Cut a few slices of bread into small cubes and fry them in a skillet with olive oil. Set aside.

Dissolve the cornstarch in a glass of cold milk and stir well until completely smooth with no lumps. Set aside.

In a skillet, heat 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the lemon peel and cinnamon stick to infuse the oil. Once the lemon peel starts to brown, remove both the peel and cinnamon stick from the skillet.

In the same oil, add the anise seeds and stir with a spoon for a few seconds. Don’t leave them too long or they may burn. At this point, you can either strain the oil to remove the seeds or leave them in—I prefer to leave them for extra flavor and texture.

Next, to prevent the anise seeds from burning, add the all-purpose flour and stir for about a minute to toast it lightly and remove the raw taste.

Once the flour is toasted, gradually pour in the milk while stirring constantly, just like making a béchamel sauce. Add a little at a time, stirring as it thickens, and keep adding more milk while stirring to avoid lumps. Continue until most of the milk is added, saving a little for later.

When the mixture is thick and smooth, add the cornstarch mixture you prepared earlier and keep stirring. When it thickens again, add the remaining milk, stirring constantly.

Add the sugar and continue stirring. Keep the heat at medium-low.

For the final touch, add the sweet anise liqueur and stir for a minute or two to let the alcohol evaporate. This gives the gachas a wonderful flavor.

You can enjoy gachas warm or cold. I personally love them warm. If you plan to eat them cold, add a bit more milk because they thicken as they cool. If they’re already thick when hot, they may become too dense once chilled.

Once off the heat, serve the gachas in traditional clay dishes or bowls. Top with the fried bread croutons and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon. Enjoy!