Tortitas de Calabaza- Squash Cakes/ Pumpkin Fritters for Samhain
I realize I don't talk a lot about witchcraft specifically as a Puerto Rican witch, so here's a thing for Samhain!
Tortitas de calabaza (called barriguitas de vieja in some towns, which means belly of an old lady lol) are a traditional Puerto Rican treat, you can make it as a dessert.
First of all, we don't have actual pumpkin in PR, you know those big orange ones used here to carve jack-o-lanterns? Nah. Instead, our "calabaza" is actually a kind of kabocha, a dark sort of acorn squash looking pumpkin that grows wild there. My grandma harvests them wild from late summer to early fall, and it stores as well as any other winter squash.
So, Samhain??? My family doesn't celebrate the wheel of the year like I do. But seasonal foods are a powerful way to connect to the seasonal changes and cycles, which is important to my practice. I personally associate this with autumnal sabbats, especially Samhain, because Pumpkin and its protective properties!
Without kabocha, you can also use regular pumpkin, acorn squash, or butternut squash.
Ingredients + Correspondences:
About 2 cups of cubed calabaza (kabocha squash), pumpkin or other winter squash- protection, banishing, prosperity, abundance.
3/4 to 1cup of Flour- abundance, bounty, harvest, earth energy.
1/4 tsp of baking powder
1 tbsp of cinnamon- protection, success, prosperity, love.
1 egg- protection, hex breaking, cleansing negative energy, manifestation.
3 to 5 tbsp of sugar (to taste)- sweetness, peace, and love.
Pinch of salt- protection, cleansing.
Some people add vanilla extract, my family does not.
Steps:
1. Your calabaza should be cut in cubes like this:
You’re gonna start by boiling it in water with the salt, until soft- until you can easily slide a fork into it.
2. Drain the water out and, in a bowl, mash up your squash, kind of like making mashed potatoes:
****If you want to skip the part where you cut, gut, chop, boil, and mash up a hard squash, you could maybe try with canned pumpkin puree? I never have. Let me know how it goes!
3. To this, you will add the 1 egg FIRST. Mix it really well. Once the egg is mixed, it should look like this:
4. Now you will add the baking powder, cinnamon, and sugar. mix it up well. Taste and add more sugar to your liking.
5. Mix in the flour IN SMALL PARTS. Don’t worry if you don’t use the full cup of flour, just mix the batter as you are mixing in the flour, until you get the right consistency. The consistency is KEY- it should NOT look like puree, it should NOT be liquidy. It SHOULD look clumpy, thick, and similar to gross putty tbh. Like this:
6. Pour enough oil into a pan to deep fry. Set the heat on HIGH. We are going to flash fry these suckers, because the squash is already cooked. To flash fry, it is important that the oil be VERY VERY HOT. To know if your oil is ready, slide in a little bit of the batter and see if it fries.
7. Scoop out a spoonful of the batter and, using another spoon, slowly slide it into the oil. DO NOT PLOP/DROP THE BATTER IN THE OIL. The oil will get everywhere and you will be burned.
8. It only takes maybe 15 or 20 seconds for one side to get nice and toasty. You’ll know when the edges start to look crispy. That’s when you flip it and let it toast the other side of your little patty. When both sides are nice and gold and crisp, they’re done!
9. Sprinkle on some confectioners sugar if you want :) done!
