Celebration and forcefulness
We'll explain how to prepare Sufrido payés at home.
PalmPitiusan cuisine is one of the most unique and least-known branches of Balearic gastronomy, born in a limited territory with a close relationship to the sea and the land. For centuries, isolation and a lack of resources forced the inhabitants to live self-sufficiently. From this context emerged a simple and honest cuisine, designed to withstand the test of time and the limitations of the land. Fish stew is perhaps the most famous dish. Alongside it, the hearty labrador (a traditional stew) holds a place of honor in the island's festive memory: a robust casserole dish featuring chicken, lamb, and other products from the pig slaughter, seasoned with spices and aromas of saffron, cinnamon, and cloves.
The "sufrido campesino" (suffering peasant) is one of the most emblematic and oldest dishes of traditional Ibizan and Formentera cuisine, a dish that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of local cooking: hearty, made with seasonal and resourceful ingredients. Its name, "sufrido," refers to the cooking method: a sofrito of ingredients where the meat has been previously boiled, resulting in a rich, mellow stew. Sofritos were a cooking method that allowed for the use of occasional surplus vegetables or leftover boiled meat from previous dishes. It was also a very useful way to use the meat of older, darker animals, which had to be boiled beforehand. Sautéing boiled meat is also common in Arab and Jewish cuisine. We also cook dishes like ropa vieja (shredded beef) or gotzeto (a type of stew) that allow us to use up leftover boiled meat by sautéing it in a pan.
Winter and slaughtering kitchen
The difference between these leftover dishes and the traditional sofrito payés is that the latter is a dish cooked on holidays or for important celebrations. It's also an example of winter and seasonal cooking, where everything available was used: home-raised animals, potatoes from the fields, and seasonings from the pantry.
There are as many recipes for this dish as there are homes that cook it. One of the first published instructions can be found in... Enjoy! From Joan Castelló Guasch, a reference book on Ibizan cuisine published in 1967. According to this manual, to make the "suffered labrador" (a traditional dish), a chicken and lamb broth should be made and then strained. In a pot, lard is melted and sautéed: pork chop, three whole cloves of garlic, blood sausage, sobrasada (a type of cured sausage), parsley, and diced or whole raw potatoes. A little of the broth is added, along with the chopped boiled meat, salt, cinnamon, black pepper, ground pepper, saffron, and cloves. The remaining broth will be used to prepare the rice for the first course. Interestingly, this recipe contrasts with others that indicate the meats should be boiled separately, while the potatoes should be fried separately, as should the meats, which are then sautéed and set aside to be combined at the end. As for vegetables, some families add carrots or beans, although this is not very common. What is important is to gently shake the pot without stirring with a spoon or utensil, and add the broth little by little so that the mixture becomes creamy. The broths in which the meats were boiled are combined for a first course of noodle or rice soup.
Boil the meats separately in plenty of salted water. We will use both the meats and the resulting broths. Once cooked, set them aside. Mix the broths from the different meats and set aside.
We'll fry the potato. In a saucepan, heat olive oil and sauté the pork chop, sobrasada, and morcilla. To prevent them from falling apart, it's best not to cut them into pieces, but rather just sear them without chopping them. Add the garlic cloves and let them cook as well. Then, add the parsley and bay leaf. Sauté the pieces of meat in the saucepan and remove them. Next, add a few ladles of stock, salt, and spices, and let everything simmer gently. After a few minutes, add the meat and the potato.
Add more stock until everything is half covered and leave it on very low heat. Occasionally, gently shake the pan to ensure all the ingredients are well combined and coated in the sauce. If necessary, add more stock, but the sauce shouldn't become too thick. Adjust the seasoning with salt and serve.
250g finely chopped meat (preferably from the neck or shoulder)
l 1/2 chopped free-range chicken
250g pork chops
l 100 g belly chop
1 large piece of sausage
l 2 or 3 butifarrones
3 whole heads of garlic
the laurel
Cleaned and chopped parsley, not too small
l patatón or corner cut potatoes
a few strands of saffron
cloves, a pinch of cinnamon, lots
For today's recipe I followed the instructions from the Ibizan cooking blog No sooner said than done, a true role model for me.