Rias Baixas, a Fusion of Galician and Menorcan Cuisine in Ferreries

Bep Al·lès/Ferreries - Taking advantage of the recent Menorcan Red Veal Gastronomic Days, we travelled to Ferreries to enjoy the menu offered by Rias Baixas restaurant, which has been owned and managed since 2006 by Toni Sansaloni, from Cas Xifoner. He has successfully offered, and continues to offer, his loyal clientele specialities from both Galician and Menorcan cuisine, earning a fine reputation on the island.

The highlight of the menu offered by Rias Baixas was its one-kilogram grilled Menorcan Red Veal steak, which proved particularly appealing to lovers of fine meat. The menu also included a choice of starters, dessert, wine and coffee.

But if there is one thing worth highlighting about Rias Baixas, it is that before beginning a meal, diners always find a small basket of Ferreries bread on the table — among the most renowned bread on the island — together with a small mortar containing maonesa, the traditional Menorcan mahonnaise, or allioli, a garlic sauce. This helps promote and remind us that we are on the island considered the birthplace of the queen of cold sauces. Offering a taste of maonesa should be a requirement for every restaurant on the island, especially nowadays, when the sauce can be prepared using pasteurised eggs or replaced with lactonesa, a mayonnaise-style sauce emulsified with milk.

The restaurant's commitment to Menorcan cuisine and local produce is clearly reflected in its menu, particularly when it comes to seafood. Gratinated cockles, sea anemones, Menorcan red prawns, locally caught fish of the day, small sea snails served with maonesa, and grilled mussels from the port of Maó. There are also dishes rooted in our traditional cuisine, such as aubergines stuffed with prawns, Menorcan-style stuffed squid and one of the island's signature seafood dishes, a rockfish stew with langoustines and fine noodles, prepared according to family recipes.

Starters such as salt cod fritters, mushroom and foie gras croquettes, squid ink croquettes, fried anchovies, Andalusian-style fried squid, homemade cured anchovies and cuttlefish with garlic and parsley provide the opportunity to enjoy an evening meal made up entirely of tapas.

Lobster dishes also feature prominently at Rias Baixas. Alongside the traditional lobster stew, diners can enjoy fried lobster, sautéed lobster and another lobster preparation which, like the restaurant's Atlantic lobster, is served with a sauce based on soft traditional biscuits or ensaïmada pastry.

Naturally, a restaurant specialising in Galician cuisine could not be without some of that region's most popular dishes. These range from oysters from Arcade, zamburiñas and volandeiras, two types of small scallops, to dishes featuring Atlantic lobster, Galician-style spider crab, brown crab, pulpo a feira — Galician-style octopus — and seafood platters, which are the stars of many summer evenings on its terrace.

Menorcan meats also play an important role beyond these gastronomic events and can be found either on the regular menu or on the restaurant's specials board.

It is said that Toni's kitchen has a particularly good touch when it comes to rice dishes. Indeed, many families in Ferreries order its fish and seafood paellas to take home. The rice selection also includes meat and seafood paella, brothy rice with rockfish and seafood, and creamy rice with Atlantic lobster.

It is also worth mentioning that Toni Sansaloni is president of the Association of Cafés, Bars and Restaurants of the Small and Medium-Sized Business Association of Menorca (PIME-Menorca). He has been one of the leading advocates of local produce and the organisation of gastronomic events on our island, such as the recent Menorcan Red Cattle Gastronomic Days and Menorca al Plat. These initiatives provide a welcome boost during the low season for restaurants that remain open throughout the year in Menorca.

Visiting Ferreries is always a small pleasure. Exploring its bakeries, such as Can Marc and Can Pedro, or Lluís Febrer's pastry shop, as well as its small Saturday farmers' market and its grocery and gourmet food shops, turns a visit into a delightful gastronomic stroll. Not forgetting its butcher's shops, where excellent sobrassada sausages are made, or the opportunity to visit the cheesemakers at Son Mercer de Baix, Sa Canova or Sant Patrici. At the latter, visitors can also enjoy a tour of the Cheese Museum, explore its wine cellars and taste the excellent wines produced there.