The gastronomy of Sant Antoni in Menorca

Bep Al·lès / Ciutadella – Regarding the feast of Saint Anthony, patron saint of Ciutadella since the Christian reconquest of the island and Day of the People of Menorca since 1981, we can say that it is one of the few cases where we do not have a gastronomy of that date or that it has been lost, except for the dates, oranges and until recently the palm hearts, which are sold in the market in the Plaza del Hospital and which recall the years of the holy hermit in the desert, or the broth that is given to the authorities when they visit the old hospital of the Antonians. There is also the pig raffle, a pig that was once highly valued, because with it they still had time to slaughter, which ensured that they had meat, bones, sausages and lard to last the rest of the winter, for the lucky ones of the raffle.

On Sant Antoni day it is customary to celebrate a family meal, and if we follow the gastronomic customs of the great celebrations in Menorca, possibly the main dish of this day was and is still maintained this tradition in many families, the roast lamb with potatoes, stuffed with olives, pieces of lard and sobrasada, accompanied by new potatoes.

Barret de Sant Antoni

Barret de Sant Antoni. Rels Restaurant. Foto: Bep Al·lès©

In the book “Sa cuina de ca n'Squella” there is a recipe that is given to us by the manuscript of the noble family of the Marquises of Menas Albas, which speaks of a stuffing called “Barret de Sant Antoni”, and which makes us wonder if this would be the stuffing with which roasts were cooked to commemorate this celebration, the oldest of the Menorcan Christians. With this one could stuff lamb legs, suckling pigs, capons or chickens…

If at Christmas the oldest stuffing for roasts is couscous, which later evolved into an ancient sweet or nougat (so did the manjar blanco, which evolved and lost its meat protein to become the dessert of the feast of Saint John), we will not rule out that this barret de Sant Antoni was part, in ancient times, of the recipe book to celebrate the Christian reconquest of the island.

We can therefore say that the barret de Sant Antoni was one of the most common fillings in the 18th and 19th centuries, not only in Menorca, but also in Mallorca, and it was used to fill all kinds of roast meats.

We must remember that many noble families from Ciutadella, to avoid consanguinity, married into noble or well-off families from Mallorca, as is the case of the Squella family from Ciutadella, who, by marrying the Rossinyol family, were related to the Mallorcan nobility.

This filling, along with that of Rei en Jaume, was one of the most prized on the neighbouring island, and we find it in the book by Fra Jaume Martí and also in “Sa cuynera mallorquina”.

It is possible that this was the dish that the Menorcan nobility used to eat on the feast of Sant Antoni in Ciutadella, the patron saint of the city, on which it is an ancient custom to eat roast lamb.

Also in the Squella recipe book we find some Sant Antoni panellets, which together with the almond cakes could be the dessert for the festival of the man who is today the patron saint of the entire island.