Ibiza Food

Ibiza food can be broken down into: the ingredients, starters, fish and meat dishes, and the deserts. Other articles on this site deal with the ingredients so we will not dwell on those, suffice to say that olives, figs, salt, and the local livestock all have their part to play. The plentiful fresh fish of an island are also an important part of Ibizan cuisine.

Starters are varied, and some typical examples include: rice with sardines and cauliflower, rice with snails, noodles with rabbit, hotpot and gilthead soup. One of the most basic, that you will find at many restaurants, is a broad bean stew. This is made with broad beans, green beans, onions, tomatoes, garlic, sobrassada, bacon, paprika, vinegar, oil and salt. There is also a variation on this dish, fava pelada, which has noodles and chopped mint added.

Some of the typical fish dishes are squid stew with raisins and pine nuts, dogfish meatballs and plain old fish stew. One of my favorites is fisherman’s hake, which is really all about getting the hake cooked to just the right level. The hake is sliced and served on top of a dish made from ripe tomatoes, potatoes, onion, garlic, parsley, paprika, salt, pepper and oil. There is also the all important sauce, and the ingredients vary from restaurant to restaurant, but it usually has lemon juice, olive oil and paprika.

Meat dishes include stuffed leg of lamb, baked pork with milk mushrooms and lamb stew with artichokes. Rabbit with peas is also a good option. The important thing to remember is let the rabbit marinade overnight with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Some people like to use matured wine, but I find that this can dominate the taste. Sausage, peas, broad beans, onions and potatoes usually accompany this dish.

The desserts of Ibiza food and Formentera food are not overly sweet, and are the ideal way to round off a meal. Greixonera is one of the most popular, and is a sweet cake made from milk, ensaimades pasteries, cinnamon, lemon peel, sugar, sweet aniseed and eggs. The milk is brought to the boil with the lemon peel, cinnamon and sugar and then left until it cools to warm. After removing the lemon peel and cinnamon, it is then mixed with the eggs, aniseed and ensaimades (which are first chopped). The sugar is heated to form a caramel and poured on top of the mixture before it is baked for 45 minutes at 170 degrees.

Food in Ibiza

When people think of food in Ibiza they don’t usually make a distinction between the food of Ibiza, and other Spanish cooking. This, however, is a mistake. Ibiza not only has its own take on Mediterranean cooking, but it also has specialties that are not common to the other Balearic islands. What gives rise to this unique cooking is some of the products that are grown and made on the island.

Ibiza salt is incredibly rich and the manufacture of salt was the first industry on the island. Back in the days of the Armada the salt was used as a form of payment as not everybody around the world accepted gold as currency. But to get back to the properties of Ibiza salt: it is used as a condiment to dry meats, fishes and vegetables. The thickness of Ibiza salt gives it specific properties in the salting process that add a distinct flavor, particularly to meats. The Ibiza salt forms on the surface of the water of the salt beds, and it is the pale pink crystals that are most prized.

The Ibiza fig, almond and carob trees also produce a distinctive local product. The fig trees (Ficus carica) reach heights of up to five feet, and their crown develops to become wider as the trees age. The fig tree has many uses one of which is in the production of cheese. The trees produce a bitter juice which is used to curdle milk. Anything made with the early figs on the season is a tasty treat, and the most common preparation is to half bake the figs and layer them in a cool pot with fennel and clay.

Cheese made from sheep and goat’s milk is a specialty of food in Ibiza and Formentera, and there is a full range from mild to mature. There is also cow’s milk cheese which is made with paprika, and this gives the rind a red tinge. In addition to the cheeses, there are the many meats: sobrassada (cured meat), botifarra (sausage), botifarro (black pudding), and ventre farcit (stuffed pork belly). There are a wide variety of prepared meat, including those making use of poultry, rabbit and lamb. The local rabbits are also well used in stews and casseroles. Usually these consist of a good fried sauce base, a spicy sauce, fried rabbit liver, and are served with peas and potatoes. Chicken is also a very common choice of meat in the stews and casseroles of Formentera.

Islas Baleares Food

The Islas Baleares are known as the Balearic Islands outside of Spain, but one thing that isn’t so well known to those outside the islands is just how delicious the food is. It is prepared in the Mediterranean tradition with plenty of olive oil, fresh meats and vegetables. However, each of the four islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera) has put their own spin on Spanish cooking over the years, and it has become worthy of recognition. Let’s look at some of the signature dishes of Islas Baleares food.

Sopa Balaer, or Balearic soup, is a deceptively simple dish which makes a great starter. It is prepared by frying vegetable is olive oil until soft, then adding the stock and seasoning. Once that is tender the next thing to do is mash the vegetables and add diced sobrasada. Typical vegetables are cabbage, potatoes, carrot, and pepper. Onions and garlic are essential.

Polo con Langostinos combines chicken and prawns to create a distinctly Catalan dish. The sauce really makes the dish, and is thickened by using a picada of ground, toasted almonds and crumbled butter biscuits. After this cayenne and cream are added to the sauce. As long as you have fresh chicken and prawns then you are on to a winner. The precise ingredients to make a delicious picada are: 4 butter biscuits, 25 grams of toasted almonds, 15 grams of butter, a clove of garlic, and some fresh parsley.

