Brocheta de pollo al romero (Rosemary chicken skewers)

Brocheta de pollo al romero (Rosemary chicken skewers)

As the folks at La Laguna Ahora explain, "This recipe is ideal for an informal meal, we saw it in Oliver’s Twist and we could not resist trying it, with a really delicious result. The rosemary chicken skewers are very tasty, prepare a good portion because you are going to love them." We assume they're referring to Oliver’s With A Twist in Los Cristianos, so make this yourself while you wait to get a booking. 

Ingredients: 

3 filleted chicken breasts

12 slices of bacon

1 lemon

1 head of garlic

1 sprig of rosemary

black pepper

olive oil and salt.

Preparation: Start by preparing the marinade, grate the lemon rind without reaching pith, de-leaf the rosemary, peel the garlic cloves and put all the ingredients in a large mortar, add black pepper and salt and crush well. Add olive oil and mix well.

Cut the breast fillets into strips about two fingers wide and place them in the prepared dressing, leave to marinate for a minimum of half an hour.

Cut the bacon slices in half lengthwise. Prepare two or three skewers per person, depending on how much you load them. To do this, take a strip of chicken together with one of bacon, skewer it at one end, fold the chicken and bacon and skewer again. 

Repeat the operation until all the ingredients are used, then, on a grill or griddle, pour a little oil from the marinade and grill them by turning them so that they brown evenly. 

Brocheta de pollo al romero

Pata asada canaria: Canarian roast leg of pork, recipe adapted to the home oven

Canarian roast leg of pork, recipe adapted to the home oven Directo al Paladar

Anyone who has been to the Canary Islands knows one of its most popular dishes, oven-roasted pork leg, similar to the mechá meat of Andalusia but with an unmistakable flavour of spices and aromatic herbs. As this dish is normally made with a whole pork leg, today we are going to make Canarian roast leg, adapting the recipe to the home oven, and to a medium family size (serves 6). Of course, you can adapt the recipe to larger quantities, calculating between fifty minutes and one hour for each kilo of meat. 

Ingredients:

Lean piece of leg of pork 1.2 kg

Fresh rosemary to taste

Coarse salt

Ground black pepper

Black peppercorns

Fine herbs

Extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Start by making diamond-shaped cuts to the skin of the pork leg. Cover the leg with coarse salt and leave it in the fridge for about two hours. After that time, take it out of the fridge, bring it to room temperature and remove the salt.

In a mortar, crush black pepper, fresh rosemary, aromatic herbs and seasonings to your liking. Spread the pork leg with olive oil and paste this mixture of spices on the surface.

Bake for one hour for each kilo of meat at 200º. If using a whole leg or a 3 kg piece for example, protect with aluminium foil after one hour of cooking so that it does not burn. If you use a kilo-odd piece as here, an hour and a quarter is enough, without the need to cover.

Allow the meat cool in the oven once switched off - it will take an hour or more - and then wrap it in aluminium foil and place it in the fridge to cool fully for two hours. 

Canarian roast leg of pork is excellent both cold and hot and can be eaten as an aperitif, as a cold meat, to make sandwiches, and of course also as a main dish, heating it with the juices from the roast and accompanying it with wrinkled potatoes or cooked rice. 

Pata asada canaria, receta adaptada al horno de casa

5 of the best trails with high difficulty

Barranco de Masca (Buenavista del Norte)

Continuing from 6 best hiking trails for the whole family, below are 5 of the best trails with high difficulty, for people capable of hard ascents (that's not us!)

