Ceclavín, Cáceres: the place of the hermitages

The last potters of the ‘Ceramá enchiná’

The 'enchiná' is a craft of Arab origin, which is manufactured only in Ceclavín and Nisa, Portugal.Andrés Amores, who is in charge of Mobuarte, is one of the last ceramists who work it."To make a piece of these," he tells us, "you can take three hours. You put it in the lathe, you make the piece, you draw it with a pencil as if it were a calligraphy, and then each line you have to fill it with with China"The Chinese are small white quartz chops that stick to the basija after adhering them to the finger with saliva.

"The next step is to crush each China inside the mud because, of course, the mud when losing the water contracts. If the Chinese do not put them inside we would fall. Then, with a lighter of the old from Yesca, each hole is filledof the piece to have the termination it has. "

The reasons for this ceramic are usually plants and flowers.Only Andrés and his brother already manufacture her in Ceclavín and in all Extremadura to be able to transmit and they only do it on request.Andrés puts less public aid to be able to transmit to others a legacy that will otherwise be lost forever.

The thousand and one productions of Ceclavín: sausages, oil, mazapan, honey ...

The 'enchinà' ceramics is a unique craft in the world but here it joins others within the wide ceclavinera gastronomic tradition such as sausages.María del Encinar Amores Vinegar maintains the ways of making grandparents in a small factory, 'El Encinar' next to her three sisters.

"We do the red, white chorizo, spicy sausage too, we make Morcón, the homemade back-in the same product we do it in different formats, depending on where it will be sold."Because the products of ‘El Encinar’ are not only sold in Extremadura.In some parts of the Basque Country, where there is Extremaduran home they can sell three hundred pieces during the fairs.

"We make the traditional back, -Añade Enci, taking on this product that is also known as 'dublao' loin that the grandmothers made with the dressing that was done before and it is the traditional style that we do. It is our star product and it isThe spine that goes on the butter of the butter, with olive oil, garlic and salt. For the bending tenderloin, we leave the spine, let the salt and water drain, once the spine has dried with the salt with the salt, pass all night to oil and garlic. Then it is embedded in that of the butter, in the traditional fabric, and it is tied to hand. "If you have made you want to eat back, we leave you a tasty recipe here.

Ceclavín is the land of almond trees and also of olive trees ... from the Cacereña chamomile, the local olive, its oils are extracted."It has a green, fruity color, gives it a spicy tad, which is what makes oil quality," says Cruz Rosado, president of the ‘Virgen del Encinar cooperative’."As is spicy, have the taste that fruity and have the green color, is what gives our olive characteristic."

The Cooperative is committed to quality."We work the extra ecological and conventional irgenfive liters. "

From the almond trees, which surround the population, the raw material proceeds to prepare another of its most appreciated productions, the Ceclavín mazipan, a sweet whose origin dates back to Muslim era, as Antonio Sánchez Oliveros tells us that it is in charge of the 'Ceclavín oven'.

“It carries almond, hoe and egg flour.Nothing more, mix everything and that's it.Then we throw it with a pastry bag on the wafers and then go to the oven.The mazipan do it throughout the year, practically from January to January. ”A delicate sweet that extends in the form of ‘s’, the initial of Antonio's first surname, about a rectangular wafer for those who want to try.

And among the sweetest productions, the honey obtained from different places for transhumance: that of a thousand flowers of the Extremaduran mountains that of Palencia Mountain and the Azahar de Sevilla.All the factory in Ceclavín Petri Soria, which in addition to producing by hand the product is the manager of ‘Queen Honey’."Orange blossom honey is a very soft, very clear honey, has sedative, relaxing effects for an infusion when you go to sleep," he tells us in his store surrounded by jars of all kinds and gifts that she herself makes delicately for the public.“The flower here, from Extremadura, is ideal for the theme of colds, has antibacterial, antimicrobial properties ... and then mountain honey is a honey of more intense flavor, it is very rich in minerals, thicker, notI know .. it's different, very creamy. ”

In the ‘Queen Honey’ factory, it tells us about the manufacturing process: “The manner of honey extraction is still done as an old way.Seal cut, which is both manual and automatic, by machine.These honeycombs pass to the extractors and from there to a maturation tank where they are filtered day by day and after there to their drums, there is no more.

The most traditional kitchen by María Victoria Sande in ‘La Cabaña’

All this great variety of productions enriches traditional cuisine.His best known dish is the chanfaina based on lamb viscera.Its elaboration is told by María Victoria.

"It is made by refreshing all the stews and then we add the viscera of the lamb. When everything is refrito we add the gut, a crushing of garlic and parsley, a little of Cayena, the wine of the whistle and let us all boil and that it cooks wellUntil the lamb gut is well cooked. Finally the blood is added because as it is cooked it needs less time and then we already rectify it from salt to taste. "

And from the kitchen to the table: "" Chanfaina's dish can be accompanied by a pole gazpacho and pickled fish ... and of course from the whistle wine, all typical of this area, "concludes María Victoria.

The snuffs, a rural accommodation in La Dehesa to observe the universe

Unlike the kitchen, the most original accommodation of Ceclavín, the spark plugs, in the middle of the dehesa, has futuristic airs, although its design comes from the livestock tradition as María González Martel explains that she is a local tourism technician.

"It resembles the shape of the ancient spark plugs that were the chozos used by the shepherds who had the cattle in the pasture. The complex has three spark plugs and each is named after one of the stars that belong to the triangle of the summer stars. They are two bigger, Deneb and Vega and the little one who is Altair ... large spark plugs can stay between five and six people and the small two or three people. "

In the middle of the pasture, the spark plugs form an ideal place for rest but also to observe the night sky."Each of the spark plugs, Maria shows us, has inside a telescope that, of course, is oriented to astronomical tourism."And that's why these municipal ownership accommodations have a high demand throughout the year ...

The ‘Tajo boat’ an experience to know Ceclavín's environment for its rivers

Next to La Dehesa, the natural environment of Ceclavín offers various possibilities for river walks through the pit or alagón.In this case we chose the route by the latter.

"We do two types of route, - explains David Pintado, of the 'Tajo'Ramiro's courts. "A place of great ecological value, ZEPA zone, which is only accessed from August 1 when the breeding period of the species that nest in their cliffs ends.

On these trips the ship serves as an ecological classroom and an observation point for animal species: "Both deer, and gamos, as muflones, which we can see or wild boars-says David.Black vultures ... also when you go on the cruise, a small classroom is being made where all kinds of animal are explained that we are seeing during the trip, its characteristics and curiosities. "

Nature routes that bring us closer to the landscape wealth of this region of Las Vegas del Alagon.You can discover more route with 'Ruralitas'.