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Postre de músico or musician's dessert

>> Wednesday, September 23, 2009


The Autumn has arrived, my favorite season, and it feels like eating those foods that used to be seasonal, like nuts, which started to be available around this time of the year after the harvest. All fruits and nuts were seasonal not so long ago and we always related them to a certain time of the year. Now we can find almost anything at any time of the year and to tell the truth... a lot of the charm is gone. And I won´t talk about the luxury in bringing food from the Southern hemisphere to the Northern so that you can pamper yourself with oranges in Summer, for example. Nor of how fruit kept in industrial freezers have their season artificially prolonged, so that what we eat is not at its best regarding ripeness and flavor nor of course has the optimal nutrient content. These matters could fill one hundred posts (sigh).



I believe I first tried this dessert in Andorra a long time ago. D. and I love nuts, we eat a lot of them at home. So a selection of our favorite nuts and dried fruits is a very good option for dessert, especially if you combine them with a glass of moscatel... That's exactly postre de músico (músic in Catalan), which means musician's dessert literally, a very traditional dessert in Catalonia. I've hardly found any information about it in the net, but it seems the name comes from the times when traveling musicians used to play in village celebrations and they were invited to eat whatever nuts and dried fruits people had in their homes.


Postre de músico

One handful of each of the following nuts and dried fruits (much better if they're organic):

  • Hazelnuts
  • Pine kernels
  • Almonds
  • Walnuts
  • Dried apricots
  • Dried grapes
  • Dried figs
  • Dried plums

Of course you can vary the ingredients according to your preference or what you have at hand. Put the fruits handfuls on a beautiful large dish, without mixing them, along with the moscatel glasses or a bottle for serving. It couldn't be easier. I used some delicious almonds from my neighbor. A couple of huge branches of his almond-tree overlook my garden. The crop has been enormous this year, the largest in the 9 years we've been living here. It's so frustrating that we are forced to eat such a large amount of scrumptious, hyper-organic and super-natural almonds... We frugal people.


If you have a real sweet tooth you can eat the dessert on waffles, adding honey, maple syrup, custard... you name it. Although there's no need for much garnish if the food is of good quality. And if you have the chance to eat postre de músico on a Sunday afternoon, on a veranda under the already not so warm sun, smelling the Autumn... You should try it.

14 comentarios:

Simply Life September 24, 2009 at 2:50 AM  

I love having seasonal foods, only in that season - it keeps them so special! This looks great!

Also, to answer your question, I definitely think any type of oil would work, it just might not add as strong of a flavor as the sesame oil!

Chris September 24, 2009 at 12:56 PM  

You're absolutely right! Every season has its flavors, to be enjoyed with the season's atmosphere. I see that in Italy we are more in tune with the seasons than many other societies, even though it is changing unfortunately, so I like posts like yours.
http://basicbasil.typepad.com/basicbasil/

Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine September 24, 2009 at 1:30 PM  

Oh my what beautiful pictures!

Diana Bauman September 24, 2009 at 9:38 PM  

What beautiful pictures! And the moscatel... you're really making me want to get on a plane to Spain!

Un besote!

FOODalogue September 25, 2009 at 12:28 AM  

When I saw the title of this post the visual I got was of the colorfully-costumed Tunas who go from bar to bar playing music. I believe the tradition started with university students who did this to pay for their tuition.

TasteHongKong September 25, 2009 at 6:59 AM  

Hmmm, love such a relaxing arrangement.

Southern Grace Gourmet September 25, 2009 at 2:04 PM  

Your pictures are so pretty! I love the simplicity of this dish.

Miriam September 25, 2009 at 3:12 PM  

Simply: thanks a lot!
Chris: thanks for visiting so that I could discover your blog!
Pegasus: thanks a lot!
Diana: errrr..., that's exactly the idea!! ;-)
Joan: it's possible! Some catalan people should give their feedback :-)
TasteHK: glad that you felt it...
Angelia: thanks, good raw materials need no complicated ellaboration :-)

Jessie September 25, 2009 at 3:56 PM  

great presentation, every season does have their own flavors and fruits which makes every season very unique in their own way

lisa is cooking September 26, 2009 at 4:06 PM  

Your platter looks beautiful with the fruits and nuts! This is a perfect dessert when each item is at its best.

Anna September 26, 2009 at 4:15 PM  

Beautiful picture, nuts and dried fruits are my favorite snack. And served with some tapas and wine it's a party.

Miriam September 27, 2009 at 10:23 PM  

Jessie: you're right!
Sophie: yes, moscatel can improve almost any meal... :-)
Lisa: Thanks!
Anna: you're right!

Alina September 29, 2009 at 12:13 PM  

Thank you for your kind comment Miriam, I'll be trying to post more nice recipes of Eastern European cuisine in my blog - I'm so pleased to hear you're interested, as I think this part of the world is pretty underestimated when it comes to cooking!
Anyway, it's intersting how many food bloggers say autumn is their favourite season (mine too!) :)) by the way, I just got two packages of delicious Spanish almonds... the almonds you buy here in Riga just don't compare to those straight from Spain!!

Miriam September 29, 2009 at 12:21 PM  

Alina: you're welcome! And I'm sure you'll find more people interested in your cuisine, it just takes some time.

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