Montaña Blanca-Pico del Teide

This is one of the great routes not only of the National Park, but of the Island. Another of the few trails that require an environmental permit from the Cabildo de Tenerife. Due to the restrictions on the number of permits, you have to request a place with a lot of authorization. In addition, it is necessary to book at the hostel, to make the final ascent to the peak of Teide, the highest point in Spain, at dawn after arrival at these facilities. However, the shelter has been closed for some time, waiting for the Cabildo to decide the award of its management. Starting from the side of the volcano, on the Montaña Blanca track, more than 8.3 kilometres of ascent awaits. Lack of oxygen is one of the factors to take into account. The trail starts at 2,300 meters and goes up to 3,500 meters. That is why it is a route not suitable for those looking for a quiet morning. The peak consists of a constant slope, sometimes more than 60% incline, for 5 hours. But once 3,715 meters are reached - official altitude after the last measurement in 2019 - all the efforts are worth it. If the sky is clear, you can see all the islands.

Masca Ravine (Buenavista del Norte)

The iconic ravine in the south of the island reopened on March 27 after 3 years closed for security reasons. To travel it now you have to ask for permission from the Cabildo, it is forbidden to use the jetty to return by sea - that is, you have to make the ascent back to the Masca hamlet on foot - and to wear a helmet, due to the always latent danger of landslides. One of the main activities that took place at the end of the descent was a boat trip to Los Gigantes in order to avoid the climb on the way back and enjoy the whales that inhabit those waters at the foot of the giant cliffs. Due to the conditions of the jetty, these crossings are currently suspended and the slope must be retraced on foot. During the 10 kilometres of route, the rock walls and the varied vegetation of the ravine will accompany the visitors until they reach the Masca beach and then return to the hamlet. 

Antequera Beach (Anaga)

Leaving the town of Igueste de San Andrés, this route is considered "difficult" by expert mountaineers such as Pedro Millán but "impressive". The trail leads to El Semáforo, an old signalling station for the boats that came to the port of Santa Cruz. Since this track leads to Antequera beach, many hikers choose to organize their return by sea through private services that return them to San Andrés via the Anaga coast. This tour is also aimed at people experienced in hiking, since its high slopes and its steps exposed to the ravine can intimidate less experienced explorers. The terrestrial alternative for the return consists of retracing the road to Igueste again, adding an approximate total of 7 hours to complete the track.

Pico Viejo-Teide

Listed as a route of high difficulty, this trail runs from its beginning at the Parador de Las Cañadas until it ends at the top of the volcano, passing through the famous Pico Viejo crater. The extreme and changing temperatures of the high mountains, such as the altitude and the different slopes make this path a challenge only suitable for experienced mountaineers in search of new challenges. During the 9.3 kilometres that the trail runs, apart from the views offered by the elevated terrain, the Pico Viejo crater awaits. Due to its more than 800 meters in diameter, this location is recognized and is one of the reasons many tourists visit this path.

Afur-Taborno-Palos Hincados (Anaga)

This route through the Barranco de Afur is another of the alternatives to access the beach of Tamadiste, previously mentioned. It is a track of much greater difficulty, travelled by experienced mountaineers and with a length of 10 kilometres. The main difference with its counterpart that passes through Taganana is that it runs through the Palos Hincados section, with areas quite exposed to the void and especially difficult after a humid and rainy winter. It is recommended to make this track circular in the direction that allows access to this section in an ascending direction. The steep slopes and the complexity of certain steps make this trail a challenge not recommended for beginners.

The forbidden trails

A good hiker can never be reckless. But there are bad hikers who, despite the warnings and prohibitions, set out on the most dangerous routes on the island, risking their lives. Two examples are the routes of the Mil Ventanas de Güímar or the Canales de Teno. With roads without any security and in gorges with hundreds of meters of fall into the void, these types of trails have come to claim the lives of unsuspecting people attracted by risk and adventure. “Only very experienced people should go,” defends Humberto Domínguez, president of the Tenerife Mountaineering Federation. "When the last snowfalls occurred in Las Cañadas there were people climbing up wearing shorts or walking shoes," he exclaims, concerned. The problem is that, with the rise of social networks, trails as exotic and spectacular as these go viral and some inexperienced hikers go without being aware of the risk to which they are exposing themselves. Sometimes they have sections that run through private properties. "When people get in, they run the risk of committing crimes and being summonsed for going without the pertinent permits," emphasizes Domínguez. 

