Sobrasada

sobrasada

What it is

The name came into Catalan from the Italian soppressare, to press, and the sausage existed on Mallorca before its colour did: paprika only became standard in the eighteenth century, two hundred years after it reached Europe. The finest is made from the porc negre, the island's black pig, which forages figs and carob.

In the kitchen

Melt a spoonful into a hot pan at the end of cooking — it has no binding to break, so it goes straight to a paprika-red sauce for eggs, potatoes or rice. On bread, thirty seconds under the grill, then honey.

Goes with

Honey Egg Potato Olive oil Fig Manchego Rice Tomato

Same species

Andouillette Boudin blanc Natural casings Caul fat Chorizo Ciauscolo

Something wrong here, or missing? Tell us