Local dishes

So you are coming to the Canary Islands and want to try some local dishes? What can you expect?

The people of the Canaries eat well - very often simple food enhanced with their own special touches.

The famous local dish of Canarian wrinkly potatoes (papas arrugadas) are served with mojo sauce - a spicy version in red and a smoother, guacamole-style green sauce.

Typical Canarian dishes are puchero canario (meat and vegetable stew) cabrito (baby goat) estofado (meat stew) conejo (rabbit) potage (lentil and potato soup) and ropa vieja (literally old clothes and traditionally made of left-overs but now a delicious tapas or dish of chick peas and meat.

Fish is a very popular local dish - tuna in season is excellent and is often sold to restaurants on the day by local fishermen - and is served either grilled (a la plancha) breaded (empanado) or filleted (filete). Prawns or langostines are also a regular treat sprinkled in local sea salt.

Meat (carne) can be ordered very rare (vuelta y vuelta) rare (poco hecho) medium (medio hecho) and well done (muy hecho) Local goats cheese is another popular speciality though Canarians tend not to bother too much with dessert.
 

Other items featuring on the menu may include chicken (pollo) pasta (pasta) salads (ensalada) and seafood (mariscos)

The local drink is a honey rum - (ron con miel) and the less sweet brandy Arehucas. Local beer is usually Tropical or Dorada.
 

Coffee and brandy tends to follow most meals - known as carajillo. You can get other spirits served with your coffee but be sure to specify which one you want.
Coffee comes in various forms - a strong expresso is cafe solo but usually comes in a very small cup unless you order a large one (grande) whilea milky coffee is cafe con leche.
 

In the middle is a coffee with a small amount of milk - usually condensed - called cafe cortado. Or try cafe leche y leche - often had instead of a dessert, it is sweet and made of cow's milk and condensed milk.
 

Restaurants are obliged to offer a reasonable tourist menu which should consist of starters (entrantes), main course (platos combinados) and desserts (postres).
 

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