Spanish

Poleá: Andalusian anise pudding

One of the oldest surviving Andalusian desserts — a thick, smooth pudding of flour or breadcrumbs cooked in olive oil with anise, honey, cinnamon, and milk. Poleá is Moorish in origin and composition: the warm-spice and honey combination, cooked in olive oil rather than butter, with a porridge-like texture, has no equivalent in northern European cooking but direct relatives in North African and Middle Eastern kitchens. In Sevilla, poleá is traditionally eaten during Semana Santa (Holy Week) — a Lenten dessert that has survived for centuries without modification. Some households add a few currants and pine nuts for additional texture.

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ServesFour small portions (tapa-sized)

Total30 minutes

Sourced1of 8 in BC

Cook

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The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

3 tbsp

olive oil

Your own market

60 g

plain flour

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

500 ml

whole milk

added gradually

Your own market

2 tbsp

anis del mono or similar anise liqueur

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

2 tbsp

honey

Origin · New ZealandPurely Artisan Foods · San Diego →

1 tsp

ground cinnamon

added off heat

Your own market

Optional

2 tbsp

pine nuts

toasted

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

2 tbsp

currants

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

The Method

Warm the olive oil in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Add the flour all at once and stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 2–3 minutes until the mixture turns a pale straw colour and smells lightly nutty — the raw flour scent must be gone before any liquid is added.

Begin adding the milk in a thin, steady stream, stirring without pause. This is where the dish lives or dies: any lapse in stirring produces lumps that cannot be recovered. Continue until all the milk is incorporated and the mixture is perfectly smooth.

Add the anise liqueur and honey. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting and cook, stirring constantly, for 15–20 minutes. The pudding is ready when it holds its shape briefly on the back of a spoon before flowing slowly — the consistency of a very thick crème anglaise.

Remove from the heat. Stir in the ground cinnamon. If using, fold in the toasted pine nuts and currants at this point.

Spoon into small cups and allow to cool until warm but not hot — the honey, anise, and cinnamon require a brief rest to integrate. The surface should be set enough to show a gentle skin.

III

Quality Hierarchy

Reserve — A single-estate Andalusian extra-virgin olive oil with a clean, grassy character; raw Andalusian honey, ideally orange-blossom; genuine Anis del Mono or equivalent artisan anise liqueur.

Estate — A named Spanish extra-virgin olive oil; a clear, aromatic honey; a reliable commercial anise liqueur.

Market — Any good extra-virgin olive oil; supermarket clear honey; standard anise spirit.

House — Light olive oil; blended honey; any available anise-flavoured liqueur or extract — the pudding remains honest but loses the oil's contribution to flavour depth.

Sensory Tests

◇Smell. The flour-and-oil roux smells lightly nutty, with no trace of raw flour, before milk is added.

◇Sight. The finished pudding is smooth and uniformly pale, with no lumps visible on the spoon or the surface.

◇Touch. A spoonful holds its shape briefly before flowing — neither liquid nor stiff; the consistency of a very thick crème anglaise.

◇Sight. After resting warm in the cup, a fine skin forms on the surface, indicating the starch has fully set.

◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies at the moment the milk meets the roux: stir without interruption from first addition to full incorporation, or lumps form and cannot be undone.

Pillar V

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