Las 11 mejores rutas del paraíso del senderismo en Tenerife

NB: We would point out that we absolutely have not tried any of these.

RIP Canary Islands as volcano erupts?

Montaña Rajada, in El Paso on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain), taken by the Interreg EELabs project camera, from the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (Garafía, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias), looking towards the Caldera de Taburiente and the south of the island.

The worst thing I did the day after the eruption began was read some of the comments (in three languages) alongside La Vanguardia's live reporting of the La Palma eruption. I'll not bore you with the totally irrelevant ones, but one, in Spanish perfectly summarized a lot of them, "erupciona un volcán y salen un montón de locos a anunciar el fin del mundo" (a volcano erupts and a mountain of idiots come out to announce the end of the world). Far from it, but tiny inconveniences like facts aren't going to get in the way of such people's opinions these days.

And one comment, in English, really did say "RIP Canary Islands". [Thumps head against laptop.] Hello! The Canary Islands were formed by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. "The Canary Islands and some seamounts to the north-east form the Canary Volcanic Province whose volcanic history started about 70 million years ago." This eruption isn't going to kill / destroy the Canary Islands.

It won't even change the orography of La Palma. The island ended up a little bit bigger as the lava reached the sea, as it did after the last eruption in 1971. And as Sheila Crosby pointed out, "This is a small volcano, as volcanoes go." 

It was mentioned in the news coverage that some media outlets had been using misleading headlines and, frankly, I'm surprised that the Daily Mail didn't do their usual "Holiday Chaos as Tourists Flee Volcanic Eruption ..." as though throwing themselves into the sea. Or maybe they did, or maybe the 500 tourists who have been evacuated on La Palma were not British enough for them. 

The situation in the area of ​​La Palma affected by the eruption "is devastating", because "a lava flow with an average height of six meters literally eats away homes, infrastructures, crops that it finds on its way to the coast of the valley of Aridane”, explained the president of the Cabildo, Mariano Hernández Zapata.

Of course the material losses are devastating for those who have lost homes, but it should be seen as more of a success than of disaster: people had been prepared and knew about packing their Armageddon-out-of-here bags ^(TM); the experts were able to predict almost to the millimetre where the eruption would occur, and when. It could have been much worse, but was never going to destroy the Canary Islands.

Potaje de berros (Watercress Pottage)

Many and varied are the recipes for Potaje de berros (Watercress Pottage), today we bring you a watercress soup in the style of the populous neighbourhood of Taco.

Ingredients:

500 g of watercress

250 g of beans soaked for 12 hours 

½ kg of potatoes

1 corn cob

1 onion

1 tomato

2 or 3 cloves of garlic

1 green pepper

Saffron

Oil

Salt

Gofio

Method:

1. Put water on to boil in a large pan and add the soaked beans. When they start to boil, “frighten” them with cold water. (To quickly bring the pan down to a simmer?)

2. Add the well-chopped watercress and the corn cob, which is usually cut into slices.

3. Let cook for 1 hour and then add the potatoes, in not too small pieces so that they do not fall apart. Add the onion, pepper and tomato, all cut up. Finally add the crushed or sliced ​​garlic cloves, along with a drizzle of oil and a little saffron and salt.

4. Leave it on the heat for about 30 minutes more until all the ingredients are well cooked.

5. Remove from the heat and rest a little before serving. Serve with Escaldón de gofio.

Potaje de berros al estilo de Taco

La Rambla de Santa Cruz

Rambla de Santa Cruz Koppchen, CC BY 3.0

La Rambla was ordered to be built by Captain General Gerónimo de Benavente y Quiñones, to show off his brand new horse carriage, the first to arrive in Tenerife.

