Tips for a perfect Pa amb Oli


By Cuixot de Porc Negre Mallorquín Date:

Pa amb oli is something so simple and common on the island of Mallorca that it is the most common dish in many Mallorcan homes. That is why when we have a dinner with friends or family, sometimes it is a good idea to prepare a pa amb oli, because it is something simple and easy to prepare. Here are a couple of tips so that a pa amb oli made with care and detail can become a surprising dinner.

The essential elements for a good pa amb oli: Mallorcan bread, ramallet tomatoes and olive oil Mallorcan bread and ramallet tomatoes.

First of all you have to buy a good fresh Mallorcan bread of the day. As we can deduce from the name of the dish, the base of pa amb oli is bread.

For this reason, it is worth buying it from a "forn" that we know makes good bread, with a crusty crust and a crumb that is both dense and juicy, so typical of unsalted Mallorcan bread.

It has to be prepared properly, with olive oil, possibly extra virgin, and authentic Ramallet tomatoes. The Ramallet tomato is a variety of tomato native to Mallorca.

The Ramallet tomato is usually hung to help it keep longer. The tomato has a reddish-orange colour and has the characteristic of containing a lot of pulp. Unlike crushed tomatoes or normal tomatoes, ramallet tomatoes are soggy and do not soften the bread, as soon as they have been hung to ripen.

The low water requirement and the thicker skin make it the perfect tomato to rub and soak the whole slice of bread with its uniquely flavoured flesh. It is often thought that a good pa mabo oli requires a large variety and quantity of sausages so that no one goes hungry.

But this is not so, it is more important to have good quality sausages that leave a good taste in the mouth than an exaggerated quantity.

Good sausages such as Xoriço de Porc Negre Mallorquin, Porc Negre pork loin and Porc Negre salami are a good base of Mallorcan sausages to accompany pa amb oli. Without a doubt, you should not forget a good Majorcan sobrassada and if you want a more gourmet type of sobrassada, such as the products of Cuixot, we recommend the different types of sobrassada and fuet de can company.

I assure you that a pa amb oli with a variety of Mallorcan sausages and cheeses will delight anyone.

Tips for preparing a good pa amb oli

Take the Mallorcan cured meats out of the fridge in good time.

Even the best sausage just taken out of the fridge seems hard.

We advise you to take the vacuum-packed Mallorcan cured meats out of the fridge an hour before dinner and let them acclimatise and come to room temperature, bringing out all their flavours.

The nice thing about taking the sausages out of their packages, as well as allowing them to breathe for a while before using them, is to give diners the chance to nibble while waiting for dinner.

The sausages should be placed on a board in a varied and voluminous way.

I advise you to distribute the sausages in a varied way trying to follow a logic of taste or from the less cured sausage to the most cured like the Cuixot ham.

Try to distribute them on several tables in such a way that everyone can help themselves freely from different parts of the table. On another table follow the same logic with the cheeses, starting with the fresh cheeses up to the more cured ones. The cheeses can be Mallorcan or Iberian, such as Manchego cheese, or European, but it is important that they are good. They should be placed delicately in small pieces or slices so that everyone can easily help themselves to the portion they want to eat.

It is also ideal to place the sausages with volume, so that they can breathe and release their flavours in such a way that it is also easier to pick them up, as sometimes when the slices are removed from the packets they stick together.

The ideal way to prevent this from happening is to separate the slices one by one when arranging them on the trays.

You will see that as well as being easier to pick up, they will also look more inviting.

There are no rules limiting the use of products for a pa amb oli. It can be as different and original as you like. You don't have to limit yourself to just cold meats and cheeses, without getting complicated, because of course a pa amb oli has to be something simple to make, but I am convinced that if you add a few pieces of omelette, some butiffaron croquettes for example, to a board of cold meats, you will enjoy Mallorcan cuisine twice as much.

Complete the dish with a few extras that should not be missed.

Olives, gherkins, spring onions, capers, maritime fonoll. Dried apricots, figs or plums. Pistachios, walnuts, Majorcan almonds, quince jelly and honey. With these extras the pa amb oli will have a whole new flavour and the flavours will combine wonderfully.

BonProfit!