The elongated rock that is Fuerteventura extends its 100 kilometers in length to 100 kilometers from Africa. It would suffice for a mischievous god to turn it 90 degrees to nail it to the side of the continent which, Sahara through, makes it dry and sober. Its austere landscapes are softened by soft reliefs, licked by the winds that make the island a reference destination for surfers and practitioners of other water sports. The sea currents work their magic, and allow an eternal spring to reign in its tens of kilometers of beaches.
Miguel de Unamuno –exiled on the island for four months in 1924– learned here to enjoy the sea and the sun, which, to the scandal of the locals, he drank naked on the terrace of the old Hotel Fuerteventura, his residence in Puerto Cabras (the capital , today Puerto del Rosario).
Nudist beaches abound in Fuerteventura, but who would say that the grim Basque writer and philosopher was the pioneer of such a practice in these latitudes? Would he take off his characteristic glasses to let himself be caressed by the sun’s rays?
In any case, the calm that, without suspecting it, the author of Tragic feeling of life found on the easternmost island of the Canaries is the same one that travelers who visit it today aspire to, be it for water sports, watch life go by or both. Travelers who, in many cases, are pleasantly surprised to discover that in Fuerteventura you can eat and drink very well.
In 1402, the Norman mercenaries Juan de Bethencourt and Gadifer de la Salle undertook the conquest of the island with the approval of Henry III of Castile. They entered a land inhabited approximately since the middle of the first millennium BC. C. by tribes of Berber origin. The vegetation was very sparse, and animals were not abundant either. Yes, there were a good number of goats, essential for the livelihood of the aborigines (the maxos, or majoreros, in Spanish), who brought them with them from North Africa.
From the mixture of these native ruminants with others of their species from the European and African continents, a breed of goats emerged that was improved for centuries with crosses that adapted it perfectly to its habitat: the resistant Majorera goat, with whose milk the cheese is made Majorero, the first goat cheese in Spain with a designation of origin, a recognition it obtained in 1996; it also has the protected designation of origin (D.O.P.) seal since 1999.
Whoever has not tried it, can trust the description of the D.O.P. Regulatory Council itself: “A fatty cheese with an intense aroma, with a predominance of a certain acidity, leaving the spiciness reserved for cheeses with a certain cure. It is characterized by not presenting eyes, although some small ones may appear.
For those who do not know, the “eyes” to which they refer are the holes left by the bubbles of carbon dioxide in the last stages of maturation of the product.
Majorero cheese, a version of which was already eaten by the first inhabitants of the island, is the gastronomic emblem of Fuerteventura, something verifiable in tapas bars such as La Bodega de JandÃa and Mis Abuelos, both in Morro Jable, in the far south; or in Las cazuelitas, in the small town of El Cotillo, to the north.
Among the restaurants, the quality of the cheese stands out in El Avenida, in Corralejo (in the northern tip), and in La Vaca Azul, also in El Cotillo. In all these places (and in many others) they prepare excellent versions of the typical local dishes, which we will talk about a little later. By the way, the traditional restaurants where homemade native food is served are called guachinches.
To buy the unmistakable Majorero cheeses, there is nothing like going to the cheese factories that dot the landscape. To name just a couple: Granja la Villa, next to the town of Betancuria –the first capital of the island–, and very close to the Guise and Ayose viewpoint, the name of the two aboriginal kings who divided up the island when the conquistadors arrived.
And El Convento, also close to the aforementioned town. These creamy-textured cheeses are spread in oil, paprika or gofio, another classic of Canarian food: it is a coarse toasted corn, wheat or barley flour –sometimes sweetened–, which is used kneaded as bread, in sweets and as an ingredient in some dishes.
