8 posts tagged “canary islands”

Oooh, and a steep price it is….Free.  LOL  Before moving here to the Canaries it never–and I mean NEVER–would have occurred to me to make my own mayonnaise.  I mean, why?  It’s so easy to buy it at the store, and inexpensive to boot.  Why would anyone even bother?  But then I tried my mother in law’s alioli.   It was like a serious revelation, a turning point in my life.  Homemade mayo?  WAY better than store bought.  Add garlic?  Even *better* than WAY better than store bought.  It only takes about 2 minutes start to finish, too.  You’ll need a food processor or blender with an opening at the top to pour in the oil, but it really is one of the easiest things in the world to make.  So that’s recipe number one of this post.  Keep reading for a super easy spring/summer sandwich…

(recipes are here: http://canarygirl.com/?p=166)

Now, let’s move on to that sandwich I promised. Would you LOOK at this organic baby watercress my veggie vendor had?!

Doesn’t that just look fresh and delicious?! Watercress is a very common ingredient in Canarian cooking. We make stews with it, salads, and the ever popular, “Sandwich de Berros.” (berros=watercress) The watercress sandwich is common for breakfast, for an afternoon snack, and is often served at family gatherings and parties. The sandwiches are great when you first make them, but in my opinion are even better the next day, so they are a perfect make ahead addition to whatever fun gathering you have planned.

Potaje (pronounced po-TAH-hay) is a delicious multi vegetable stew very typical of the Canary Islands.  Here, rather than have all the food served at once, meals are served in courses.  Generally a first course, which can be either a soup, stew, salad, or pasta and is then followed by the main course and of course following that, dessert and coffee.  Many restaurants in Spain offer a lunch “menu,” where you can choose a first and second course from the day’s specials, and it comes with a beverage and dessert.  I’m pretty sure that the variety of potajes are as varied as the chefs that prepare them.  There are lentil potajes, watercress potajes (look for this one soon), corn potaje…the limit is your own creativity, much like soups and stews everywhere else in the world.  Let me share with you my mil’s recipe for Potaje Canario….

Recipe is here: http://canarygirl.com/?p=152

Wine selection for this one...I'd go with a crisp Chardonnay (in fact, I did. lol)

potaje

Hi Everyone….it’s that gorgeous, wonderful time of year when the hubs’ boss let’s him flee the coop and have some much deserved vacation time!  WooHOO!  *insert much dancing about here*  We’ve decided to load the kids onto the ferry and take us all to our neighboring island, Fuerteventura.  Otherwise known as the most relaxing beach paradise EVER.  Sugar white sand, gorgeous turquoise waters, and waiters!  Many waiters of hand and foot!  Which is just what the mommy of 4 ordered.  I don’t think I’ll be online at all during the week, so I wish you well and see you soon! I’ll try to get as many food and other pics as possible……. 

See? Pretty, huh?

fuerteventura lanzarote 025

el cofete

el cofete

jose and ellie at el cotillo

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adri at el cotillo

The 30th of May is a special day ’round these parts….it’s “El Día de Canarias,” “Canary Island Day.”  We are celebrating with, what else?  Food!   And so I can get bizzy celebrating, I’m going to leave you with *thee* most popular Canary recipe ever….papas arrugadas con mojo (which, translated, means ‘wrinkled potatoes with mojo’).  Mojo…where to even begin?  There are as many varieties as chefs….the particular version I’m posting here is called “Mojo Picón,” or “Spicy Mojo.” (btw….it’s pronounced MO-ho, rhymes with Soho, though it’s got some mo-joe goin’ on too. hehe). 

For the step by step process and recipes, please visit: http://canarygirl.com

papas arrugadas4

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Earlier this week I was feeling rather under the weather with a stomach bug...I actually think it may have been a case of food poisoning, since I was better within a couple of days.  When I finally worked up the courage to eat something, of course I had to make the Canary Island Cure All soup....Caldo de Papas (literally translated, Potato broth).  This soup is famed to cure stomach illnesses, colds and even hangovers. haha  I can tell you, whatever it's medicinal qualities may be, it's delicious, whether you're sick or not. :)  One of the main flavors of the soup is cilantro.  Most people either love cilantro or hate it.  I am a lover.  HUGE fan.  And it's used fairly extensively in Canary cooking, so I guess that's a good thing for me. :)  If you are a hater, please step away from the recipe.  This one's not for you. haha

caldo de papas

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Whenever I make this, I just wing it, so the ingredient amounts are approximate, but the soup is very forgiving, so just go with what you have on hand.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, minced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 very ripe tomatoes, seeded and peeled (I didn't even peel them this time, just buzzed them up in the food processor)

5-6 potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons smokey paprika

salt to taste

1 Knorr double boullion cube (I used beef flavor)

1 green pepper (divided)

1 bunch cilantro (fairly large, some reserved for garnish), tied with kitchen string--the whole stalks

water to cover all vegetables plus another quart or so

1/2 cup rice (short grain)

Preparation:

Heat oil in a large stock pot, and sautee garlic, onion and tomato until onions are translucent.