The Rambla de Santa Cruz had its origin in the section between the Camino de los Campos (Jose Naveiras street) and Santa Rita street (Viera y Clavijo) when, in 1661, it was ordered to be built by Captain General Gerónimo de Benavente and Quiñones, in order for him to be able to show off his brand new horse carriage, the first to arrive in Tenerife, which is why it was known as Paseo de los Coches (literally Ride of Cars). Captain General Jaime Ortega expanded it in 1854, resulting in a beautiful three-lane avenue, in which 336 trees were planted in its central part. The City Council, in gratitude, then named it Paseo de Ortega.

Plaza de la Paz Santa Cruz de Tenerife Mataparda, CC BY 3.0

In 1917 the section called Rambla XI de Febrero was inaugurated, which ran from the Mandillo bridge Plaza de Toros (Santa Cruz Bullring) to the Cuatro Caminos Plaza de la Paz. Starting from the Plaza de la Paz, a name that commemorates the end of the Great War, the Rambla continued south, along the so-called Camino de la Costa, where the current avenues of La Asunción (1924) and Reyes Católicos would be formed (1932).

On June 23, 1924, the section that ran from Viera y Clavijo Street to the Plaza de Toros, the City Council agreed to name it Marcos Peraza –Mayor of Santa Cruz in 1912– and Rambla de Isabel II, from Viera y Clavijo to Almeyda.

It would be on October 5, 1936 when the route that runs from the Plaza de la Paz to Calle Doctor Naveiras, was called Rambla del General Franco.

In April 1940, the section that runs from Calle Doctor Naveiras to Calle San Isidro was added and, the following year, it would continue to link it with the San Andrés highway, now Avenida Francisco La Roche. The Rambla de Santa Cruz, as it has been named since 2008 (in accordance with the Ley de la Memoria Histórica (Historical Memory Law), is the city's diagonal road for two kilometers. It has four lanes for traffic, two in each direction, and a central pedestrian promenade, lined with Indian laurels, Lebanese bananas, flamboyants (Framboyán de Madagascar Delonix regia) and palm trees, as well as flower beds adorned with seasonal flowers.

Strolling through it we can enjoy the sculptures that were on display after the 1973 International Exhibition of Outdoor Sculpture in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, as well as the palaces in the district of Los Hoteles, luxurious hotels, etc.

The place chosen by the families to stroll on Sundays and holidays and as a place of social gatherings of retirees Koppchen, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Each section of La Rambla has its own characteristics: from the Plaza de la Paz to the Plaza de Toros, has always been the place chosen by the families to stroll on Sundays and holidays and as a place of social gatherings of retirees.

Emblematic places such as the path that runs parallel to the Parque García Sanabria (García Sanabria park), from José Naveiras street to Numancia street, where eighteen huge clay pots were placed to be used as pots for climbing plants and the popular slang has called Rambla de las Tinajas (Tinajas = Jars).

A place for couples in love to walk Koppchen, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Others, due to their calm and peaceful nature, have been a place for couples in love to walk, as well as for rest and relaxation.

La Rambla also has its meeting point, located at the intersection with Viera y Clavijo street. This place is known as La Estatua (The Statue), because it was the first public representation of a person who settled in the streets of this city, and for many years it would be the only one. The Statue pays tribute to the heroic Infantry Captain Diego Fernández Ortega, a native of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, who died on January 5, 1915, in the war in Africa. His heroic behaviour was so admired by his comrades in arms that to immortalize his figure they opened a subscription and erected this monument, giving it to his hometown on July 25, 1915. Made by the sculptor Enrique Cuartero y Huerta, on its pedestal there are inscriptions with the feats that led to successive promotions and decorations because, at the time of his death, at 26 years of age, he was in possession of seven medals, including the First Class Cross of Military Merit with a red badge and the First Class Cross of the Order of María Cristina, awarded posthumously. 

