Spanish Veal Sweetbreads- Mollejas Españolas Recipe

Only a couple of dishes manage to be delicious, healthy, and at a low price. Spanish veal sweetbreads are included in that select list of dishes and here I will tell you a little more about them. Check out our Mollejas Españolas recipe at the end of the article.

Written by Paulina from Visit Southern Spain

The best part about Spanish veal sweetbreads is that they are very easy to cook, so this recipe does not have any degree of difficulty and anyone can make them.

If you are looking for a recipe to impress guests or a loved one, you should definitely make these mollejas españolas, especially if you have a low budget.

History and Cultural Background

Nowadays if you are looking for what to eat in Granada, it is very common that you find that all restaurants offer a version of Spanish veal sweetbreads, but it wasn’t always this way. 

Originally the veal sweetbread was only eaten by the poorer social classes since the molleja is a part of the stomach of some invertebrate and vertebrate animals. This made it very cheap since before this part of the animal was discarded.

Over time, people began to try this dish, partly thanks to the fact that in times of crisis it was the only thing that could be eaten, and the Spanish veal sweetbread became a protagonist dish of this cuisine, it is even considered to be the Spanish caviar.

Things You’ll Need for Spanish Veal sweetbreads

To prepare this Spanish dish you will only need a couple of ingredients and a saucepan and pot, so you have no excuse. It is a cheap recipe to prepare, and the result is a delicious dish that can be used both as a starter and as a main course.

Ingredients

• 3 kg. veal sweetbreads (clean and chopped)
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 cup (200ml) white wine
• 1 teaspoon saffron
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper (whole grain and ground)
• 3 tablespoons oil
• salt to taste

How to Make Spanish Veal sweetbreads – Step by Step Guide

1. To start with this recipe, cook the veal sweetbreads by boiling them until tender.

2. After that, cook them for a few extra minutes in a saucepan with the oil so they won’t stick and they get a nice crust. Add the saffron, pepper, and salt to taste.

3. Then peel and mash the garlic and add it to the veal sweetbreads along with the white wine.

4. For the final step, boil until the wine has been consumed. When the veal sweetbreads have a tender on the inside and crisp on the outside texture, remove them from the heat and serve them warm.

Substitution of Ingredients

When it comes to ingredient substitutions, there are multiple changes you can make. First, you can replace the veal sweetbreads with gizzards of any other type, such as chicken.

You can also make changes to the seasonings, using others such as sweet or smoked paprika, turmeric, etc.

In addition, you can add a little rosemary or fresh parsley, since they go very well with the garlic in the recipe.

If you want, you can change the white wine for sherry, or even eliminate it completely and use water or broth. Although I recommend using wine as it gives another palette of flavors to the dish, remember that the alcohol in the wine evaporates so it won’t taste like alcohol.

Tips on Serving Spanish Veal sweetbreads

As with other Andalusian food, you can serve it both as a starter and as a main dish. If you want it to be the main dish, it is best to serve it with some type of pasta, rice, or even as a sandwich with any type of bread, so it fills up more.

If you are looking for something more like fast food, you can serve it with french fries, or even with Spanish aioli to dip the mollejas. 

Something I like to do is serve the veal sweetbread and put lemon juice on them since it is a flavor that is very good, but it is something you must do when they are already served.

How to Store Spanish Veal sweetbreads

To store this dish, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to four days, or freeze it and it will last in the freezer for up to a month.

In both cases, you must wait for the veal gizzards to reach room temperature before storing them since the immediate change in temperature is not good.

Once you are ready to eat them, either you take them out of the fridge and heat them up, or you let them thaw overnight (if you have frozen them).

Mollejas Españolas Recipe