'Sa Cuina de Ca n'Squella', the stately kitchen of Ciutadella

Bep Al·lès/Ciutadella - Sa cuina de ca n'Squella is the second book dedicated to the stately cuisine of Menorca in this "Confit d'ametlla" collection that transports us to the Menorcan cuisine of the 18th and 19th centuries that was cooked in stately homes, in this case that of the marquisate of Menas Albas, with its manor house in Ciutadella.

The cuisine of the lords of La Vall is a varied cuisine, where hunting recipes predominate - compared to other manuscripts of noble cuisine - on the one hand, and on the other those of Mallorcan origin, presumably contributed by Mrs. Josepa Rossinyol, from the noble Majorcan lineage.

We are facing, however, a transcription of the original recipe made in 1994 by General Adolfo Noguera Fernández de Córdova, married to Josefa Squella Martorell, granddaughter of Josepa Rossinyol and sister of Ricardo Squella, Marquis of Menas Albas and Marquis of Terranova.

This transcription of the original recipe is made in Spanish, but there are certain recipes that can indicate that the original, which we believe dates from the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th, was written in Menorcan, when we find "Comida" written white" in the Menjar Blanc recipe. This translation also makes us think that some recipes were translated by Noguera in his own way, different from the original that must be kept at the Squella home in Madrid.

We are dealing with a more than interesting manorial kitchen manuscript, not only because of the number of dishes, but also because, unlike the others we have consulted or edited, it has more cooking dishes than pastry dishes and, on the other hand, we find ways of cooking old dishes with fire and heat, as well as wines such as the Malvasia de La Vall, produced by this noble family, which also had its cellar on Calle Sant Sebastià, right next to the palace, or some egg sauces which are our mayonnaise sauce.

The stately cuisine of Menorca is a cuisine to be recovered, a cuisine to be transformed into a new Menorcan cuisine, it is a cuisine that is part of our gastronomic corpus and, we hope that through this recipe it will reach the hands of cooks, of people who enjoy of the kitchen and these dishes, these recipes come to life again, as is the case with the lamb stuffed with Saint Anthony's hat, which for example Joan Bagur recovered or the Ca n'Squella butters to which he gave life in Mallorca, Tomeu Arbona, at his Fornet de la Soca.

I hope that you will like this cookbook of noble houses, that it will be profitable for you and at the same time, when you bring the recipes to life, you will be transported with twinkling eyes to that kitchen of great salons, of nobles and gentlemen, of hunters. .. Menorcan and Majorcan and also enjoy these dishes which are living history of the cuisine of our islands.