Inside, the usual stews.
They ate it Arabs, they ate it romans . Meatloaf, in its various versions, can be traced back centuries. Without being very clear about the origin, it does seem certain that It was a favorite food throughout the Mediterranean area. During the reign of Charles II, it was so popular that the king himself issued an ordinance with the exact recipe, and any pastry chef who became innovative and moved away from those measures and ingredients ran the risk of being exiled.
Perhaps that obligation was what bored the cooks who gradually forgot the recipe and it was only preserved in a corner of Spain: in Murcia. And for this reason, today it has its own name and is also known like Murcian cake.
The evolved Murcian cake.
"That's where my father comes into the picture," he explains. Javier Cano Nicholas. his father, Jose Cano, Born in La Huerta de Murcia, the son of a farmer, he thought of Sundays with the family when they bought meat pies so that no one would cook. And he also thought of that immutable recipe: why couldn't it evolve, why couldn't it change, adapt to today's tastes and habits?
With that idea he created willyfactory, a family business that “look for the possibilities of puff pastry with recipes for stews made from natural products”, Xavier explains.
They opened the first store at the end of 2019 in Madrid and now they have just inaugurated the third also in Madrid (in Móstoles) and the fourth in Murcia. Two are its secrets. First, the very thin and extra crispy puff pastry. They follow the classic recipe of the 16th century, but have achieved a result much lighter using less butter. and the second are natural ingredients of the stews of the fillings.
"We started with four or five fillings," continues Javier. And now they have 12 savory and four sweet varieties. “More original recipes that we try on special days.” The Classic Murcian is the popular meat pie (with veal, egg and chorizo). The Neapolitan, of ham, cheese and tomato, it is a simple and perfect snack. As the duxelle , mushroom and caramelized onion. The of the meadow, of cheek; or the Port , with Iberian sirloin in Porto sauce are more original and tasty fillings. There are more daring ones, like Witty that adds brains to the classic Murcian stew. And one vegan version: stuffed with heura, potato, caramelized onion, carrot and with margarine instead of lard.
They are of a measured size, almost bite size, to share and being able to try several flavors in a meal, snack or dinner that can end with one of the sweet varieties: that of pastry cream and apple, that of cheese or the one of brownies of chocolate.
The Willies.
Following the current trend, they have been baptized willys. The logo is a bear, the symbol of the city of Murcia. and the name of the company Willy Factory, yes, it comes from Willy Wonka and his chocolate factory because all the puff pastries and fillings are made in its factory in Murcia, with care, and from there they distribute to their stores in Madrid and also They can send home to all of Spain in 24 hours. "We were born with delivery to reach more people," confirms Javier. Willys arrive frozen at 75% doneness and they just need heating for a few minutes in the oven (never in the microwave) to reach its ideal crispness and flavor point.
Traditional puff pastry recipe.