Chireta is an

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

ese type of savoury pudding. It is a flavorful rustic dish typical to the counties of Ribagorza,

Sobrarbe Sobrarbe is a comarca of Aragon, Spain. It is located in the north of Huesca province, making up part of the autonomous community of Aragon. Many of its people speak the Aragonese language locally known as ''fabla''. Sobrarbe is a mountainous ...

and Somontano de Barbastro, high up in the Spanish

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

. In the Catalan counties of Alta Ribagorça and Pallars, formerly territories united to the historic County of Ribagorza in medieval

, chireta is known as ''gireta'', or ''girella'', respectively. Being a mountain recipe, nothing goes to waste: once the choice cuts of a slaughtered sheep have been reserved, the intestines, tripe, neck meat, minced liver including heart and lungs, are all used. This is enhanced with rice, chopped

pancetta Pancetta () is a Salting (food)#Meat, salt-cured pork belly meat product in a category known as ''Salumi, salume''. In Italy, it is often used to add depth to soups and pasta. (in Italian). Uses For cooking, pancetta is often cut into cubes ( ...

or bacon, cured ham, parsley, garlic, a pinch of cinnamon, salt and white pepper. ''Chireta'' literally means "inside out"—i.e., the sheep's intestines which make up the casings are cleaned and turned inside out for a smoother, more appetizing appearance. The casing is cleaned in white vinegar then rinsed very well before filling. The filling contains rice mixed with garlic, parsley and seasoned chopped meats. Casings are filled about a half to two-thirds of the way with the rice mixture, taking care not to overfill them, as the rice will expand once the chiretas are boiled in the broth—otherwise they are likely to burst. Once trussed, and just before cooking, they are also examined to make sure any air pockets are pushed out. Chiretas are usually served hot, as a main dish. They can be also served up as

tapas Tapas () are appetisers or snacks in Spanish cuisine. They can be combined to make a full meal and are served cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as , which are battered, fried baby squid; or , spicy potatoes). In some bars ...

, sliced, dipped in an egg-flour batter, and fried to a golden color. Chiretas can be found on the menu in restaurants of the Ribagorza, and Sobrarbe regions, and can also be sampled as tapas in the wine valley cuisine of the Somontano area. In 2002, a Somontano meat packer initiated a chireta festival, which has been running every year since then, around the third weekend of October. In 2002, they achieved a record entry in the ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

'' for the longest and heaviest chireta in the world: long, weighing a total of .

External links

World's longest and heaviest chireta
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