Typical Canarian foods you must try

Sancocho

Sancocho is probably the most typical and well-known dish of Gran Canaria. There are certain variations in how it is prepared on the other Canary Islands. The base of sancocho is salted fish (usually grouper or croaker). After two days in brine and another five days (at least) in salt, it will be ready for consumption after desalting in water. Then, the fish is cooked (sancoched) with chopped potatoes and sweet potatoes, accompanied by parsley, cilantro, and an onion. Served with a good red mojo sauce and kneaded gofio (gofio dough), we have one of the most popular dishes in the Canary Islands.

Watercress Stew

Watercress stew is probably the most important first course in typical Canarian cuisine. Watercress is an aquatic plant from the cabbage family and is also very rich in vitamins and minerals. For its preparation, white beans are first soaked for a day. Then, they are cooked. A mash is prepared with garlic, cumin, a bit of paprika, oil, and salt. Then, it is added to the water where the beans were stewed, along with chopped watercress, a piece of yam, two corn cobs, and a piece of salted meat (such as a pork rib). When the watercress is stewed, peeled and chopped potatoes and a bit of saffron are added. It is also usually accompanied by gofio and Canarian cheese.

Potatoes with Mojo Sauce

In a Canarian meal, potatoes with mojo sauce are a must. There are almost 30 varieties of potatoes in the Canary Islands. We highlight the bonita, black, or red potatoes, ideal for wrinkling. To prepare them, they are placed in a pot and covered with water. A generous amount of coarse salt is added, and they are cooked with the lid on (letting the steam escape). Once they are soft, the water is drained, and they are put back on the fire until the skin is dry and wrinkly. The sauce, mojo, is made with red peppers, a small head of garlic, cumin, oil, vinegar, paprika, and salt. For green mojo, red peppers are replaced with green ones, and a bit of parsley is added.

Rabbit in Salmorejo Sauce

Rabbit in salmorejo sauce is one of the tastiest meat dishes. The chopped rabbit is kept submerged in a marinade (salmorejo [made with oil, garlic, paprika, spicy pepper, cumin, thyme, salt, and vinegar]) for a whole day before preparation. Then, the rabbit pieces are fried in oil before adding the salmorejo until fully cooked. It is usually accompanied by wrinkled potatoes.

Canarian Ropa Vieja

The Ropa Vieja is a dish of chickpeas, beef, and chicken. A broth is prepared (either from stewed or shredded stew). In addition, potatoes, green pepper, tomatoes, onion, and garlic, as well as different seasonings (bay leaf, thyme, oregano, paprika, parsley, oil, and salt) are included.

Goat Meat

Another popular dish among Canarians. The meat requires a long cooking time (between 2 and 4 hours), with two bay leaves and thyme for more flavor. It is recommended to remove the fat from the meat. Then, a sort of stew is prepared with goat meat and a sofrito of garlic, onion, peppers, tomatoes, carrot, bay leaf, saffron, parsley, and wine. It is also accompanied by wrinkled potatoes.

Sharks in Sauce

Tollos are strips of dogfish (or other small sharks) dried in the sun. They need a night of soaking. They are boiled in water to soften them, drained, and cooked in a sauce made from oil, vinegar, garlic, onions, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. They are accompanied by wrinkled potatoes.