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Recipes

Every dish on the menus, written out properly

These are the things I actually cook on this island, with the details most recipes leave out. Cook them yourself, or have me cook them for you.

The basics

Mojo verde Green mojo with coriander and green chilli The green sauce that goes on almost everything in the Canaries. Coriander, garlic and cumin, sharpened with vinegar and loosened with olive oil. Weighed properly, because a bunch of coriander can mean anything from 30 to 50 grams and that is the difference between two very different sauces. Papas arrugadas Salt-wrinkled Canarian potatoes Small potatoes boiled in heavily salted water until the water goes and the skins wrinkle and dust over with salt. Three ingredients, one pan, and the most Canarian thing on any table. The salt is not a seasoning here, it is the method.

Huerta

Charred aubergine, onion, bread Berenjena a la brasa, cebolla, pan A whole aubergine burnt black over flame until it collapses, the smoky flesh drained and dressed and spooned over grilled bread with slow onions. The dish that opens the Huerta menu, and the one people ask about most. Tuna, ponzu, avocado Atún, ponzu, aguacate Local tuna cut to order and dressed at the last moment in a ponzu made with island citrus, over avocado. The cleanest thing on the menu and the one with the least room for error. Canarian black pork belly, apple, carrot Panceta de cerdo negro canario, manzana, zanahoria Belly from the island's black pig, cured overnight, braised until a skewer meets nothing, pressed under weight and then crisped to order. Apple for acidity, carrot cooked in the pork juices for sweetness. Stone bass, green mojo, heritage potato Cherne, mojo verde, papa antigua The most Canarian plate I cook. Cherne with the skin crisped hard and dry, green mojo underneath, and heritage potatoes crushed rather than mashed. Three elements, no sauce reduction, nothing hiding the fish. Torrija de plátano Plantain custard French toast with honey rum Brioche soaked overnight in a plantain custard, coloured in butter, then brûléed so the top cracks under the spoon. The dessert that closes the Huerta menu.

Travesía

Cured parrotfish, tomato dashi, cucumber, green mojo Vieja curada, dashi de tomate, pepino, mojo verde Vieja cured briefly in salt and sugar, sliced thin, and served in a clear tomato dashi poured at the table. Cucumber for crunch, a line of green mojo for the island. Scallop, cauliflower, miso brown butter, lime Vieira, coliflor, beurre noisette de miso, lima Scallops seared hard, on a sieved cauliflower purée, with brown butter whisked with white miso and finished with lime. Sweet, nutty, salty, sharp, in that order. Kid goat, palm honey, star anise, heritage potato Baifo, miel de palma, anís estrellado, papa antigua Shoulder of baifo browned hard, braised for four hours, and finished with palm honey from La Gomera off the heat. Served over crushed heritage potato. The most island-specific thing I cook. Flor de Guía cheesecake, fig, honey Queso de Guía, higo, miel A burnt cheesecake built on queso de Flor de Guía, the sheep's cheese curdled with cardoon flower that only comes from the north of this island. Figs roasted alongside, honey at the end.

Sobremesa

Prawn on focaccia, black garlic, chilli Gamba sobre focaccia, ajo negro, guindilla A single large prawn, cooked hard and fast, on a square of hot focaccia with black garlic butter and chilli. Eaten with the fingers, which is the point of the Sobremesa menu. Beef tartare, cured yolk Tartar de ternera, yema curada Fillet chopped by hand, dressed sharp, with an egg yolk cured in salt and sugar until it grates like a hard cheese. No raw yolk on top, which is the version most people have had. Confit suckling pig, heritage potato, apple, thyme Cochinillo confitado, papa antigua, manzana, tomillo Suckling pig cured overnight, confited in fat at a low temperature until a knife meets nothing, pressed under weight, and the skin crisped separately. The centrepiece of the Sobremesa menu. Beef Wellington, heritage carrot, Madeira, truffle Solomillo Wellington, zanahoria, Madeira, trufa Whole fillet seared, painted with mustard, wrapped in a dry duxelles and crêpes rather than ham, and baked in puff pastry. Madeira sauce, glazed carrots, truffle at the table.

Brasa

Marinated chicken souvlaki Souvlaki de pollo, limón, orégano Thigh meat marinated in lemon, oregano and garlic, threaded tight on skewers and cooked over charcoal. The most-eaten thing on the Brasa menu, by a distance. Spiced lamb and beef kofta Kofta de cordero y ternera, comino, menta Half lamb, half beef, worked until the mixture turns sticky, spiced and shaped around flat skewers. The one thing on the grill that children and grandparents both finish. Korean-marinated pork ribs Costillar de cerdo, gochujang Racks cooked low and slow until the meat gives, then glazed with gochujang and finished over live coals so the edges catch. Sticky, hot, faintly sweet. Homemade burger patty Hamburguesa de la casa Chuck and short rib ground coarse, formed loosely, seasoned only on the outside and cooked over fierce heat. No egg, no breadcrumbs, no onion in the mix. Grilled corn, chilli and lime Maíz a la brasa, guindilla, lima Corn soaked and grilled in its own husk until the leaves blacken, then husked and finished directly over the coals with chilli-lime butter and salty cheese. The cheapest thing on the Brasa menu and usually the first to go.

Media Mañana

Turkish eggs, warm harissa oil, artisan bread Huevos turcos, aceite de harissa, pan artesano Poached eggs on garlic yoghurt brought to body temperature, with harissa butter poured over hot so it runs red into the white. Twelve minutes from a standing start. Avocado, poached egg, seeds, virgin olive oil Aguacate, huevo escalfado, semillas, aceite virgen Avocado crushed with lime and salt on toasted sourdough, a poached egg on top, and a seed mix toasted with cumin. The plainest thing on the brunch menu and the one that has to be perfect. Eggs benedict, smoked salmon, pancetta or spinach Huevos benedictinos, salmón, panceta o espinacas Muffins, poached eggs and a hollandaise made by hand over water, with three toppings so nobody at the table is left out. The dish the brunch menu was built around. French toast, caramelised plantain, mascarpone, maple Torrija, plátano caramelizado, mascarpone, sirope de arce The brunch cousin of the Huerta dessert. Same bread, but a two-minute soak instead of an overnight one, no plantain in the custard, no blowtorch, and cold whipped mascarpone. Buttermilk pancakes, whipped mascarpone, maple Tortitas de suero, mascarpone, sirope de arce Thick American-style pancakes made with buttermilk and rested batter, served in a stack with cold whipped mascarpone and maple. The thing the children ask for.