Gastronomic Easter holidays: teleclubs and island cooking
Welcome to Lanzarote, to an extraordinary territory, deeply connected to its ancestral culture and its tradition of unique, sustainable food. If you are thinking of taking an Easter break with a gastronomic feel, here are the treasures of the Different Island’s land, sea and landscape.
From the seashore to the table
Nothing is as vigorous as the Atlantic that surrounds Lanzarote and La Graciosa with the fruits that it offers us every season: local seafood, such as clacas (our barnacles), limpets or burgaos (winkles); freshly caught Canary Island species, such as Mediterranean parrotfish (a delicacy that is eaten split and on its back), big-eyed seabream, red-banded seabream, comber or the exquisite wreckfish. Don’t miss the La Santa prawn, a delicacy loved by gourmets that can only be enjoyed on the island.
Needless to say, these native species are twice as enjoyable freshly caught and on the very shore of the sea from which they come. Take our advice and order a platter of fish and seafood at one of the seafood restaurants in the village of Las Caletas (Teguise) or those on a breakwater in the village of Arrieta (Haría) or those in El Golfo (Yaiza), which even set up their tables on the volcanic sand of the beach. That’s right, one of Lanzarote’s greatest pleasures is to eat barefoot in front of the immense ocean horizon.
Customs and seafaring life
You might think that in the few days you have for your getaway there won’t be much opportunity to try everything, especially in a place with so much culinary wealth. Well, we’re delighted to tell you that in Lanzarote you can enjoy a complete experience, simply by letting your curiosity get the better of you.
Have you booked a day on La Graciosa? You will see the marvellous biodiversity of the island displayed before your eyes because of the tradition of drying fish by hanging them on ropes in the sun. They’re all freshly caught in a legally controlled manner in a Marine Reserve that has been home to fishing and shell fishing as a way of life for a century and a half. If there is one place where you can savour the island’s legendary fish broth with its corresponding pella (bowl) of scalded gofio or the traditional tollo stew, it is on the eighth Canary Island.
Shopping in Arrecife? Just stroll through the old town, go to the Charco de San Ginés, try the minibocatas of battered fish and enjoy the hustle and bustle of the capital that around here we still call ‘El Puerto’. Its history is linked to the fishing and canning industry, which continues in the area around Marina Lanzarote, now with its own superyacht dry dock
Enjoying a quiet day at the beach in Puerto del Carmen? It’s a great idea to visit the fishermen’s guilds of La Tiñosa, always lively due to their exceptional location in the Varadero square. There’s not one, but two – the original and the modern – with identical quality and different atmospheres, both worth a visit.
The jewels of El Jable
To paraphrase our illustrious resident José Saramago, the possibilities of an island are infinite. This is true of the gastronomy of what is exceptionally fertile land, although the apparent volcanic desolation might indicate otherwise.
Thus, we come to the region of El Jable, a blanket of organic sand that winds its way through the extensive valley between the Risco de Famara and the villages of Soo and Muñique. This unusual landscape has a life of its own and offers an authentic rain-fed delicacy: the batata, a species of sweet potato so sublime that it has become a symbol of traditional cuisine. Without sweet potato it is impossible to conceive of the Canary Island sancocho stew, the Easter dish par excellence, which is usually eaten on Good Friday. Sweet potatoes are also used to make the sweets known as truchas (stuffed pasties).
The harvest from the jable is inexhaustible: pumpkin, papas crías (a potato that is the truffle of the desert), onion, even watermelon and melon. The taste of these products is unparalleled. The best way to savour them in their natural environment is to visit the villages of the region and their teleclubs, which are the heart of social life in the interior of the island. It might seem impossible, but a sweet potato trucha or some papas arrugadas with their respective mojo sauces taste even better on the terrace of a square in Villa de Teguise or San Bartolomé, and a stew of Lanzarote lentils, beans or peas is, if possible, even tastier in any teleclub in the company of the locals, who in many cases are also producers.
We haven’t given up meat
In addition to the culinary delights of Easter, Lanzarote’s immense gastronomic diversity shouldn’t be missed. The restaurants of the Art, Culture and Tourism Centres offer alternative delicacies, such as the cactus burger (with prickly pear, potato, onion and millet) to fool the eye, and also reworked local meats and dishes, such as Canary Island pork confit with banana Parmentier, or in the traditional style: Canary-style goat meat stew. And all of this is accompanied by typical breads, such as pan de millo (corn bread). These recipes, most of which have been reinterpreted by renowned chefs, are now part of the new concept of the island as a top gastronomic destination. If you want to see how successfully this goal has been achieved, let yourself be seduced by the proposals of some of the island’s most daring restaurants.
Magmatic wines
And, of course, if you really want to get to know the essential flavour of this volcanic land, all the delicacies must be accompanied by another treasure: the local wines, recognised since 1994 with the Lanzarote designation of origin and produced from the volcanic malvasía variety. And it is the grape grown in La Geria Protected Landscape itself that rules the mineral and magmatic character of the wines. The Lanzarote grape harvest is the first in the entire northern hemisphere and the earliest variety is listán negro. This is followed by malvasía volcánica, listán blanca, negramoll, diego and muscat of Alexandria. Each has its own ripening point. All achieve excellence in the opinion of the discerning palate, but they also thrill those who, without further pretensions, only wish to celebrate the senses. In island cuisine, this is the same as celebrating life. Cheers!
