Some Foods of Menorca

We are just back from a short break in Menorca. First time there. Although I've visited big sister Mallorca once or twice, I don't pretend to know much about the food of either. Getting to know a new cuisine is always interesting. Sadly, as we were staying in a resort our first hand experience of the authentic stuff was limited, but I've got a few pointers for the next trip.

Despite being tiny (about 50 miles by 30) it's an island which punches above its culinary weight. Over the centuries its attractions to outsiders have included its strategic position, plus the capital Mahon having one of the deepest natural harbours anywhere. As a result it's changed hands a few times, with England and France being much to the fore. The original capital was Ciutadella on the west. The English changed that, since Mahon on the east coast suited the navy's needs better.

The most celebrated dish is caldereta de langosta. It's a fairly straightforward lobster stew. As with many European dishes it's named after the pot it's cooked in, the caldereta. (Think casserole, paella, cataplana etc.) I never did get to try it. At one otherwise reasonably priced restaurant, the cost of any dish involving lobster was a staggering 180€!

At the other end of the scale is the peasant stew known as oliaigua.  In addition to the oil and water of the name, there are tomatoes. garlic, onions and peppers, with a bit of stale bread chucked in. Very reminiscent of the cucina povera of Puglia.

There are a lot of pigs on the island and pork features a lot. They produce a local sausage known as sobrassada, vaguely similar to 'nduja, spicy and spreadable. Having written

about empanadas a few weeks ago I got very confused looking in baker's windows. The things which we would describe as empanadas are known locally as rubiols. That which was being sold as an empanada was something resembling a small pork pie. It was stuffed with pork and sobrassada. Sadly the crust was rather dull, not the lard infused hot water crust which makes our versions so special. Josep, our guide, told me that the more correct name is formatjada, but too many people apparently struggled with that.

Looking for a sweet treat? Vegetarians beware. The Balearic specialty is ensaïmada. It's a pastry made in a spiral, said to have been influenced by the donning of a turban. Sometimes just plain with a dusting of sugar, other local variations can feature chocolate or pumpkin jam. And why the caution to the veggies? Well the Menorcan word saïm means lard, which is a key ingredient.

Menorcan cheese is rightly famous. It can be eaten fairly young, but the best we sampled was the more mature stuff. It now has Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, and very good it is too. Almost as celebrated is a by product, as it were, of the English occupation - Menorcan gin. Some enterprising local noted that after the English arrived gin sales went through the roof, and decided to cash in. They use that and local lemons to make a drink called pomada. Think about a highly alcoholic slush puppy and you'll get the idea. Addictive and dangerous.

All of the above is fact. Let's finish with a legend. After a period of French occupation, the Duke of Richelieu returned home. It is said that he had so much enjoyed a sauce with the fish he had dined on that he took the recipe with him. This sauce from Mahon he named Mahon-aise, later mayonnaise. The trouble is that there are at least three other claims to its creation.

The good people of Bayonne will tell you that they created Bayonnaise. Marie-Antoine Carême, probably the world's first superstar chef, said it came from the French word manier (to stir), the original name being magnionnaise. Finally, chef Prosper Montagné claimed that it was a corruption of the word moyeunaise, from the old French word moyeu, meaning egg yolk.

So you pays your money and you takes your choice. But if you are considering a holiday destination in a glorious setting with an interesting food culture, you can do very much worse than to visit this fascinating little island.