Like a Local: Taste Your Way Through Ibiza

Ibizan cuisine is based on seasonal, local ingredients which tend to be combined in “one-pot” meals such as paella and fish and meat stews. Although seafood remains a staple of their cuisine, meat dishes, commonly made with chicken, pork or lamb, are also popular. Herbs abound on Ibiza and appear (in some form) in almost all the dishes listed here. Mint, rosemary, thyme and lemon verbena along with olives, garlic, tomatoes, potatoes and onions (both wild and cultivated) add depth to the various dishes Ibizans love.

The following is a list of some of the dishes typical of the island.

Allioli (a mixture of garlic and olive oil) is ubiquitous on tables in most restaurants and is often served with a dense bread called “pa pages.”

Tortilla de patata (Spanish omelet) is popular as are grilled sardines which are best enjoyed with a glass of wine at one of the many eating establishments on Ibiza’s beaches.

Sofrit Pagès and Arros de Matanca (or Arroz de Matanzas) are both meat-based stews. Arroz de Matanzas (as the name suggests) is made with rice, mushrooms and meat (pork is the most common). Sofrit is a heavy meat and potatoes dish including either sobrasada or butifarra (popular Ibizan sausages) in addition to the pork.

Not surprisingly, many dishes are made using local seafood. Zarzuelo de Mariscos is a seafood stew made with shellfish in a saffron-flavored broth. It often includes mussels, crab, scallops and prawns as well as squid and other fish. Bullit de Peix (boiled fish) is another stew using tomatoes, potatoes, garlic and saffron. Parrillada de Pescada (mixed seafood grill) consists of some if not all of the following; bacalao (cod), mero (grouper), rodaballo (turbot), prawns, squid, lobster and octopus.

As in Spain, you will find paella and empanadas as well as a type of custard flan called “flaó” that dates back to the thirteenth century and has been referred to as the Ibizan version of a cheesecake.

Whatever your preference you are sure to find something to your taste. End your meal, like the Ibizans do, with a glass of Frigola, an Ibizan herbal liqueur, which makes an excellent digestif.