FOR THE PAST TEN DAYS I HAD SO MUCH FOOD, DRINKS AND FUN  It was our towns' anual festival of Magdalena.

It's a big festival that lasts for 9 days. It celebrates the time when the first inhabitants of Castellon went down from the medieval castle where they lived in what is now La Madalena (that's why the name) to the plain where the city is now, after king Jaume I defeated the moors that lived here. So we celebrate the birth of the city.

The most beautiful part of it is on the first and the second day (always a weekend, the third sunday of Lent). On Saturday there is a big parade where almost every little village of the province sends people to show their dances, foods...and the parade begins with different groups representing Castellon history, from mythology to arabs, jews and the Jaume I court with a girl elected every year to represent his wife..Violante de Hungria. It's very colourful, something like the Cavalgada del Ninot in Valencia but more historically oriented. At the final stage, a "pregonero" (I don't know how to say this in English !) riding a horse, reads a poem dedicated to the festival (each year the same poem).




The second day is Madalena day, there is a big procession that begins at 6 Am at the Plaza Mayor, where "cañas" (canes, the symbol of the festival) are distributed, and does the reverse road that our ancestors did...so people goes up to the mountain to celebrate, it's 8 km from the city. Then people eats a lot , drinks a lot..and turns back also walking or by bus
During the week there's a lot of activities, , Meson de las Tapas,Meson del Vino  Centro Asturiano also make free big meals everyday (fabada, fabes con almejas...), there are music concerts... and a lot of traca LOL similar to Valencia, a daily mascletá, fireworks in the night...


During this festival there are a lot of wonderful regional food to eat and the best wines. It is amazing how much is spent during this time. One night we came across a stall selling figues albardaes. These are pastries filled with dried figs and then deep fried. It is served with muscadel. It is the perfect way of getting recharged with energy after a long day of party.


Here is the recipe. Enjoy!








FIGUES ALBARDAES

INGREDIENTS


500ml Flour.


1 packet of Yeast (20 ml)


1 teaspoon sugar


300 ml Water.


Olive oil.


-Salt.


1kg  Figs (dry)


Sugar or honey.






Preparation:




Mix a little bit of lukewarm water with the yeast and one teaspoon of sugar.  Let stand in warm place for a while until frothy.   In a big bowl, mix the flour, salt and add little by little more flour untill a soft mass is formed.  Kneed the dough for about 5 minutes and let it stand in a warm place for about 25 minutes. 

Clean the dry figs and cut it in half (if whole). Heat a pan with olive oil(about 3 cms full)  Place a tablespoon of dough onto a spoon, put figs on top of it and place another spoon of dough with another spoon on top.  (basically making a sandwich) Deep fry this mixture in the oil untill golden brown.  Take out and dust with sugar or honey. 

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*Photo's by Castellon Tourism