Another specialty of islas Balearas is the cheese. On Formentera and Ibiza they make the cheese from goat’s milk and sheep’s milk, and usually add paprika. The cheese made from cow’s milk is nothing special really, and is known for being low in salt and creamy. On Formentera they curdle the milk with thistle, and then manually compress and dry salt the cheese. It takes a month for the cheese to mature, and if you can get your hands on it, is very tasty. The use of l’herba de formatjar to make the milk curdle is said to give it a very distinctive taste. The thistle juice is added by wrapping it in a tea towel and then dipping it in the curdling pot for a few minutes before removing it. After this the cheese-making pot is covered, and the milk is left to curdle. By keeping the milk at between fifteen and twenty degrees centigrade it ensures that there is sufficient heat for the curdling needed to make Formentera cheese to take place.

More info at: http://www.formenteraguide.com

Introduction to Balearic Islands Food

The Balearic islands of Mallorca (Majorca), Menorca (Minorca), Eivissa (Ibiza), and Formentera are Spanish islands in the Mediterranean Sea, but they have their own distinct cuisine. Tourists come to the Balearics for the sea, and sun, but they come back for the food!

At the heart of Balearic cooking is the Mallorcan olive, which grows on trees that have been around for as long as 500 years. The age of the trees ensures a very quality, and in addition to this the soil acidity is limited by law. The autochthonous Aceituna Malloquina produces a sweet olive oil that has a slight almond flavor. At the other end of the spectrum is the Picual which has a spicy, bitter flavor. In the middle is the Arbequina which has a fruit taste. Dulce olive oil is the sweet variety which is made when the Mallorcan olive is ripe, and the frutados variety is made when the olive is green to give it a fruity taste. Olive oil is used in almost every dish, and even served at the table with bread. It deserves to be.

As islands tasty fresh fish is abundant, but Balearic Islands food also has some notable meats. The Mallorcans have a way to turn pigs into some outstanding sausages, one of which is Butifarra. This is a thick sausage, measuring which is made from minced pork, pepper, and other spices. Washed down with a glass of beer it is extremely appetizing.

Another Xuia (pork) product is butifarron, which has blood, pepper, paprika, herbs, spices and pork all mixed together. They are cooked after they are processed, and depending which of the Balearic island you are on, or indeed which town you are in, the butifarron comes in a range of different tastes.

The most well known of the Xuia specialities is sobrasada, which is a deep red from the paprika it contains. It can be made with sweet or spicy paprika. However, if you are looking for something a little bit special then camayot is a Mallorcan meat that is made using only the finest cuts from a pig. These cuts are diced and mixed with pepper, spices and paprika, and then wrapped in pig skin. It’s a bit more expensive than some of the other sausages, but if you are serious about enjoying the best Balearic Islands food then you should certainly give it a try. You won’t regret it. Unless you are a vegetarian.

The Balearic Islands also have uninhabited islands, such as Espalmador, and these are sometimes used to rear the livestock that is used in Spanish cooking.

Mediterranean Wines: The Best Kept Secret

Balearic wines are back! Once well recognized internationally and within Spain these wines are now resurgent, and delivering some compelling flavors to discerning palates. Mallorca, Menorca, Eivissa, and Formentera all have wineries worthy of review. These small islands, known and the Balearics, make the most of the Mediterranean climate to enjoy some good grapes.

Mallorca has two DOC wine regions: Pla i Llevant and Binissalem (DOC is the Denominacion de Origen Calificada and is awarded to appellation regions with a consistent track record for quality). Of these Pla i Llevant is the largest, and produces red Mediterranean wines using Callet, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Its best grape for white wine is Chardonnay, and it also grows Moscatel de Alejandria, which is used to make a sweet wine. Pla i Llevant is located on the eastern side of Mallorca.

Binissalem sits in the center of Mallorca and produces Moll, Chardonnay and Macabeo grapes. It is well known for a blended red wine which uses Manto Negro and Callet. The red wines are high in alcohol content and the white wine is known for its fruity flavor.

The Pine Islands of Ibiza and Formentera have wineries of their own too: Vin de Tanys Mediterranis, Can Rich, Sa Cova, and Can Maimo. They produce some decent white wine, usually from the Macabeo, and sometimes mixed with Chardonnay, and sometimes with Moscatel or Parallada. Red wine is made from a number of grapes, including Garnacha, Tempranillo, Monastrell, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Of these Monastrell is of the highest quality, and something of a specialty.

In addition to wines the region produces a number of liqueurs and aperitifs. One of these is a local gin, Ginebra de Menorca. It is made by distilling cereals, potatoes and beet and flavoring with juniper berries. It is based on an old recipe from Holland and the island has made it its own. They store the gin in oak barrels and although it is around forty percent proof it has a very clean taste.

Another of the local liqueurs is Licor de Hierbas de Mallorca. It mixes anise with herbs, and comes in three varieties, each with a different sugar content: Sweet Hierbas Dulces, Secas, and Mezcladas. Another green liqueur is Licor de Hierbas Ibicenco. Although not strictly one of the Mediterranean wines it is a delicious mixture of herbs, including lavender, thyme, lemon verbena, sage and rosemary.