La Palma has over 1,000 km of footpaths – everything from challenges for fit people to gentle strolls. One of my favourites is the walk along the coast from Charco-Azul to Puerto Espindola, in the municipality of San Andres and Sauces. Charco Azul has salt-water swimming pools, rather like Piscinas la Fajana. At one time, Puerto Espindola was a working port, mostly exporting the agricultural produce of the borough. Now…
Today is Canary Day. Like the national day in most places, it’s an excuse for lots of patriotism. So here’s a picture of some traditional Canarian food – wrinkly potatoes. As you can see, they’re small potatoes, cooked in their skins. Actually they’re boiled in very salty water – you can use sea water – for at least 20 minutes, then allowed to dry with the remaining heat. They…
This is the Rabbit’s Foot Fern Davallia canariensis, which likes to grow in the warmer and damper parts of the island. It particularly likes dry stone walls, barrel-tile roofs and cliffs. As you can see, the name comes from the root, which is very pretty. I believe that the Awara used to make gofio from it, and so did more modern Palmerans when there was nothing better available, although I’m…
Gofio is sort-of cooked flour (you toast the grains before you grind them) and it’s been a staple of the Canarian diet since pre-hispanic times. In principle, you can use just about any grain, although the commonest ones are wheat and maize. In times of famine, there’s even a fern root you can use, although I believe it’s very bitter, and not something you would chose to eat if there…
These tomatoes grow wild on La Palma, and they’re about the size of marbles. The locals call them tomates bicacaros and don’t think much of them, perhaps because people used to eat them when they couldn’t afford anything else. I believe that the only reason they don’t sell for some daft price is that they’ve got very thin skins, so they don’t keep. I have some in my garden, and…
Yams (ñame in Spanish) are a relative of sweet potatoes. They need a lot of water to grow, so they’re only cultivated in Los Sauces and inside the Caldera. You can recognise a yam patch easily, because they have huge leaves shaped like elephants ears. The root has to be boiled for hours, so you usually buy them from the supermarket already cooked.Then, traditionally, you serve them with honey or…