Wines, mushrooms and autumn markets
To really get to know a destination like Mallorca or Menorca, its people, its culture and its traditions there is no better way than to make a gastronomic escape in the autumn. The Balearic Islands are a place full of local aromas and flavours and their markets and their cuisines provide a new world to discover. Today we are going to talk a little about all that they can offer us at this time of year, when the official summer holiday ends and autumn begins to smell like the start of winter.
The wines are our first stop on this delicious trip. Although the harvest has been completed weeks ago, there is still much to see in the wineries: the whole process of harvesting gives way to the selection and working of the grapes to obtain some of the best wines that can be found in the Mediterranean.
In the Binissalem area, for example, you can enjoy all the tradition of the vintage - which here is called vermar - with routes through the different wineries and trying the typical dish of the season: fideus de vermar. In this area there are more than a dozen wineries, among which the stand out ones are: Celler Tianna Negre, Biniagual Winery, Celler Sebastià Pastor, Celler Can Ramis, Antonio Nadal and José Luis Ferrer.
The second phase of the trip is to learn how they use the mushrooms in the kitchen here in Mallorcan cuisine. Although it is not very well known, the reality is that many traditional and typical winter dishes in Mallorca and Menorca include mushrooms as main ingredient or as a side.
The most common are the gírgolas and esclatasangs, which can be found on the menus of almost any decent regional food restaurant. They are usually indispensable in recipes like arròs brut and are also often served as an entree, grilled or stewed in sauce.
To buy the mushrooms and, of course, the wines, there is no better way than to go directly to one of the many farmer's markets that are organised throughout the week in different villages on the islands. In Mallorca, the most famous are the Inca, Mancor de la Vall, or Alcudia. Also in the capital, Palma, you can try municipal markets such as Pere Garau, where in addition to the official stalls, outside the farmers are placed every Saturday morning to offer their produce. In Menorca, in Mahón, Ferreries, Alaior ... The produce is always of the highest quality and many bars and restaurants in the vicinity use them in their dishes daily, which makes them highly recommended.
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