Pastéis de nata, these little flaky puff pastry flans, are popular all over the world today. Friday in “Historically Yours”, journalist David Castello-Lopes goes back to the origins of this tasty dessert, invented in the 18th century by monks from Lisbon in Portugal.
Journalist David Castello-Lopes, in the program Historically yours on Europe 1, looks back every day on the origins of an object, a concept or a recipe. On Friday, he tells the story of the origin of pastéis de nata, those little Portuguese flans that have conquered the whole world. This dessert was invented in the 18th century by Lisbon monks.
It is a Portuguese dessert recently popularized around the world. Pastel de nata is a small puff pastry flan straight from Lisbon and more precisely from Belem, a former suburb that is now part of the city. The first pastéis de nata were sold in the small Pastelaria pastry shop in 1837. Friday in Historically Yours on Europe 1, David Castello-Lopes goes back to the origins of this delicious dessert.
A dessert invented by Lisbon monks
Right next to the Pastelaria was a monastery, the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos. It was probably these monks who invented pastéis de nata at the beginning of the 18th century. At the time, there was no question of selling it and the monks kept the recipe to themselves. But in 1820, the Liberal Revolution led to the closure of many Portuguese monasteries, including that of Belem. Some idle monks then decide to sell their precious dessert. A few years later, they passed on their recipe to the man who opened the pastelaria de Belem in 1837, 184 years ago.
This original recipe is broadly the same as that of all other pastéis de nata, but it is said to contain a secret ingredient, known only to its pastry chefs. Another special feature is that they are tasted there with a small sachet of sugar or cinnamon. Over the past ten years, pastéis de nata have been widely exported. They can now be found in many bakeries, supermarkets and fast food franchises. Those of Belem, however, remain an institution.
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