Taking the Biscuit

An autumn break in Palma Majorca revealed dappled sunshine beneath the palm trees, a wind tossed yacht loosened from its moorings and the blackest clouds chasing us along the boulevard. It was a week of sun cream with ice cream one day and brollies and steaming cafe con leche the next.

I have a kind of love affair with Palma and, despite the changing sky, it did not disappoint. The food for both my carnivore husband and my veggie self was exceptional. Eating out in Spain used to be a nightmare for me but, wow, things have changed. On every menu there were vegetarian and vegan choices. Not only that but most of the menus had numbers against the dishes with a key showing what was within. Great for those with allergies, intolerances and dislikes.

One ingredient which came up a couple of times, even in English, was speculoos. It appeared in both sweet and savoury dishes and I was curious enough to ask what it was. It turns out to be a crispy biscuit, like the ones given free with cups of coffee (Lotus Biscoff call them a saucer side biscuit). It has a caramelised almost cinnamon taste and so accompanies ice cream dishes as well as the pumpkin dish I enjoyed on holiday.

Baked pumpkin with speculoos on carrot cream with hazelnuts