Add potatoes, paprika and season with salt.

Stir around over medium high heat for a few minutes, then add water, boullion, 1/2 of the green pepper and cilantro.

Bring to a rolling boil, then cover and reduce heat to low.

Cook for about 30 minutes on low, then add rice and cook another 30-45 minutes.

Remove the half green pepper and cilantro stalks.

Adjust salt.

Garnish soup with chopped green pepper and cilantro leaves.

More Canary food! :)  This recipe is my mother in law's, she makes thee best "Pata" around.  Tender, juicy, and a hint of spice around the edges.  She gets it nice and crispy on the outside too, which for some reason, I can't seem to manage, but nonetheless the flavor is out of this world.  "Pata" is normally served very thinly sliced on baguettes with a bit of salt sprinkled on, and can be either a breakfast or a main meal when served with fries and a salad.

cortado

Ingredients:

3 lbs pork sirloin roast (bone in, the roast should have a fair amount of fat on top) 

1/4 cup olive oil 

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika (I like smokey) 

3-4 cloves garlic 

sea salt 

1/2 teaspoon thyme 

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 

2-3 crusty French baguettes, sliced lengthwise 

salt

Preparation: 

Using a mortar and pestle, mash garlic and salt.

Once creamy, add paprika, thyme, oregano, cumin and oil, and combine well.

Rub roast all over with this mixture and let marinate for several hours or overnight.

Place (uncovered) in a  430ºF (225ºC) preheated oven.

After 15-20 minutes, reduce heat to 390ºF (200ºC). 

Bake 1 1/2 hours.

Turn oven off, and allow roast to rest in oven (don't open the door) for an hour more. 

Remove from oven and allow to stand 15 minutes before slicing.

Slice into very thin slices, and serve on crusty baguettes, lightly salted.

bocadillo

One of the things that is found on almost every restaurant and cafeteria menu here in Las Palmas is a plate of Churros de Pescado.  They have a deliciously light and crispy coating, flavored with a bit of garlic and saffron.  Any firm white fish will do for these, whatever is in season or what is available to you.  Serve with lemon wedges and alioli sauce.

Churros de pescado

Ingredients:

3 lbs fish fillets, cut into thin strips 

2 cloves garlic, mashed 

2 tablespoons chopped parsley 

1/2 bottle beer (or carbonated water) 

1 cup flour (about) 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

saffron (about 3-4 threads, toasted and ground, or
yellow food coloring) 

salt 

oil (for frying)

Preparation: 

In a large bowl, whisk together garlic, parsley, beer, flour, baking powder, saffron and salt until smooth.

Heat sunflower oil to medium high heat in a deep frying pan.

While oil is heating, lightly toss fish in batter.

 Fry until golden, (about 2-4 minutes each side, depending on the thickness of the fillet) turning once.

Drain on paper towels and serve with garlic mayo and lemon wedges.

A nice mixed salad goes great with this, too:

Ensalada mixta

I don't know that I really need to post a recipe for this, just toss together whatever salad ingredients you have on hand. ;)

So here in the Canaries, we're known for a couple of different things (apart from Presa Canaria dogs).  Gofio (a toasted ground corn flour), tomatoes, potatoes, avocadoes, various tropical fruits (guava, pineapple), citrus fruits and of course the "plátano canario (canary banana)."  They're a lot smaller than the chiquita bananas in the States, about half of the size, and are much more flavorful.  My kids looooove banana bread, so it is a fairly regular feature on my countertop.  The recipe originally comes from the Pillsbury cookbook, but I have modified it a bit, and the results are a lusciously dense and moist (I hate that word, give me an adjective!) bread.

banana bread

Ingredients:

4-5 very ripe canary bananas (to yield about 2 cups of mashed bananas)

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375º F (175ºC).

Grease a bundt pan with vegetable oil.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Pour in mashed bananas, milk and vanilla and blend well.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

Stir flour mixture into banana mixture by hand-only until dry ingredients are just mixed in.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake approximately 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of bread comes out clean.

Turn baked bread onto a wire rack to cool.

Store tightly covered, or wrapped in plastic wrap.