Xavier Beltran is a longtime Washington DC municipal executive who serves the District of Columbia Department of General Services as general counsel and provides leadership in areas such as construction and real estate portfolio management. An avid traveler, Xavier Beltran has visited family in Spanish locations such as Mallorca, and enjoyed sampling the cuisine of the Mediterranean island.
One of Mallorca’s most versatile dishes is the cured pork sausage sobrasada, which is spiced with paprika and cayenne. It’s distinct from the chorizo of the Spanish mainland in being cured in a climate of mild winters and high humidity, which creates a far softer texture. The sausage is traditionally made during the matanca, a time when local families traditionally gathered and produced pork products that would last throughout the year. In past centuries, sobrasada was the only consistent source of meat for many of the island’s inhabitants.
Combining bacon and minced pork, the sobrasada is often smeared on local bread or eaten as a tapa, and it is even used as a pizza topping or filling for empanada. One of the best locations to purchase sobrasada is Palma de Mallorca’s Mercat Olivar, which is the major market for fresh produce in the city. Sobrasada is available in a variety of shapes and sizes, from the extra large bufetes or bisbe, to the medium-sized pultrums or cular, and the bite-sized llonganissa.
