Barrigas de freira

Barrigas de freira is a Portuguese sweet affectionately known by the name “nuns’ bellies.” Even under the same name, its form varies greatly from place to place. In Arouca in the north, it is sold as a rich cream combining eggs, almonds and bread. In Tentúgal, on the other hand, there is a half-moon-shaped sweet in which a filling of eggs and almonds is wrapped in pastry.

In one example from a confectioner in Arouca, honey and lard are added to eggs, sugar, water, almonds and bread. The crumbled bread holds moisture and, together with the almond pieces, gives the cream body. It is a sweet eaten with a spoon, in which the yellow of the eggs and a sweet aroma come to the fore. The shop’s recipe is one example from this area and does not mean that every maker uses honey or lard.

The version sold by a confectioner in Tentúgal has a filling of eggs and almonds inside a soft pastry. A cream served on a plate and a wrapped sweet you can hold in your hand are eaten differently, even though they share the same name. There is also the pleasure of looking at the shapes in the shop and choosing one.

A sweet of the same name also appears in a manuscript said to be a 1729 recipe collection from the Convent of Santa Clara. In the transcribed method, sugar is cooked down, eggs and breadcrumbs are added, and the mixture is cooked over low heat while the pan is greased with butter, so that the bottom browns. However, recent research has raised doubts about the manuscript’s origin and the authenticity of its contents, so it cannot be treated as firm evidence that this method existed in the 18th century.

Arouca has a tradition of sweets linked to its former convent, and they are still made today as convent sweets. It is difficult to trace the origin to a single convent or to one person’s invention. Compared with Encharcada, which also uses eggs and sugar, the Arouca dish, with its added bread and nuts, has a different kind of richness.

Glossary