Sun, sea, sand…and sangria! This is what many visitors
associate with Ibiza. But discerning (entendidos)
tourists know that the Balearic Islands, and Ibiza
in particular, have many gastronomic secrets. There will be ensaimada
for breakfast, fresh fish for lunch, then flaó and herb liqueur for
dessert, and a large piece of coca in the evening. A few glasses of
local red wine, and you have all the ingredients for a perfect holiday.
Coca and Ensaimada
For a Balearic breakfast you can have a sweet spiralled pastry roll,(pasta de repostería)
called an ensaimada. These are sometimes filled (rellena) with sweet pumpkin
paste.(cabello de ángel) They make an excellent present – at the airport you can see tourists
carrying large octagonal boxes with enormous ensaimades in them! Coca
is flatbread, similar to the pizza, which is baked (horneada) with many different
toppings.(coberturas) Some of the popular varieties are coca d'espinacs, made
with spinach, coca amb pinxes, made with sardines, and coca amb trempo, made with assorted
vegetables. You can buy coca at any bakery and it is delicious at any
time of the day (or night).
Two Fish
Dishes
A perfect way to taste the
flavours (sabores) of the sea is trying guixat de peix, a classic dish from Ibiza. This is a fish stew (guiso de pescado) that combines many
different types of fish and seafood (marisco) with potatoes. You eat it with alioli,
a type of garlic (ajo) mayonnaise. Another dish, called peix sec (dried
fish) is one prepared by fishermen, (pescadores) who add spices to the fish and
leave them to dry on their boats. You can use it in many dishes. One of
these is called Formentera salad, made with dried fish, tomato, potato and
onion.
Flaó
and Greixonera
There are several emblematic desserts served on the island. The
most important of these are flaó and greixonera. Flaó
was originally eaten at Easter, (Semana Santa) and is round cake made with eggs and
soft cheese. You eat it with a glass of sweet wine or frígola
liqueur . Greixonera is a cinnamon-flavoured (con sabor a canela) pudding. It was
traditionally a way to use the dry ensaimades from the day before. The
name comes from the dish used for cooking it in, an earthenware (de barro) dish, the greixonera
(like the origin of the paella, of course!).
Traditional Liqueurs
The perfect way to begin a meal is with an aperitif of palo,
a local (de la zona) liqueur made with burnt (quemado) sugar, and soda. After the meal you can
have one of the variety of herb liqueurs, called herbes. These are made
with herbs like rosemary (romero), fennel (hinojo) and aniseed,(anís) which are macerated
for several months. These can be either sweet or dry. (dulce o seco) Finally, there is
frígola, a slightly (un poco)
dry liqueur made with thyme (tomillo), and ideal to accompany desserts.
