I love sobrassada. The first thing I ate on my very first visit to Barcelona was a toasted sobrassada sandwich and I fell in love with the spicy paste. This Mallorcan treat is a cured raw pork sausage that is soft and spreadable and flavoured with plenty of paprika. In Barcelona, you can find it plain, baked into pastries, cooked into dishes, and of course, as a sandwich filling; I’m sure I’ve left out lots of other things to do with this wonderful spread. Luckily, it is available here in London but you have to search for it. I buy mine at R Garcia and Sons on Portobello Road; actually, I purchase most of my Spanish goods there.
It’s sold in two forms in the shops. The first is stuffed into an intestine skin, looking like a giant red sausage (pictured below). You’d usually buy thick slices of it, throw away the outside skin and eat the insides. The second form is just the cured pork meat in a small plastic tub. There’s nothing wrong with this – I’ve had excellent versions. The main thing you want to look out for is that it’s sobrassada de Mallorca.
The next step on the sobrassada sandwich scale was an introduction to a hot sobrassada and cheese sandwich a couple years ago. I was introduced to Forn Mistral by another friend now living in Barcelona, a great bakery/cafe near the Universitat metro stop. It’s a great place to stop in for a treat and what I chose that day was a this thin little flute filled with sobrassada and cheese. Absolutely delicious.
This past trip, at a tapas bar with Blai and his brother, we shared a toasted sandwich with sobrassada, cheese and honey. Honey! Oh, its sweetness goes beautifully with the salty, spicy fattiness of the sobrassada. Inspired by this, last weekend, I turned a can of refrigerated crescent rolls (don’t judge – it was on sale and I was curious and I was working all weekend!) into delicious sobrassada, cheese and honey crescents which we wolfed down in about 10 minutes flat. Of course, the filling ingredients would go together wonderfully in a toasted sandwich too.
Sobrassada, Cheese and Honey Crescents
makes 6.
For the pastry, I used one can of refrigerated crescent rolls but a sheet of puff pastry somehow cut into 6 triangles would work too. Along the short end of the triangle, lay out about 2 tsps of sobrassada, a bit of cheese (I used manchego) and a good drizzle of honey. Roll them up, pop them into a preheated oven (follow the instructions on your packet) and there you have it – hot yumminess. Eat.
Fri, 25 Feb, 2011 at 19:08
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Fri, 25 Feb, 2011 at 22:25
I haven’t seen that crescent roll pastry for years – I remember a friend’s mum using it and thinking it the height of sophistication! (this was 80s Ireland, so it probably was…) Must also look out for sobrassada now.
Sat, 26 Feb, 2011 at 06:53
sounds delicious!
Sat, 26 Feb, 2011 at 10:23
I can’t believe I never came across sobrassada when I went to Barcelona. Oh well, just a reason to go back sooner. Ahem.
Sat, 26 Feb, 2011 at 10:57
I love sobrassada. It’s Mallorcan origins are interesting in that the climate there was too damp for curing sausages in the usual way hence why it’s a paste.
Might have to nip out to the market now and get some.
Sat, 26 Feb, 2011 at 11:26
I’ve eaten something like this before in Barcelona by accident. I was on a stag-do, missed breakfast, so I went to a bakery and ordered a few random pastries by pointing. One of the pastries had a meaty paste inside. Now I know what it is! Thanks!
Sat, 26 Feb, 2011 at 21:35
I had sobrassada once in Seville, and it was good, but I felt a little went a long way. I think it was the texture. Having it baked into something sounds much better!
Where do you get cans of crescent roll dough?
Sat, 26 Feb, 2011 at 22:18
do u know if we can get sobrassada in london?
Mon, 31 Oct, 2011 at 10:28
Cannon & Cannon are the only ones I know of, they have a stall in Borough Market
http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/135445769833721/
Sun, 27 Feb, 2011 at 15:32
DELICIOUS! I love sobrasada too. It’s been forever since I’ve had it. Have you tried nduja from Calabria? Similar if punchier.
Mon, 28 Feb, 2011 at 09:45
That sandwich looks amazingly good! I must get a hold of some sobrassada and experiment with it!
Mon, 28 Feb, 2011 at 12:20
We often buy a German sausage called ‘Fleischwurst’ which has similar properties. I usually spread it like paté, my wife likes to cut it into slices.
No comparison on flavour, though … in truth, it’s rather bland. But, the paprika flavour sounds interesting … I’m going to Spain in about 3 weeks … I wonder if you can get soubrasada near where I’ll be, near Santander?
Tue, 1 Mar, 2011 at 14:03
Gail: If you’re closer to Brindisa, they’ve confirmed that they sell it too.
kat: It is!
breadetbutter: But you’re in London! You can have it here too!
butterytoast: Ah, so that’s why it’s a paste – thank you for that!
Mr Noodles: That’s probably it! I really like their pastries with the tuna fillings too.
Foodycat: I bought mine at Morrisons though I’ve also seen them at some Tescos.
Justin: As I mention in the post, yes. I buy mine from Garcia and Sons and Brindisa have also confirmed that they sell it.
Niamh: I think I had it in a dish once but haven’t had it plain. Gotta seek it out!
Lorraine: I bet you’d love it! Good luck on your search!
travelrat: I’m going to be on the lookout for fleischwurst now. I do believe you can find sobrassada there – try the markets or heck, even the supermarkets.
Tue, 1 Mar, 2011 at 16:39
I’ve never tried sobrassada but eat quite a lot of nduja – was just going to ask if you know whether they’re similar but think Niamh just did it for me! I very much like the sound of that sandwich…
Thu, 3 Mar, 2011 at 14:57
Hanna: Yup, from what I understand, nduja is a lot spicier. You should see the amount of sobrassada Blai puts on his bread… if that was nduja, it would probably blow off his head!
Mon, 7 Mar, 2011 at 09:52
Cured meaty paste, cheese and honey? A balanced meal of all your major food groups then – umami, fat and sweetness. Genius. Ooh. And a spicy option too. Will have to look out for this at Brindisa. Thanks!
Wen
Wed, 9 Mar, 2011 at 12:04
once in a blue moon I buy refrigerated crescent rolls on a whim, and since I don’t normally bake bread at home, they certainly do make me feel like I’m a baker… I’d never think to combine those ingredients, especially honey, but it sounds fantastic
Mon, 14 Mar, 2011 at 07:41
Sobrasada – love it too! Not sure if @flavoursofspain do it I shop quite a lot at their online shop http://www.flavoursofspain.co.uk – they have amazing stuff. They work with small artisan producers mainly and always bring new things – check it out
Mon, 14 Mar, 2011 at 12:49
Going With My Gut: Oh yes, sobrassada is fantastic by itself but with the cheese and the honey… mmmmm….
foodhoe:
They are awfully convenient, aren’t they? I have another can in my fridge!
FoodFavourites: Their website doesn’t seem to list it unfortunately! But thanks for the link – it’ll be good to keep track of the other things they have.
Fri, 29 Apr, 2011 at 20:00
[...] lemons I made up a month or so ago, and maybe also try the sobrassada I brought back from Mallorca. These sarnies and pastries sound like excellent ways to use it! from → Uncategorized [...]