A Taste of Majorca

I absolutely love going abroad on holiday and one of the most relaxing holidays that I can remember (apart from weekend breaks with the girls) is staying in a private villa with a pool. Whilst the kids are playing in the pool it's nice to take a break from the sun and come indoors and prepare lunch or dinner and then all sit outside still in your swimwear and eat.  When I was invited to enter a contest along with 9 other bloggers to recreate a local meal that could be cooked whilst in a holiday villa I knew that it was right up my street so couldn't refuse.

I was given Majorca as my holiday destination, where the local foods include olives, almonds, tomatoes and a chorizo type sausage called Sobrasada, to name a few.

When it's hot you don't want to be spending too long in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove so it's good to make something that can be cooked in the oven whilst you're sunbathing, swimming or playing with the kids. I decided to make a dish based on the local side dish 'Tumbet', with the addition of belly pork and Sobrasada to make it into a main, served with 'pa amb oli' - a toasted bread rubbed with garlic, tomato and drizzled with olive oil. I bought my Sobrasada and sweet paprika online from The Tapas Lunch Company who specialise in authentic Spanish food, and also provide next day delivery.

Pork, Vegetable and Sobrasada Bake - serves 5

Olive oil
700g Pork Belly slices, cut into 1-1.5 pieces
1 red onion, sliced
3 cloved of garlic, crushed
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 Aubergine, sliced
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 green pepper, deseeded and sliced
200g Sobrasada, sliced
150g pitted green olives
500g New potatoes, sliced
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
100ml water

• Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the pork belly over a high heat for approx 5 minutes until browned
• Remove the pork from the pan and set aside
• Heat a little more oil in the pan and fry the onion, garlic & 1tsp of Paprika over a low heat for 2-3 minutes
• Remove the pan from the heat
• Using this pan if it's large enough, or a deep ovenproof casserole dish, start to layer everything up - start with the fried onions & garlic, then aubergine, peppers, pork, Sobrasada, olives, potatoes
• Mix the tinned tomatoes with the water & 1 tsp of Paprika and pour over everything
• Place a lid on or cover with tight fitting foil
• Place in a preheated 140C oven for 2 hours 7 then uncover, turn the oven up to 180C and cook for a further 30-40 minutes

Pa amb oli

Bread
garlic clove, sliced in half
large tomato, sliced in hlaf
Olive oil

• Lightly toast slices of bread
• Rub with the cut side of the garlic clove over the bread
• Rub the cut side of the tomato over the bread, squeezing some of the pulp onto the bread
• Drizzle with olive oil

Total cost came in at just under £10, making this a great value meal.

I was reimbursed for the cost of the ingredients