Bread & Oil: Majorcan Culture's Last Stand

Coarse bread rubbed with tomato or garlic and then bathed in olive oil, is common to all the Mediterranean cultures. On the island of Majorca, it is known as pa amb oli, bread and oil. Tomás Graves takes this healthy peasant staple as a starting point to explore not only Mediterranean cooking, agriculture, and traditions but also the historical events that have rescued this simple dish from disappearing along with a way of life that had remained essentially unchanged since Roman times.

In Bread & Oil Tomás Graves celebrates the Majorcan character as reflected in its eating habits. He makes the sights, sounds, scents and people of the Spanish island spring to life so brilliantly in this creative triumph. Part adventure, part history book, part travelogue, part restaurant guide and part cookbook, the reader is charmed throughout. Recipes reflect the indigenous ingredients; wrinkled olives made with olive oil, lemon juice and crushed garlic; fried sardines topped with sautéed onions and marinated in vinegar served cold with bread and oil, and guacamole with tomatoes and onions. Originally published as Volem pa amb oli in the native Catalan language of the Balearics, this new revised and updated English-language edition of Graves' book offers an informative guide not only to an overlooked culinary tradition, but also to the immense cultural transition that's changing the face of Europe.