Those who want to know more about this delicacy so linked to the history of Fuerteventura should visit the Majorero Cheese Museum, located on the outskirts of Antigua, in the center of the island. Tastings are held there, the production process of the different classes (soft, semi-cured and cured) is explained and everything that influences its flavor is taught: the volcanic origin of the island, its climate, its unique biodiversity and the characteristics of the majorera goat
The importance of cheese in the diet of the islanders is also reviewed, recipes and pairings are suggested, and it is told how it has reached the best modern restaurants. The visit is completed by a three-story mill and a well-kept garden with endemic plants such as the cardón de JandÃa, a cactus-like shrub.
As one might suspect, goat meat has played an important role in the local diet for thousands of years. Many native dishes contain it; For example, the puchero majorero, a hearty stew with chickpeas and vegetables (pumpkin, cabbage, carrots, beans, zucchini…), common at family and local festivals. The goat is also eaten fried or roasted, in different recipes. The tender kid (also called baifo, a pre-Hispanic word) is especially delicious.
As in the rest of the Canary Islands, quality fish is king, although that of Fuerteventura does not enjoy the reputation it deserves. In its waters abound the old, the grouper or the corvina, and species little known in other places, such as the black grouper, the sama, the abade or the antoñito. You have to try the pejines, small fish that can be eaten whole (like anchovies) and are served in portions, either grilled, dried in the sun or fried.
It is usually a good idea to be advised and try the fish of the day, surely very fresh. For example, in the famous A Poniente Gastro Bar, in Corralejo, a tourist town with 18,000 inhabitants where you should not miss the opportunity to eat at La Cúpula by Carles Gaig, where the veteran chef blends Catalan and Canarian cuisine. The restaurant is located in the Gran Hotel Atlantis BahÃa Real.
Of the most typical recipes, we love the “vieja a la espaldaâ€, a delicious fish that needs nothing more than olive oil, garlic, sea salt and a little baking to display all its flavor. Accompanying it with the classic Canarian wrinkled potatoes is a sure hit. It does not detract from the sancocho, usual at Easter. It consists of a salty fish (usually grouper or corvina), accompanied by wrinkled potatoes, mojo, sweet potatoes, onion and a gofio pella. Of the shellfish, the limpets, mussels and burgados stand out.
It does not seem like the most favorable place to make it, but in Fuerteventura there is no shortage of wine. The story goes – although not a few refute it – that the first vines in the Canary Islands were planted by the Europeans who arrived on the island at the beginning of the 15th century. The plantation was called Viñedo de AnÃbal, after the name of the bastard son of the conquistador Gadifer de La Salle. True or not, in the following centuries the island’s wine production was very scarce, to the point of becoming testimonial. In the eighties there were hardly any vines left, but the enthusiasm of some wine aficionados slowly began to recover them.
Today, Fuerteventura has three wineries –Conatvs, Gavias el Sordo and Gavia de San Miguel–, which produce whites based mainly on the volcanic MalvasÃa, Listán blanco, burrablanca and muscatel grape varieties; and reds made mainly with mulberry leaf (or listán negro), but also with listán prieto, tintilla and syrah. Its owners work to create unique wines that reflect the place where they grow, also unique, and difficult, given its dryness, which is combated with gavias, stepped terraces that retain water when it is irrigated or on the rare occasions that it rains; the excess water falls from step to step and keeps the vines alive.
In 2016, the Conatvs winery became the first on the island included in the D.O.P. Canary Islands, and the future promises: a recent oenological study has revealed the existence in Fuerteventura of an endemic grape that has been called majorera -almost all located in the municipality of Betancuria-, and that is being analyzed to find out if it can give good wine.
Good meals end with a classy dessert. In Fuerteventura, even the gaits are used from the goat, and Majorero cheese is not lacking in the local confectionery, as can be appreciated with some good fritters stuffed with the signature food of the island. Machanga (or machanga milk) is similar to a custard made with milk and lemon, topped with cinnamon. The Majorero cake is also delicious, distinguished by its preparation with chickpea flour, which gives it a special touch. As in the rest of the archipelago, gofio is used in all kinds of desserts: with bananas, in mousse, in mantecados, biscuits and the traditional pellets, and even in nougat.
