Ironically, it is on Tenerife, the most touristed and cosmopolitan of the islands, where there are the most restaurants proudly serving Canarian cuisine. The reason has much to do with current food trends. While other islands are still trying to make travelers feel comfortable with foods of their homelands, Tenerife has grown to realize that the modern traveler wants to sample local cuisines. The number of places advertising typical Canarian foods shows this new awareness of local food traditions.
Chefs Use Fresh Local Ingredients
Chefs on Tenerife have long appreciated the ingredients produced by local farms, dairies and vineyards. They may not yet use the word ‘localvore’ to describe it, but, the concept of using local products in traditional ways was popular here long before it became fashionable.
That’s not to say that Tenerife doesn’t offer a full range of “exotic” dining, from Italian to German to Peruvian to Irish pub food. The array of international styles found at resort restaurants is astonishing, but it would be a shame not to sample all the local specialties in a typical Canarian restaurant.
Appetizers and Tapas Favorites
Canarian food is rarely pretentious or elegantly presented. Appetizers will always include the best known Canarian dish, papas arrugadas. These small boiled potatoes are coated in a salty crust, and served with two sauces called mojos. A red one, which varies in “heat” factor, is made of red peppers and the milder green one is made of cilantro leaves.
Another favorite is shrimp sizzling in olive oil and garlic, served in a terra-cotta tapas dish. Look, too, for pimientos padron – small intensely flavored green peppers that are fried and sprinkled with sea salt. While most of these are sweet, an occasional hot one lends an air of excitement. These three dishes can be found in most restaurants, even in tourist areas.
Seafood Fresh from the AtlanticFresh fish is almost always on the menu – after all, the islands sit in the Atlantic Ocean – and may be a bewildering assortment whose names are untranslatable. If in doubt, ask to see the fish. These are most often served fried or grilled, and in general, local chefs are at their very best with grilled white fish, although shrimp and mussels are also excellent.Pork and chicken are always offered, but rabbit and goat are also common in traditional restaurants. Meats are usually served as chops or cutlets, and in various savory stews.
Soups and stews are the most typical Canarian meals. Potaje has only vegetables; rancho canario has meat, and puchero has even more meat. A staple food of the Guanches – the island residents before the Spanish conquest – is gofio, a mixed grain once eaten as bread, and still used to thicken stews. Another common stew is garbanzo compuesto (chick-pea stew with meat), often available as a first course.
Except in Santa Cruz and other cities, most restaurants serve both full meals and light lunches – travelers can get a hearty meal at midday or in the evening, and can also get a sandwich, salad or light meal of tapas (often called “entradas” here) for lunch.
Canarians are casual about what customers are expected to order at any time of day, happily serving several starters in place of a main course in the evening. More formal resort restaurants tend to be less flexible, but small independent restaurants still think customers should be able to eat what they want, when they want.
