If you plan a holiday on the volcano island, you should know in advance some of the typical food dishes of Lanzarote that you will find on the menus of many local restaurants.
Gastronomy in Lanzarote is a reflection of its nature, traditional in its elaborations, and based on the raw material that comes out of the ocean and the land.
From there, a wide variety of dishes are made with fresh and healthy ingredients, fruits of a temperate climate, and the volcanic land of Lanzarote. In addition, many of its handcrafted products are under Protected Designation of Origin, such as some of its cheeses and wines.
Between the agriculture products of Lanzarote, the onions, sweet potatoes, potatoes, lentils, and pumpkins, as well as millet or corn, are especially famous. Wrinkled potatoes (papas arrugadas) with mojo picón are perhaps the best-known dish on the islands, along with escaldón, a dish made from gofio and fish broth. You can taste them in a wide range of restaurants specializing in Canarian cuisine, as well as other typical dishes: ropa vieja, casseroles, sancocho, carajacas…
Wheat and millet are especially relevant in Canarian cuisine since they are used to make the ancient Canarian gofio, used as an ingredient in countless recipes.
Likewise, the sea that surrounds Lanzarote offers excellent and varied fish every day, brought in every morning by small coasting boats. Highly demanded varieties stand out, such as Vieja, sea bass, and the Corvina.
Goat meat is consumed on the islands in different ways. In important celebrations, such as Christmas, traditionally fried kid – called baifo on the Canary islands – is served. In addition, in Lanzarote, exquisite goat cheeses are made, some of them hand-made or produced in industrial-type dairies.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the elaboration of traditional desserts, such as French toast, Bienmesabe, Truchas (kind of sweet dumplings), or frangollo.
The best accompaniment for island gastronomy is made up of the well-known wines of Lanzarote, which is under Protected Designation of Origin, especially the Malvasia wine should be mentioned.
Here are some of the most typical dishes of Lanzarote:
1.- Wrinkled potatoes with mojo sauce
If there is a typical food of Lanzarote in particular and of the Canary Islands in general that you should know, it is wrinkled potatoes with mojo. This dish has simple but fundamental ingredients in the Canarian diet: potatoes had been imported from America and began to be cultivated in the volcanic soil of the islands.
The “wrinkled” potatoes get their name because they are cooked with skin and sea salt; when they are cooked, the skin wrinkles. Do not peel them, they are eaten with the skin!
The sauce that accompanies the wrinkled potatoes – the mojo – is prepared with just a few ingredients: olive oil, parsley or sweet pepper, garlic, cilantro, and salt. All ingredients are ground in a mortar or with the help of a hand mixer. If you love intense, spicy flavors, mojo is your sauce! Many restaurants are adding mojo to non-traditional dishes like hot dogs and pizzas, with amazing results.
2.- Fresh fish
Fresh fish is an essential part of the traditional cuisine of Lanzarote. A multitude of fish await you on your trip over the island: sama, tuna, hake, sea bass, Vieja, and moray eel are some of the most traditional fish, which are served, as expected, with mojo picón and wrinkled potatoes. Usually, these types of fish are served grilled, baked, or fried.
3.- Grilled octopus and limpets
Being a region surrounded by the sea, a lot of seafood is consumed on the Canary Islands. In Lanzarote, a typical delicacy from the sea is lapas, small marine mollusks – cooked with garlic, parsley, salt, olive oil, and white wine, they are delicious!
4.- Marinated tuna
The coast of Lanzarote has a good number of fish species, and tuna should not be missing. A typical dish from Lanzarote that includes this fish is marinated tuna, which is pickled and cooked with a mixture made from garlic, pepper, bay leaf, paprika, oil, thyme, oregano, vinegar, and salt. This mixture of ingredients results in a very rich and diverse aroma that combines perfectly with the juicy meat of the tuna.
5.- Bienmesabe
Bienmesabe is a sweet cream added to a multitude of Canarian desserts. It is very sweet and is prepared with almonds, egg, sugar, and lemon. In Lanzarote usually, it is served with ice cream, so don’t miss the opportunity to taste it!
6.- Canarian gofio
Gofio is an iconic food of the Canary Islands and with a very ancient origin. Its history dates back to the times before the Spanish conquested the islands: the Canarian aborigines cultivated cereals, whose grains were roasted and then ground, creating a kind of flour that they called gofio.
Nowadays, the canaries still use gofio in many ways: pure, mixed with milk; added to many desserts; in form of a paste, or mixed with fish broth (scalded gofio). One suggestion: if they have gofio mousse on the dessert menu, don’t hesitate to ask for it!
Other dishes:
The stews made, especially with vegetables and legumes, include the Canarian stew (puchero canario) and the wheat and millet stew. Stews with meat, legumes, and vegetables are also traditional dishes such as ribs and pineapples. Among the meats, the goat meat, the fried rabbit, and the marinated pork meat (party meat) are special dishes.
The best restaurants in Lanzarote
Choosing a good place for lunch or dinner is not always an easy task. We from Hoopoe Villas provide you with a selection of restaurants to enjoy the best cuisine in the most charming places on the island. You can taste fresh fish or a good piece of meat overviewing the Atlantic while you enjoy the wines of Lanzarote.
