Balearic Spanish
Ensaïmada and sobrassada: Mallorcan staples.
Ensaïmada
A coiled, lard-laminated Mallorcan pastry dusted with sugar.
View page →The Balearic Islands — Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza — cook with a Mediterranean accent all their own. Mallorca's two icons are built on pork lard: the soft, spreadable paprika sausage sobrassada and the coiled, sugar-dusted pastry ensaïmada. Vegetables shine in tumbet, a layered casserole of fried potato, aubergine, and pepper under tomato sauce, and in the open vegetable flatbread coca de trampó. From Menorca comes caldereta de llagosta, a spiny-lobster stew that is the islands' great luxury, while the soupy arròs brut simmers game and offal with warm spices. It is island food — rich, unhurried, and shaped by the sea.
The Palate
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A spiral of lard-laminated dough proved slowly and baked, dusted with icing sugar; eaten for breakfast across Mallorca.
Why start here · Mallorca's most famous bake (PGI) — the sweet face of the islands.
A soft, spreadable cured pork sausage stained orange-red with sweet pimentón; eaten raw on bread or melted into dishes.
Why start here · The savory island icon (PGI), unlike any mainland chorizo.
Layers of fried potato, aubergine, and red pepper baked under tomato sauce — Mallorca's summer-vegetable casserole.
Why start here · The islands' garden cooking alongside the famous pork.
The Pantry
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Vegetables
Fruits
Herbs & Spices
Sauces & Condiments
How They Cook
Techniques that define this cuisine
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Other regions
Siblings within Spanish — each its own tradition.
