Balearic cuisine facts for kids
The Balearic Islands are a group of islands in Spain, located in the Mediterranean Sea. The food from these islands is called Balearic cuisine. It's a type of Mediterranean cuisine because it uses many fresh ingredients found around the Mediterranean.
Many people think Balearic food is part of Catalan cuisine because it shares dishes with Catalonia and the Valencian Community. Others see it as part of the bigger Spanish cuisine.
Balearic food is known for being healthy. It uses lots of vegetables, cereals, and legumes (like beans and lentils). It's also usually low in fats. Some popular dishes include ensaimades, seafood and vegetable stews, sobrassada sausage, coques (flatbreads), tombet (a vegetable dish), Maó cheese, and local wine.
Contents
Delicious Baked Goods and Sweets
The Balearic Islands have many tasty baked goods, both sweet and savory.
- Unsalted Bread: Many traditional dishes use bread that doesn't have salt.
- Ensaïmada: This is a famous spiral-shaped pastry. It's made with lard (a type of fat) and sprinkled with powdered sugar. It's often eaten for breakfast or as a snack.
- Flaó: A sweet tart made with cottage cheese. The recipe includes eggs, cottage cheese, sugar, and sometimes mint. The mix of savory and sweet flavors might come from the islands' Islamic past.
- Coca: This is like Italian pizza but usually doesn't have cheese. Majorcan coques often have julivert (parsley), pebres torrats (roasted peppers), or trempó (tomato, green pepper, and onion salad).
- Easter Treats:
- Panades: These are small pastries filled with lamb and peas.
- Robiol: A pastry filled with cottage cheese or jam.
- Crespell: A type of biscuit from Mallorca.
Fresh Vegetable Dishes
Vegetables are a very important part of Balearic cooking. They are often used in simple, healthy dishes.
- Tombet: This dish is made by frying courgettes, potatoes, eggplant, and red peppers. Then, they are baked in tomato sauce. It's similar to other Mediterranean dishes like ratatouille.
- Fava parada: A creamy dish made from fava beans and other mixed vegetables.
- Trempó: A fresh salad made with pepper, onion, and tomato. It can be eaten on its own, with mussels, or as a topping for coques.
- Sopas mallorquinas: This is a type of soup made with vegetables, broth, and slices of bread.
Meaty Meals
Meat dishes are also popular in the Balearic Islands, especially pork and lamb.
- Sobrassada Sausage: A soft, spreadable sausage made from pork. It's a very famous product from the islands.
- Rostit humit and garrí rostit: These are roasted dishes, often made with lamb or young piglet.
- Auberginies farcides: Eggplants or zucchinis stuffed with minced meat.
- Arroz brut: This means "dirty rice" because of its color. It's a flavorful dish with meat, vegetables, rice, and spices, all cooked in a rich meat broth.
- Arròs de la terra: A dish made with bulgur (cracked wheat) and local specialties like botifarra sausage.
- Macarrons amb grevi: Penne pasta served with a sauce similar to British gravy.
Fresh Fish and Seafood
Being islands, the Balearics have access to lots of fresh fish and seafood.
- Caldera de llagosta: A delicious lobster stew. It's a very special and popular dish.
- Baked Fish: Many types of fish are baked, such as anfós (grouper).
- Arròs de peix: Rice cooked in a fish broth with pieces of fish.
Cooking Fats
- Olive oil: This is the most common fat used in Balearic cooking. It's used much more than butter, even in dishes where other places might use butter, like for fried eggs.
- Mayonnaise: In Catalan, mayonnaise is called all i oli, which means 'garlic and oil'. Some historians believe that mayonnaise was first made in Mahon (Maó), the capital of Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands.
Other Local Specialties
- Mahón cheese: This is a hard cow's milk cheese from Menorca. It's similar to cheeses like Grana Padano or Parmesan.
- Red wines: The islands produce good red wines, especially from the Binissalem and Plà i Llevant areas.
- Escargots: Snails are eaten in a stew that also has meat, potatoes, and fennel. Sometimes, snails are even added to paella.
See also
In Spanish: Gastronomía de Baleares para niños
