Oliaigua
This is a rather humble recipe, which comes from the times of scarcity, it only requires water, oils and aromatic herbs, and was usually taken for breakfast. However, over the years the tradition has been maintained, but with the addition of some ingredients that add more flavour and benefits.
By adding vegetables, it becomes a delicious dish that should be accompanied with toasted bread. It should be eaten at room temperature, as it is a very nutritious and delicious soup that should be enjoyed. Menorcan restaurants prepare it with their own version, adding ingredients according to the season of the year.
Characteristics of the Oliaigua
Recipe Oliaigua with figs
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Ingredients for 4 persons
1 kg of tomatoes
1 green pepper (about 150 g)
1 onion (about 200 g or more)
4 cloves of garlic
a bunch of parsley
oil
water
salt
sliced bread
figs
Preparation of the recipe
Put oil, peeled or unpeeled tomatillo, clean green pepper, all raw and chopped into not too small pieces, salt, peeled and chopped garlic cloves, onion and water in a pot or earthenware dish. It hardly needs to be stirred. Some people cook it “a deveres”, that is to say, quickly, over a high heat, but others prefer to cook it over a low heat so that it is, we would say, very confit.
When it starts to appear as a white foam, it should be removed immediately from the heat, as the earthenware dish still retains the heat. Inside the dish, put brown or peasant bread, cut into thin slices, preferably not freshly baked or, if not, well toasted. Then scald it. And while we eat it, between spoonfuls we take the figs, which some people serve at the table previously peeled.
Source of the recipe: Fàbrega J., Puigvert C. (1996), La cocina de Menorca (Menorcan cuisine).