Cocarroi, the traditional Mallorcan pastry
Cocarroi is one of Mallorca’s best-known traditional recipes. This type of savoury pastry, which is very popular in bakeries and ovens across the island, has been part of Mallorcan cuisine for generations.
A recipe with healthy ingredients
The word ‘cocarroi’ is a bit unusual, but to put it simply, it is a pastry made from flour dough and filled, usually with vegetables and nuts. As it combines cereal flour with vegetable ingredients, it is very nutritious, yet at the same time light, healthy and easy to eat.
Sweet or savory cocarrois
The most typical variety is the vegetable cocarroi (made with chard, spinach, onion, and sometimes pine nuts and raisins), although you can also sometimes find the onion cocarroi (with onion, tomato and a touch of spice). In some bakeries, you can choose between savoury or sweet pastry, or even versions made with plain flour or wholemeal flour. It all depends on personal taste, but for me, as a healthy, light and easy meal, none of these cocarrois are in a league of their own.
Traditional cuisine in Mallorca
In the past, this was a dish associated with Lent, which many housewives used to make themselves. Nowadays, practically all bakeries and patisseries in Mallorca offer them all year round. In traditional shops where you can find cocarrois, you’re sure to also find the typical crespells, robiols, panades, or the delicious vegetable or trampó cocas.
Cocarroi, the Mediterranean snack
Although the concept of fast food has come to us from the United States and has spread so widely, when it comes to gastronomy, that country has little or nothing to teach us Mediterraneans in general. Because here we have had excellent fruit and vegetables, meat, fish… and above all, plenty of imagination to combine them, for hundreds of years. And to create extraordinary products, simple yet tasty, such as the Mallorcan Cocarroi, our most authentic snack.
Where to eat cocarrois in Mallorca
I have my favourite places to buy them, and I always try to get them from the oldest bakeries and bakeries. In Palma, I’d recommend Forn d’es Teatre, C’an Joan de s’Aigo or Forn La Mallorquina. On the other hand, in every village in Mallorca, there’s always a traditional, long-established bakery offering excellent quality. You need only ask someone in the street and they’re sure to point you in the right direction.
Don’t miss out on trying them if you come to Mallorca!
Mallorcan cuisine preserves many simple, flavorful traditional recipes, prepared for generations using Mediterranean ingredients. Discover the best gourmet products from Mallorca
