Gathered around the table, the Christmas holidays are synonymous with times shared with the family in front of the most delicious delicacies one can dream of. Just imagining it makes our mouths water! In these lines we tell you about the most traditional ingredients of the typical Christmas dishes on the islands.
We couldn’t start with anything other than Christmas Soup. This time of the year is not the same in Mallorca without this dish of galets that starts off the meal on the 25th of December. Write down the recipe: pasta stuffed with minced meat – filling it with a small spoon is also part of the tradition, as it is a ritual – and cooked in a broth previously prepared over a low heat with free-range chicken, veal bones, turkey legs and shank, as well as vegetables and garden vegetables. At the bottom, to fill the galets – which are usually large – the minced meat is used, previously seasoned with salt and pepper and seasoned with a dash of cognac or sherry wine. An ideal starter to warm body and soul during these recently inaugurated cold winter days. To complete the menu, a good suckling pig awaits you for the main course. And as the icing on the cake, almonds – a product with a protected geographical indication in Mallorca- it is the star of desserts with hard and soft nougat, accompanied by the sweet taste of the wafers and special candied fruit.
Eating at Christmas in Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera
In Menorca, the Christmas menu is made up, first of all, of a warm bullit , made with meat, vegetables, pulses, potatoes and large-sized pasta. And as a second course, a stuffed capon. Here are some tips on how to cook it: In a frying pan with butter, add garlic and fry a generous amount of pork tenderloin. Once golden, cut it into small pieces and mix it in a separate bowl with the hard-boiled eggs, pitted plums, boiled spinach, peeled walnuts, saffron, cooked red peppers and soft cheese. Sprinkle the capon with the juice of one lemon and season with salt and pepper. Now it’s time to put our manual skills to the test by sewing it up with a needle and thread, leaving the top open so that we can stuff it. Once it is done, we will finish sewing it up, sprinkle it with white wine and leave it to rest for two hours in the fridge. As a final touch, add two spoonfuls of butter, chopped potatoes as garnish and the juice of another lemon. Season with salt and pepper and bake in the oven at 180 degrees until golden brown. Anyone for dessert? Pastissets of sugar, lemon, egg, flour and pork fat will melt on your tongue in an explosion of sweetness that will be hard to forget.
Christmas on the Pityusic Islands, Ibiza and Formentera also has its own customs. The dish par excellence is the Salsa de Nadal. A tasty and hearty dessert that has been passed down from generation to generation with its own recipes and which has turned into a competition between families to see who can make the most delicious one: chicken broth, almonds, eggs, sugar, honey, saffron, pepper and cinnamon are its ingredients, accompanied by bescuit, a typical island sponge cake. The flaó – a cake with goat’s and/or sheep’s cheese and mint, an ancient medieval recipe – and the greixonera, an exquisite ensaimada pudding, also shine brightly during these festivities. And to warm up the spirit a little, traditional liqueurs are not to be missed: Ibizan herbs and frígola.
