Holiday in Majorca: Part Uno - Food glorious Spanish food

The beach that was on our doorstep in Santa Ponca, Majorca

Our adventures at the English seaside truly whet our appetite for a holiday with sun and sea (not the English sun and sea kind...not that there is anything wrong with that).  Frolicking under the greying skies of England and dipping our toes in cold (in truth, extremely cold water that would make a polar bear blush...no exaggeration) was our impetus for seeking out warmth, sunshine and clear azure waters of Majorca, Spain. 

My boys' holiday criteria was easily fulfilled: good swimming pool (tick); great clean, soft sand beaches with gently lapping waves (tick) and abundant sunshine (tick).  Admittedly, these requirements were also essential for me but being completely upfront uppermost on my list was fantastic, authentic, scrumptious food (big TICK).  I want to show and tell the beautiful island of Majorca but let me cut to the chase this first part (and perhaps the second part too)  will be fundamentally about the food we ate...I am salivating just recalling it all.

Crystal clear, warm waters of Es Camp de Mar

We arrived in Santa Ponca, Majorca, in the evening, so just in time for dinner.  But I am sad to inform you that our first meal was disappointing.  The main street was littered with predominantly English and Irish pubs and 'restaurants' and westernised Spanish cafes and restaurants.  We were determined after our initial dissatisfaction to uncover genuine Spanish food.  Our first day in Santa Ponca became a quest (my quest) for delectable Spanish cuisine...after spending the morning by the pool, of course (to placate my boys first).

The internet is a marvelous tool.  After conscientious searching of the internet (by my persevering hubby, I lost interest because I have limited patience for internet searching) uncovered a side street where the locals go for food (you know that if the place is frequented by locals then you know it must be good) and where our bellies were first jolted into Spanish food heaven. 

What can I say about what we ate that first afternoon that the pictures above cannot impart...delicious, fresh, scrumptious and delectable...hmmm (I know my mum's mouth is watering looking at these pictures).  The humongous prawns were perfectly seasoned and reminiscent of sea breeze freshness and the calamari was dredged in a fine layer of well seasoned batter and tasted light and fragrant.  With eyes bigger than my belly I wanted to order more but my sensible (alias for geeky and all too reasonable and prudent) hubby reminded me there was still dinner to come and room was required for lunchtime dessert (we were on holiday after all so dessert can be indulged in several times a day...it is the rule!).

Ahh...Ensaimada

Ensaimada...oh my deary me...a local pastry filled with cream (I shall try to stop salivating as I gaze longing at the picture, so as not to damage the computer keyboard).  I love anything that involves cream.  I add cream to almost every pudding and even request extra cream on the side in the event that the cream I have been given tragically runs out.   This Majorcan pastry was (is) therefore my dream pastry (dare I say it, and this a contentious statement, but for me it even tops a cream filled eclair).  The pastry is airy, light, flaky...soft in the middle but crunchy on the outside.  The consistency inside is akin to that of a croissant.  The texture on the outside is crispy.  The cream is fresh and slightly sweet.  The whole things just melted in my mouth.  I had to share my first ensaimada but I did not share the next one. 

After a shaky start to our (eating) holiday we were on our way to developing rather rotund bellies...