Recipes from the Canary Islands

Here we bring you our favourite recipes from the Canary Islands. All the recipes are suitable for vegetarians, and some for vegans too.

We could easily fill this article with various fish, steak and goat dishes… but those aren’t necessarily restricted to the Canary Islands. We can get fish and goat all over the world (although there is something very special about the simplcity and honest flavours of Canarian cooking).

So, for the purposes of this article, we’re sticking to a small selection that instantly make you think of these sunny islands instead and that (to our knowledge) originated there.

Papas arrugadas

Papas arrugadas translate literally to “little wrinkly dads” but of course we all know that they are simply small wrinkly salty potatoes.

Traditionally, the potatoes were cooked in seawater, but the purposes of hygiene, and because we personally don’t fancy all the manmade nonsense and pollutants from the waters ending up on our dinner plates, we’ll stick to using salted water.

Don’t balk at the amount of salt used in the recipe, most of it cooks off anyway, or is easily scraped on your plate.

I read today that these potatoes, “make an incredible version of the popular Spanish dish, patatas bravas” which is ridiculous. That’s like saying that boiled potatoes are an incredible version of roast potatoes. Erm… no… they’re not comparable.

There are two versions in the link… and of course these are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

• Recipe for papas arrugadas

Mojo verde and mojo rojo

Papas arrugadas are not complete without a pot each of mojo verde and mojo rojo.The former is green and made with either coriander or parsley, whgereas the latter is slightly spicier and made with paprika and red pepper.

Both sauces are very tasty and go well with the following…

• Papas arrugadas
• Fish
• Chicken
• Pork

Ah sod it – I also have them on salad, seafood and pretty much anything I like. Don’t restrict yourselves… enjoy!

Both sauces are suitable for vegetarian and vegans

• Recipe for mojo verde
• Recipe for mojo rojo

Almogrote

Anyone who has visited the Canary Islands will no doubt have tried the papas arrugadas, mojo verde or the mojo rojo. But almogrote is a lesser known treat.

Almogrote is basically a cheese and tomato paste, usually spread liberally on bread or tostadas. However it also comes in a cheese only version, although I wasn’t too keen on that.

The spread/sauce is suitable for vegetarians but not vegans.

Here’s a really quick and easy way to make it.

• Recipe for almogrote

Arehucas con cola recipe

Let’s be honest – we couldn’t have a group of recipes without including something to wash it down with now could we eh?

I am a HUGE fan of Arehucas, a dark rum from the Canary Islands. It is gorgeous served over ice without anything else, but I particularly love it with plenty of ice, Coca Cola (no cheap cola permitted) and a slice of orange. Lovely!

On a recent trip to Almería city, I spotted a bottle of it on a bar’s shelf and of course had to dig in. It’s a refreshing drink, but quite sweet.

It’s so simple but measures vary – so measure it to suit your personal tastebuds.

Huevos Moles

This creamy dessert is seriously easy to make.

The kids will love it – but you can also make it more grown-up with a few tweaks.

Despite it’s creaminess, no milk or cream comes anywhere near it, during the recipe process – it’s all about the eggs.

• Recipe for huevos moles

All the recipes on this page are so very simple to make and even the novice cooks among you can’t get them wrong. Trust me – if I can make them successfully, anyone can!

Gofio recipes

The more attentive among you may have spotted that we haven’t included a single recipe using “gofio” which is the base of many recipes from the Canary islands.

There’s a reason for that – we think it’s the Devil’s seed and we are yet to taste anything remotely edible made with it.

That being said – you may well disagree. So persuade us… share your favourite gofio recipes in the comments below and try to change our minds.

Other recipes from the Canary Islands

Have we missed your favourites? Share them in the comments below. You may also wish to share your favourite restaurant memories with us too.

Coming soon to this site are rapaduras, jareado, sancocho, bienmasabes, torta vilana… and more!

Elle Draper

Elle, along with Alan, is the owner of Spain Buddy and the busy web design business - Gandy-Draper. Born a "Norverner", she then spent most of her life "Dann Saff" before moving to Spain in 2006. Elle's loves are Alan, the internet, their three bouncing dogs, good food, and dry white wine - although not necessarily in that order.