A well-kept secret

PalmaLobster fishing is one of the most traditional and valuable artisanal fishing activities in the Balearic Islands. This crustacean lives on rocky bottoms and is mainly caught with traps, a selective fishing gear that allows young specimens and egg-bearing females to be preserved. Its exploitation is subject to very strict regulations, with closed seasons, limitations on the number of traps, and a minimum catch size, measures that have contributed to maintaining some of the best-preserved populations in the Mediterranean. Although catches are limited, its high commercial value makes it one of the most profitable fisheries for the Balearic artisanal fleet. Beyond its economic interest, lobster holds a prominent place in the gastronomic heritage of the Islands, especially in Menorca.

The lobster was already known and appreciated by peoples of antiquity. The first catches must have been very simple, taking advantage of the fact that the animals hide in caves and crevices on the seabed. The first written references to its consumption come from the Greek and Roman world. The most important source is the De re Coquinaria, attributed to Apicius (1st-4th centuries AD). In book IX, named ‘Thalassa’, dedicated to seafood, up to six lobster preparations appeared. It was mainly cooked boiled, or opened and roasted in its shell. It is accompanied by sauces prepared with cumin, pepper, honey, sesame, mint, pine nuts and garum, among other ingredients. It also tells us about a recipe for meatballs made with chopped tail meat. After the fall of the Roman Empire, references become scarcer, but we know that lobster fishing continued throughout the Mediterranean. In the Middle Ages, lobster, along with prawns (which were more valuable than lobster), are the only crustaceans that appear in the great Catalan medieval recipe books such as the Llibre de Sent Soví (14th century) and the Llibre del Coch de Mestre Robert (16th century). However, it was not consumed in large quantities, unlike fish. It is mentioned as an ingredient in some cheese tarts, cooked in a stew (aguisada) for squid and cuttlefish, and in blancmange, among others.

In the Balearic Islands, the first documentary news about their fishing appear between the 17th and 18th centuries. Later, Cala Rajada became consolidated as one of the most important lobster fishing ports in the western Mediterranean. From the 19th century, lobster fishing constituted one of the main sources of income for its artisanal fleet thanks to the richness of the rocky bottoms of eastern Mallorca. The commercialization of the catches, both in the local market and for export, contributed decisively to the economic development of the port. This prominence also extended to the kitchens. At the end of the 19th century, Hostal Cas Bombu, the first hotel establishment in Cala Rajada and located opposite the fishing port, made lobster its most emblematic dish: lobster a la bomba, a recipe created at the beginning of the 20th century. The formula was kept for generations as one of the house's great secrets and became one of the locality's gastronomic symbols. According to Maria del Carme Fuster in Cuina de mar (Documenta Balear, 2014), the fame of this dish attracted numerous illustrious figures who visited the inn expressly to taste it. The same author laments that the secret of the recipe was not passed down from one generation to another, which would have led to its disappearance. Fortunately, the recipe was recovered and published in Receptari de Cas Bombu (Documenta Balear, 2019). The proposal I present today is an interpretation of that historic recipe. I don't know if it manages to get close to the flavor of the original, but if it does, the fame it achieved is perfectly understandable.