Capirotada

Capirotada(Spanish pronunciation:[kapiɾoˈtaða]) orCapilotade, also known asCapirotada de vigilia, is atraditionalMexican foodsimilar to abread puddingthat is usually eaten during theLentenperiod. It is one of the dishes served onGood Friday.
According toSebastian de Covarrubias’ 1611 Spanish dictionary —Tesoro de la Lengua Castellana o Española—capirotadais a type of stew that goes over another, covering it like acapiroteorhood, and hence, it was calledcapirotada.But French scholar and philologist,Gilles Ménage, called Covarrubias’ statement ridiculous, stating in his —Dictionnaire Etymologique(1694)— that the termcapirotadawas ofItalianorigin and came fromcapon,quoting Italian linguist,Giovanni Veneroni, who had stated that it was a type of stew or sauce, acapirota, made from roasted meats, including capons and partridges.Acapiróta, according to English linguist and translatorJohn Florio’s —A Worlde of Wordes, or Dictionarie of the Italian and English tongues(1598)— is a: “kind of dainty potage or sauce used in Italy”.
Capirotadaoriginated from an ancientMedievalEuropeandish that was heavily influenced byRomanand, possibly,Moorishcuisine. One of the oldest predecessors ofCapirotadawas the Roman dishSala Cattabia. In the book “De re coquinaria de Apicius” from the end of the 4th century, which compiled the favorite stews of the Romans of that time, shows a Sala Cattabia recipe, which used pieces of stale bread soaked in water with vinegar, layers of cow cheese, cucumber, capers, cooked chicken liver and covered with a dressing.Capirotada, like bread pudding, was seen as a way to make use of otherwise ruined,stale bread.
In —Arte Cisoria(1423)—Enrique de Villena(1384–1434) repeatedly mentionscapirotadas. Felipe Benicio Navarro y Reig (1840-1901), who studied the works and life of Enrique de Villena, described whatCapirotadawas:
Legend holds that the dish, formally known ascapirotada de vigilia,was created in order to use leftovers before Lent began.The word "capirotada" comes from the Spanish word "capirote", which refers to the tall, conical hat in a religious context.
The dish traveled to the New World along with Spanish conquistadores, who spread both theCatholicreligion andSpanish cultureto the indigenous peoples. In post-conquestMexico, indigenous peoples like theAztecsusedanisetea to soften stale bread and moisten dry meat, both of which were common problems on Spanish ships making the voyage across theAtlantic.Previously a more savory dish,capirotadaprogressively became sweeter after New World ingredients and indigenous traditions were combined with the existing Spanish version, leading to a large increase in the varieties ofcapirotada.
Despite originally being consumed before Lent,capirotadais now consumedduringLent, especially duringHoly Weekand on Good Friday.
Recently, it has been given a spiritual meaning in relation to the passion of Christ and the Lenten season, thus, for many people, the bread represents the Body of Christ, the syrup is his blood, the cloves are the nails of the cross, and the whole cinnamon sticks are the wood of the cross.The melted cheese stands for theHoly Shroud.
There are various preparations of the dish. It is generally composed of toastedbolillo(which is like the Frenchbaguette) and soaked in a mulledsyrupmade of the following:whole cane sugar, which is known aspiloncillo;clove; andcinnamonsticks.  Some of the typical ingredients include nuts, seeds, and dried (and sometimes fresh) fruits, among these are:apples,dates,raisins,apricots,peanuts,pecans,almonds,pine nutsandwalnuts. In addition, aged cheese is added, which might explain why some people's recipes call for milk.
Manycapirotadarecipes do not include any meat due to the dish's traditional association with Lent, though some do include meat as a layer.Some versions ofcapirotadainclude tomato and onion for the syrup. Other iterations make use of cilantro, bay leaves, banana, or sprinkles.