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Canarian food
Apart from the locals, not many people know a lot about Canarian food. If you ask a person on the street, they will most likely tell you that it is similar to Spanish cuisine, but that’s about it. I completely fell into that category, too. I knew that Canarian people ate paella – but that was all I knew! That all changed during my recent trip around Tenerife and the Canary Islands, not only did I learn to appreciate the local gastronomy, but I even learned to make a few dishes of my own from scratch.
Mojo sauces
The place where I really fell in love with Canarian food was in a quaint restaurant in La Caleta – a small, traditional fishing village. This restaurant overlooks the sea and has plenty of seating outdoors where I chose to eat whilst I soaked up the sunshine. The menu was teeming with all sorts of fish and seafood – all of which was fresh and caught locally, the waitress assured me. I couldn’t decide on one dish so I opted for the mixed platter with a side of Canarian potatoes and mojo sauces.
Fish platter at La Caleta
After taking a few sips from my glass of rosé and gazing out to sea, what can only be described as a coastal gastronomic delight was brought to my table. The large metal plate was overflowing with all sorts of tempting eats, including deep-fried calamari, sardines, king prawns, mussels and several types of white fish. To this day, I have never forgotten the divine aroma of the platter alongside the salty smell of the sea and I don’t think I ever will.
Because Tenerife is a small island surrounded by coastline, many of the restaurants serve seafood and El Mirador in Los Abrigos is no exception. Similar to the restaurant in La Caleta, El Mirador is also located on the coast and boasts stunning sea vistas – in fact, ‘El Mirador’ actually means ‘The Viewpoint’ in English.
El Mirador, Tenerife
Fresh fish and seafood
What really made this restaurant stand out for me was being able to select the exact fish from the counter and decide how I wanted the chef to cook it for me. I was checking out the fish on offer when I spotted a large lobster tank with a number of live lobsters to choose from in the corner of the restaurant.
I’d never had lobster before and ordered the largest one in the spur of the moment. I thought it would take a long time to cook, but it felt like I was digging in to the most juicy and succulent dish I have ever eaten in my life in just a matter of minutes after I picked it. The lobster was also served alongside a portion of Canarian potatoes, mojo sauces and homemade garlic butter which made the lobster taste even better.
Learning how to cook Canarian
Before I left the restaurant I had already decided that I wanted to start learning how to cook Canarian food, but I wanted to start simple – I wasn’t going to attempt lobster! When I was paying my bill, I asked the waitress if it would be okay to have a quick word with the chef – she said it was his lunch break and he would be more than happy to speak to me.
I was led onto the terrace and sat down with the chef who was full of smiles and offered me a glass of wine on the house whilst we discussed Canarian food. I told him I wanted to start off simple, so he suggested that I tackle Canarian potatoes and the ever-loved mojo sauces.
Canarian Potatoes with Mojo Sauce
He gave me his favourite recipe which I have been using ever since. If you’d like to have a go at making Canarian potatoes and mojo sauces, follow this recipe to make one portion of potatoes and two large jars of the sauces:
- 4-5 very small potatoes
- 2 cups water
- 5 tablespoons sea salt
- Place the water into a saucepan and bring to the boil over a high heat.
- Whilst you’re waiting, clean each of the potatoes and leave their skins on.
- When the water starts to boil, stir in the salt and turn the heat down to
- medium-high.
- Place the potatoes into the saucepan and leave for around 25 minutes or until
- fully cooked.
- Drain the water and turn off the heat.
- Leave the potatoes in the saucepan and place it back on the stove to dry the
- potatoes for a minute or two.
- The potatoes are ready when the skins have shrivelled and they’ve turned a
- salty grey colour.
- 2 large green bell peppers, chopped
- ½ cup fresh coriander, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried cumin
- 1 slice bread, torn into small pieces
- Place all the ingredients into the blender and process until smooth.
- Store in the fridge in a sterilised jar.
- 2 large red bell peppers, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 small chillies, chopped
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried cumin
- 1 slice bread, torn into small pieces
- Place all the ingredients into the blender and process until smooth.
- Store in the fridge in a sterilised jar.
Katie is a food and travel blogger and writes over at delightso.me. Now she’s started to learn how to cook Canarian food, she’s always on the lookout for books with authentic Spanish recipes so she can recreate the fantastic flavours she experienced during her travels.
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