La Rambla de Santa Cruz

Goslar Warrior - Henry Moore with La Estatua (The Statue)

The 11 Best Recipes of Canarian Cuisine

Las papas arrugás con mojo, probably so typical it's become stereotypical

Every list of the "best" of something is bound to be highly subjective. This, therefore, is probably more accurately a list of eleven of the most typical dishes of the Canary Islands, which is nowhere near as seductive as headlines go, but still not to be missed. But I agree that the Canary Islands have exquisite ingredients such as its cheeses, its wines and its fish, indigenous and exclusive products such as gofio and its sauces or mojos that make gastronomy one of the attractions of any visit to the fortunate islands. 

1. Papas arrugadas con mojo (Wrinkled potatoes with mojo)

Papas arrugadas is perhaps the best known dish in the Canaries. Cooked potatoes that are saturated with salt - originally it was sea water - to make the skin wrinkle. They are eaten hot with the skin, dipping the potatoes in the green or red mojo or spicy, mojo picón. A true exaltation of a humble ingredient such as potato to make a dish of authentic luxury. 

2. Sancocho Canario (Canarian Fish Stew)

Sancocho Canario is usually eaten at Easter and is a traditional dish on the island of Gran Canaria, although it can be eaten on the other islands. It is a fish elaboration - it is usually cherne (stone bass or bass groper), sea bass or salted sea bass - that is consumed with potatoes, sweet potatoes, mojo and gofio forming a pella or loaf.

3. Conejo en salmorejo (Rabbit in salmorejo)

Conejo en salmorejo (rabbit in salmorejo) is a tasty stew with a powerful flavour, which is eaten accompanied by wrinkled potatoes and is enjoyed with the wines of Tenerife.

4. Queso asado canario con mojos (Canarian grilled cheese with mojos)

Canarian cheeses, mainly made with goat's milk, are tasty, creamy and with a powerful flavour. One of the most peculiar ways to enjoy them is roasted on the griddle (or oven tray), served with the different mojos that are common on the island. (Personally, I prefer the version with the contrasts of spicy mojo picón and sweet miel de palma.)

5. Carne de cabra compuesta (Goat meat stew)

Carne de cabra (Goat meat stew) is a popular dish on the islands of Fuerteventura, Gomera, Hierro and Tenerife. 

6. Potaje de Berros (Watercress Pottage)

Watercress pottage is a Canarian dish, from popular cuisine. It is a simple and inexpensive dish, based on cooking vegetables with pieces of meat or pork ribs (although I've had many a vegetarian version too), with abundant watercress leaves and beans. 

7. Pata asada canaria (Roast leg of pork)

Pata asada is a way of preparing pork - usually the leg or ham - that achieves a meat with a delicious texture. Although it can be eaten as a cold meat, in a similar way to ham, it's usual to serve this meat cut into slices and accompanied by a sauce, like any other roast.

8. Ropa vieja canaria (Canarian old clothes)

Ropa Vieja Canaria is a traditional dish using leftovers, which makes them take on new life in a dish that even surpasses the one from which it comes. Although it is traditional in Canarian cuisine, is also made in other regions of Spain with some variations.

9. Escaldón de gofio (Scalded gofio)

Gofio, toasted and stone-ground grains to which a pinch of salt is added, is an intrinsic part of Canarian cuisine. One of the most interesting preparations is the Escaldón de gofio, made by adding gofio to fish stock and stirring until a thick cream or puree is obtained. 

10. Tortillas de calabaza (Pumpkin tortillas)

Pumpkin tortillas are a traditional Canarian dessert, which is usually prepared around Carnival time. Made with pumpkin, eggs and anise, it is a very popular, simple sweet, reminiscent of torrijas or Rebanadas de Carnaval (French Toast), when finished by sprinkling the tortillas with sugar and cinnamon. See also Tortitas de Carnaval.

11. Frangollo

Frangollo is one of the richest desserts in Canarian gastronomy, along with quesillo, a variant of flan that is usually prepared on the islands and is also highly appreciated. The frangollo recipe is a thick, unroasted cornmeal-based dessert.

Las 11 mejores recetas de la cocina canaria