Duelos y Quebrantos Recipe, a tapa from Don Quixote’s La Mancha

Neither grief, nor distress, nor suffering of any kind is experienced by the palate that has the honour of tasting this simple and ancient preparation of La Mancha cuisine. Cervantes already mentions duelos y quebrantos as a fundamental part of the weekly menu of the gentleman Don Quixote.

“Somewhere in la Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing. A stew with more beef than mutton in it, hash most nights, duelos y quebrantos on Saturdays, lentils on Fridays, and on Sundays a young pigeon on Sundays for a special treat…”

This scramble of bacon, chorizo and eggs, with the addition of lamb brains in some cases, is a simple and quick to prepare tapa that will please any guest. Accompanied by some good bread toast, PDO Manchego cheese and a good wine, it will delight anyone.

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 4 slices of bacon
• 400 g of chorizo
• 6 eggs
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Salt, parsley and pepper

How to Make Duelos y Quebrantos:

1. Chop the chorizo and bacon into small pieces first, also chopping the garlic very finely. In a frying pan, first add the bacon over a medium heat so that it gradually releases its fat. When it has started to cook, add the chorizo as well until both ingredients are well browned.
2. To continue, add the eggs together with a little salt, ground pepper and finely chopped parsley. Stir constantly until the eggs curdle well, as if they were scrambled eggs.
3. Finally serve your duelos y quebrantos with a good glass of red wine and plenty of bread; preferably of the highest quality so that everything is delicious!