Spanish Brunch: Mila's Migas

This Spanish brunch party feature by Lawrence Roullier White, appeared originally in the March 2014 issues of SE Magazines.

Being blessed with so many wonderful artisan bakeries in our glorious part of London the temptation to buy more than just the daily bread is always an issue; quite often by Saturday I have a bread crock full of quarter eaten loaves. As a child we would have gone to the duck pond on Peckham Rye Park and, together with all the other families, we would delight in feeding our human leftovers to the hungry birds. We now know that the feeding of bread to waterfowl is a bad thing; causing the birds to bloat on nutritiously poor food and resulting in malnutrition. This is particularly damaging to ducklings, who need their natural nutrients in order to prevent growth defects. Seems disposing of excess bread is no longer a walk in the park. 

Chatting to our wonderful, and very lovely, Valencian manager, Mila Tarin, I was encouraged to research a centuries old Spanish dish; Migas. The more I looked into this thrifty meal the more I realised it was the perfect dish for the Hectic Host with too much bread, but not enough time, on her or his hands. 

Brunch is the ideal modern meal over which families can meet, eat, catch up and then go about their day. Children can be a part of the fun and adults feel less stressed by the informal nature of the drop-in meal; no one would even raise an eyebrow if Dad reads the paper, a complete no-no at a supper party. 

The night before your brunch party cut your leftover bread into smallish sized cubes, traditionally the bread would have been crumbed (Migas means crumbs in Spanish) but I would suggest larger sized pieces as this means a smaller surface area when frying. Dust the bread with some salt and pimentón (Spanish paprika, available from Franklin’s Farm Shop) to taste. Moisten the diced bread a little, but not too much, a gentle spray with an atomiser does the trick, cover it in a bowl with a damp tea towel and leave over night. Dense breads work much better than open-bakes suck as baguettes. 

Just before you want to eat, this dish must be eaten straight from the pan, fry off some large chunks of chorizo in a little olive oil (vegetarians can fry some garlic making sure the garlic is removed as soon as it goes golden brown) ensuring the oil does not over heat. Add the bread cubes and shake then until all surfaces are lightly coated and continue cooking until golden brown; about three to four minutes. Serve topped with a runny poached egg, or a as Mila likes her Migas, topped with fresh grapes; muy delicioso. 

Another breakfast tip from Mila; is simply toasted bread, wiped with olive oil and sprinkled with pimentón. Or try sweet-smoked pimentón for a gentler start to the day; buenos días!