A firm commitment to local produce marks the gastronomic offer of the Hacienda del Conde hotel, the first Meliá Collection in Spain, which occupies a Canarian farm over 250 years old in the Tenerife town of Buenavista del Norte.
Built on what used to be agricultural land and home to the Count of Siete Fuentes, it is now part of a protected area caressed throughout the year by the trade winds from the northeast that shape the area’s impressive cliffs and forge the flavors of island delicacies that spring from mineralized volcanic soils.
“We acquired all products to local farmers, ranchers and fishermen”, assures María Bohórquez, director of the Hacienda del Conde hotel, while heading to Salazar, one of the three restaurants of this five-star grand luxury, only for adults, where everything that is offered is raw material from the islands.
There, the chefs Pawel Lisowski and Jorge Gil finalize the details of some menus that pair with some of the best wines Canary Islands: from the Lanzarote white of El Grifo, a shot of malvasia, to the Tenerife red of Vinátigo, without forgetting a sparkling Canarian Landscape of the Islands, or the Camino de los Laureles de Tacoronte with aromatic malvasia, the same grape that has already been praised by the William Shakespeare himself in ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’.
In Salazar’s pantry, black potatoes, onions, tomatoes, passion fruit, avocados, papayas, bananas, and pineapples of Tenerife serve Jorge Gil to design a gastronomic proposal in which there is no lack of island goat cheese, fish from Garachico, the robust Canarian black pig nor the traditional confectionery of the Archipelago.
“Teno cheese is one of the protagonists in our cuisine, but we do not renounce other elaborations from the Canary Islands, such as the Majorero cheese from Fuerteventura, which our customers like very much,” adds María Bohórquez in front of the impressive golf course of the Cabildo de Tenerife who manages the hotel and designed Severiano Ballesteros.
To whet your appetite, the chef presents a tasty Saharan squid that accompanies with pumpkin mojo and gofio jareado dried in the sun with the sea breeze of this area of northwest Tenerife. As a main starter, a pineapple gazpacho, yellowfin tartar and tuna ham in a clear nod to Ángel León and his award-winning fish sausages.
Gil dares with a grouper bought at the fish market Port of Garachico in gofio tempura and squid mojo and to finish, he embroiders it with a goat meat cannelloni, citrus bechamel sauce and smoked palmero cheese.
“The confectionery is the traditional one from the Canary Islands, based on the rosquetes, suspiros, nevaditos and biscuits with almonds that we bring from El Aderno, an artisan pastry and chocolate shop in Buenavista”, explains Bohórquez in this part of the island where imposing the cliffs of Los Gigantes.
Viejas, rock samas, shrimp, octopus and limpets fill the fresquera marina of this hotel.
“We feel very proud to contribute to the development of Isla Baja by supporting our local producers”, insists Pawel Lisowski as he prepares a papaya, avocado and tomato salad with passion fruit vinaigrette and places it in a colorful container some black potatoes egg yolk with two soft almogrotes.
Among his creations stands out the Smoked grilled Teno cheese served with three mojos and palm honey and the pork tapa with figs and mojo picón, that traditional Canarian sauce, essential accompaniment to many of the dishes of this Archipelago lulled by the trade winds that print character to their bites and drinks.
