november-2011

PHOTOS STOCKFOOD
TENERIFE BITES
(Cruz de Tea, Vilaflor) where, Juan assured me, they
serve the best escaldon on the island. Gofio – a flour
made from roasted wheat grain – is mixed with
meat juices to produce this Tenerifian speciality,
which has been on the menu since the island was
first inhabited in around 200BC. Eaten on its own
this creamy, meaty, porridge-like dish is slightly
bland, but with chorizo, red pepper and raw onion
mixed in – and served with a carafe of red wine –
it’s filling and delicious. Best of all, our hearty lunch
cost us a very affordable £14 for two.
The winding road led us on to Vilaflor, a hamlet
overshadowed by the Teide volcano. We took
a stroll through the narrow, shaded streets of
this pretty village before heading for guachinche
Hermano Pedro (16 Carretera Hoyo, Vilaflor) that
evening. A nondescript concrete cube painted pastel
pink and fronted with plastic chairs and tables
butting onto the sidewalk, Hermano Pedro was
disappointing at first glance. The earsplitting buzz
of diners inside, however, told a different story.
Juan explained that each guachinche has its
speciality – here at Hermano Pedro’s it’s that
Tenerifian favourite, carne fiesta. Bustling out of
the kitchen, Pedro briskly spread a chequered
paper cloth over our table, banged down two
tumblers and a carafe of red wine, then returned
to the kitchen for our food. Brought to the table
in an old iron skillet that had obviously seen
better days, the garlicky pimiento pork, which
is cooked in a slow oven with lashings of local
white wine, was so moist and fragrant it brought
a grin of pleasure to our faces, and we were
still grinning when the bill – about £16
for two – arrived.
The next morning we left our parador at
Las Canadas del Teide and zigzagged down along
the road towards La Orotava, where we turned
off for Aguamansa.
Surrounded by Canary pines, Aguamansa’s
atmospheric guachinche (+34 922 330 638) has
large wooden tables and terracotta walls covered
with old agricultural implements. We ordered
the grilled freshwater trout at £9 – a dish for which
42JetAway
this eatery is justly renowned. Served on a large
wooden platter, it was tender and slightly sweet,
and married perfectly with a side dish of papas
arugadas: buttery boiled potatoes basted with
a garlicky mojo sauce. Lined with renaissance
mansions, churches and gardens, La Orotava’s
streets were the perfect place to stroll off our
lunchtime calories and work up an appetite for
the last guachinche of our two-day trip.
And so to where we came in, behind that
nail-studded door. Inside, guachinche Nunca es
Lejos (Calle de las Turcas, La Corujera, Santa
Ursula, +34 609 961 315) was packed to the
rafters with locals and out-of-town diners. Since
it only opens for a few brief months during the
wine-producing season, we were lucky to get
a table. And as we tucked into the hunks of
rosemary-barbecued goat’s meat for which,
once again, we paid a pittance, we congratulated
ourselves on discovering Tenerife’s little-sung
gastronomic gems.
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Useful Tips
Get there early
if you want to get
a good table. Very
few take bookings.
Don’t wear skimpy
clothing unless you
want to feel out of
place – local people
tend to wear casual
clothing that isn’t
too revealing.
Nominate one
person to do the
driving if you want to
enjoy the local wine.
Find Out More
Available in local
bookstores, the Libro
De Los Guachinches
lists 60 popular
guachinches with
directions in
Spanish. Or ask for a
ruta de guachinches
map in most tourist
offices on the island.
Guachinche
Gastronomy
Look out for dishes
such as conejo en
salmorejo (rabbit
in garlic, herb and
pimiento sauce) and
salteado de solomillo
al ajillo (garlic
sautéed pork), and
desserts including
huevos mole, made
from egg yolks, sugar
and cinnamon.
Tenerife Wine
To sample some of
the island’s best
tipples, head for
La Baranda museum
(Autopista del
Norte, El Sauzal).
Alternatively, take
a half-day or
weekend trip along
the well-signposted
Tenerife Wine Route
(rutasyvinos.com/
ingles/rutas.htm).