"Ehhh... Gringo"

Ola
It was hot in Mallorca - damn hot!

Luckily we found a safe haven to escape the onerous responsibilities of sunbathing and pool dipping with the beautiful ones to sample local life in all its wonderous Spanish glory.

Strong coffee, ice cold beer, greasy tapas and a surly barman who secretly welcomed our custom but wouldn't admit it.

We have put on vast amounts of tonnage due to the daily meat and beer fests we have been enjoying. We both agree that the quailty of restaurants is extraordinarily fine and not for the faint hearted.

Not only have we enjoyed the culinary highs of the area but have only had the ubiquitous 'French fries' twice.

So watch this space for our top dining tips .... and in the meantime here are some random pics to be going on with.

The favourite tipple of O Taylor esq.

For the last week of our summer sojourn we were fortunate to have the opportunity to enjoy the good company of  O Taylor esq. who is fast becoming an honorary funbuser with his pithy but witty comments and all round fine demeanour (he was with us at Worthy farm and guest appears on the blog incognito behind white sunnies). 

Anyway it would be only fair to say that he has a healthy prediliction for garlic and in particular Aioli

So for the Honourable O Taylor esq the funbus imparts the following insights ... 

Aioli or Allioli (Fr.: Aioli, from the Occitan and Catalan all i oli, garlic and oil) is a native of the Mediterranean cold cream, which consists primarily of garlic (all), olive (oli) and salt.

In the classic aioli, which consist only of garlic (as an emulsifier) and oil, garlic cloves are crushed finely in a wooden mortar (usually olive wood) and then the oil is added in a thin stream with constant stirring with the pestle until a thick, creamy paste is formed.

The preparation of aioli in this way can take 20 minutes and requires patience. If the oil is added too quickly the emulsion will separate and the mixture will form into clots. 

 

If prepared according to the original recipe, Aioli has a high content of garlic, the sauce is very sharp and is served separately in small bowls.

The recipe was first discovered in writing in 1024, but it is probably much older. the original aioli recipe has received refinements and additions and numerous variants over the years. The best known is the version from Mahon (Mahon Spanish) in Menorca. This Mayonnaise ("originating from Mahon") was circulated over the world by the French and forms the basis for a variety of other cold sauces.

Aioli is a typical Provencal dish. Formerly a poor man's food, it is now offered as a delicacy, served with steamed potatoes, carrots and green beans and fish fillet and sea snails and a classical dish with cod fish. All served with the above mentioned aioli sauce.

Pa amb oli (bread and oil) is a typical Majorcan dish. It is eaten at breakfast or simply served as an appetizer in between. It was previously considered a poor man’s food. There are many variants, such as pa amb oli with ham and cheese.

.....ENJOY