Whilst the arrival of April doesn’t bring any significant changes in the vegetable calendar , it does signal the peak season for Sepia/Cuttlefish, similar to Calamar/Squid, but firmer, and more flavoursome.
And here in the North of Mallorca, this delicious seafood is celebrated annually at Puerto Alcudia ’s “nautical and sepia fair”. Celebrated this year from April 17th – 19th with live music, traditional dances, a boat fair, craft market and restaurants and bars offering cuttlefish based dishes and tapas, it’s well worth a visit and makes for a great day out.
Recipe: Sepia con sobrasada y miel
To me, this recipe expresses Mallorcan cuisine better than most; as it uses completely local ingredients allowing each one to shine individually whilst combining into a surprising and delicious whole dish.
Buy ready cleaned Sepia for this recipe, as you don’t need the ink sack and frankly they are quite a challenge and incredibly messy to deal with.
Don’t cut the Sepia into rounds like you would with a Squid – cut them from top to bottom – this will help to prevent them from forming tight curls when cooking.
You can use the mild or the spicy sobrasada depending on your preference.
Ingredients:
1kg Cleaned Cuttlefish
25 ml Rosemary Honey
200g Sobrasada de Mallorca (it pays to buy good quality – Mallorcan black pig is best)
Olive oil
2 bay leaves
1 Tin chopped tomatoes
1 onion peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic – peeled and chopped
75 ml white wine
Mallorcan sea salt (to taste)
Because cuttlefish cooks quickly, I like to make this in 2 parts – beginning with the sauce so that its flavours have time to develop and the sauce can reduce.
So fry the onions in olive oil, add the bay leaves and the garlic and when the onions are soft pour in the wine and let it bubble for a couple of minutes before adding the tomatoes – simmer for about 10 minutes – add the sobrasada and the honey and set the pan aside.
Heat some olive oil in a clean frying pan. Pat the cuttlefish dry with some kitchen roll and fry it in batches so that the oil doesn’t cool down too much – Fry for about a minute and transfer it to the pan with sauce. When all the cuttlefish is combined, bring the sauce back to a gentle simmer for a couple of minutes and serve with piles of crusty bread and some pickled guindilla chiles – Bon Profit!
La temporada – what’s in season and how to eat it
In addition to the sound ecological reasons for eating fresh local produce, including the use of less fertilizer, and of course a lower carbon footprint due to the huge reduction in energy used for growing, transportation and storage; Local, seasonal foods are fresher, more flavourful and nutritious than foods consumed out of season. Crops matured naturally and picked at peak ripeness are sweeter, fuller flavoured and contain more nutrients than their forced counterparts.
Steve French has been a Chef, restaurateur and food consultant in both the UK and Spain for over 35 years; most recently at Finca49 in Pollença and is currently running cookery experiences in Andalucia (www.finca49.com/experiences)
Finca49 snapshots of summer cookbook is available to buy from www.finca49.com
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