In , I took a trip through Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. This post is mostly about meat pies and how male students will stick it anywhere. Hornazo is a stuffed meat pie that has eggs, ham, Chorizo, and ground meat.
The Hornazo is woven into the history of Salamaca and like most great things in life, it involves students, sex workers, and the Catholic Church. La Puerta de Salamanca is an intricately carved piece on the face of the university. It was commissioned in the 16th century and has been adopted into the mythos of the city.
Somewhere on this fascade is a small carving of a skull and a frog:. University Students believe that the frog brings them good luck and look for it before exams. The frog is also said to represent a physician that tirelessly tried to save a young prince in the skull. In a more dubious interpretation the skull and the frog represent a warning to salacious young men who enjoy the company of sex workers. The frog representing a myriad of diseases and the skull representing death big shock, I know.
The wedding celebration went on for a week and the 16 year old prince who was quite pious was shocked by how sinful the city was. He passed an edict forcing deviant behavior to cease during the 40 days of Lent.
This forced the sex workers outside of the city, on the opposite banks of the Tormes river. After 40 days of repentance and giving up social media especially in the 16th century , the sex workers would be welcomed back into the city. Students celebrated this by painting boats that would bring the sex workers back over the river. Wine would flow and Hornazo would be eaten all along the river. If someone asked me to direct them to a dish that reminds me of Spain, the Hornazo would be one of my choices.
