were consumed at this time of abstinence. As such, meat, cured meats and cold meats were replaced by tasty fish, pulse and vegetable stews. 

Thus, in some places there is “abstinence food”, a way of maintaining religious and popular traditions which not only includes meals on Ash Wednesday or Fridays during this period, but also those of many other days in Lent. 

Abstinence stews

In order to prepare this kind of food, everyday ingredients are used, in this case, products from the vegetable gardens that provided for homes in the old days. Over the years, vegetables have alternated with the pulse stews recommended by the high ecclesiastical authorities. Stews are a classic meal at this time of year. The vegetable stews eaten on days of abstinence date back to the medieval period. 

In inland Spain, abstinence stew was made, which involved replacing the meat with cod and making it with chickpeas, Swiss chard or spinach, hard-boiled egg, breadcrumbs, almonds and lightly fried onion and paprika. There are other variations based on this ancient recipe which contain haricot beans and where the cod is substituted by other kinds of fish. 

The extensive Lent recipe book also offers cauliflower and noodle soup, rice dishes as an alternative to stews, made in the oven with chickpeas and cod, with kidney beans, asparagus, young garlic and green beans or with Swiss chard, cauliflower and cuttlefish, although in some areas the rice and cauliflower are replaced by noodles and pumpkin. It is also common to make other delicious alternatives such as stewed lentils, stewed potatoes or salmorejo, a kind of thick gazpacho, made from tomato, garlic, oil and old bread. In some villages in the Malaga province, it is traditional to make fennel soup in Lent. 

Cod, a symbol of abstinence

Although it was discovered in the sixteenth century, it was another two centuries before a traditional food such as cod, a genuine symbol of abstinence at this time of year, became popular. In fact, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Lent was often represented by the image of an old woman with seven feet – one for each week – who carried a piece of dried cod. 

There is a never-ending list of recipes which are made using this fish, such as Lent rice (a rice with stock, cod and cauliflower, typical of the Mediterranean region), cod with tomato, battered, in an omelette, pil-pil style, with oil, garlic and peppers and the aforementioned abstinence stew. 

It must not be forgotten that fish, in general, gives us the opportunity to make a wide range of cheap dishes. In coastal towns, they cook dishes such as suquet de peix and titaina, one of those dishes that tastes much better the day after it has been cooked. Pieces of sea bass and turbot can be used to make an excellent fumet which can be used a day later in recipes such as rice and blue fish can be used to make delicious stews. 

On this journey of popular Lent cuisine, desserts cannot be overlooked, where there is a special place for bread fritters (torrijas), an ancient and cheap dessert, which dates back to Arab cuisine. This involves sliced bread soaked in milk, syrup, white, red or dessert wine and beaten egg. They are fried in hot oil until they turn golden brown and then you can add sugar, honey and cinnamon. Other typical desserts at his time of year are honey-coated fritters (pestiños), which are made from batter, sweetened with a lot of honey; rice pudding; Lent fritters (empty); a pudding made with egg yolk and syrup, and fried milk. 

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