Gibraltarian cuisine

Gibraltarian cuisine is a mix of Mediterranean (Spanish, Italian, Maltese) and British cuisine.

I visited Gibraltar just for one day after spending ten days in Spain. Everything around looks like British so I prefered to eat in a pub, on the terrace, in front of The Governor House. Of course, I enjoyed some fish and chips and a glass of beer.

Fish and chips is an English dish, consisting of battered fish, commonly cod or haddock, and deep-fried chips. It is a common take-away food.

Fish and chips became a stock meal among the working classes in the United Kingdom during the second half of the 19th century due to the development of trawl fishing and of railways which connected the ports of the North Sea to major industrial cities, which meant that fresh fish could be rapidly transported to the heavily populated areas.

Deep-fried fish was first introduced into Britain during the 16th century by Jewish refugees from Portugal and Spain. Deep-fried chips may have first appeared in Britain in about the middle of 19th century. Charles Dickens mentioned chips in "A Tale of Two Cities" (published in 1859): "Husky chips of potatoes, fried with some reluctant drops of oil". During World War II fish and chips remained one of the few foods in the United Kingdom not subject to rationing.

The first fish and chip shop was opened in London in 1860. Early fish-and-chip shops had only basic facilities. Usually these consisted principally of a large cauldron of cooking fat, heated by a coal fire.

The modern fish-and-chip shop sell fish with the particular species named; so "cod and chips" now appears on menus rather than the more vague "fish and chips".

Unfortunatelly, I had no time to taste some typical dishes, as I like to do everytime I visit a new place.

Examples of Gibraltarian cuisine:

- Calentita, Gibraltar's national dish is a baked pancake-like dish made with chickpea flour, water, olive oil, salt and pepper. The word calentita is the informal diminutive of the Spanish word caliente, and means "nice and warm (or hot)". Calentita goes back to the 16th century. The name may have come from street vendors who would shout "Calentita" to sell their freshly-cooked wares. It has been suggested that the origin of the calentita is in the food culture of Sephardi Jews from the Barbary Coast. 

- Rosto, a pasta dish of Italian origin consisting of penne in a tomato sauce with beef or pork, mushrooms and carrots (or other vegetables) and topped with grated "queso bola" (Edam cheese).

- Fideos al horno (baked noodles in Spanish), a baked pasta dish consisting of macaroni, bolognese sauce, and various other ingredients including egg and bacon, usually topped with a grated cheese or béchamel that melts during the baking process and aids in binding.

- Panissa, a bread-like dish similar to the calentita. Sharing its Italian origins, it is a descendant of the Genoese dish with the same name. Unlike calentita the ingredients are first cooked in a pan to form a paste which is then left to set. When the polenta-like dough is set, it is cut into small strips and fried in olive oil.

- Bollo de hornasso, a sweet and dry bread similar to the Spanish hornazo. It is made with self-raising flour, sugar, eggs, butter or margarine and aniseed. Bollos de hornasso are eaten around Easter just as in Spain, but in Gibraltar they are also popular during Christmas. Gibraltarian hornassos can normally be distinguished from the original Spanish hornazo as they do not tend to be decorated with hard-boiled eggs (however, Gibraltarian families of Spanish descent may still decorate them in this manner). It is usually glazed with beaten eggs.

- Japonesa (English: Japanese lady) is a sweet fried doughnut filled with a custard-like cream. Japonesas are usually enjoyed at teatime or as a snack. They are traditionally coated in syrup or granulated sugar. The origin of its name is unknown but resembles the Japanese dorayaki.