Frit mallorquí
Mallorcan 'fry': lamb or pork offal sautéed with potatoes, onions, peppers, garlic and wild fennel. A peasant dish that became a Sunday classic.
Frit mallorquí is one of the oldest dishes in Mallorcan home cooking. The base recipe takes lamb or pork offal (heart, liver, lungs, kidneys), chops it small, and sautés it in olive oil with potatoes, onions, red peppers, garlic and a generous amount of wild fennel (fonoll). The result is dark, rich, slightly bitter from the offal, and aromatic from the fennel. It started as a way to use the parts of an animal that wouldn't sell at market and became Sunday-lunch fare in Mallorcan villages. Many modern restaurants offer two versions: frit de matances (the traditional pork-offal version, from pig-slaughter season) and frit marinero (with seafood instead of offal).
How it's served
On a flat plate, hot and slightly oily, with bread on the side. A traditional Sunday lunch dish in Mallorcan villages, available year-round at restaurants specializing in traditional cuisine. Eaten with fork and bread; the broth that gathers at the bottom of the plate gets sopped up.
Regional variation
Frit de matances uses pork offal and traditionally comes from the autumn-winter pig-slaughtering season. Frit de xot uses lamb offal and shows up year-round. Frit marinero (seafood frit, with squid, prawns and white fish) is a coastal modernisation. All three follow the same fonoll-and-potato base.
- Origin
- Mallorca
- Etymology
- Catalan/Mallorcan for 'fried' or 'fry.'
- Also called
- frit
Frequently asked
What is frit mallorquí?
A traditional Mallorcan dish of chopped offal (lamb or pork) sautéed with potatoes, onions, red peppers, garlic and wild fennel. Started as a peasant way to use slaughter byproducts; became Sunday lunch fare in Mallorcan villages. Dark, rich, slightly bitter and aromatic.
What kind of offal is in frit mallorquí?
Traditionally lamb or pork offal: heart, liver, lungs and kidneys, all chopped small. The exact mix varies by butcher and recipe. Modern restaurant versions sometimes lean more on liver and skip the harder-to-source organs. A seafood version (frit marinero) substitutes squid, prawns and white fish.
Why is wild fennel in frit mallorquí?
Fonoll (wild fennel) grows abundantly in the Mallorcan countryside and is what gives frit its distinctive aroma. It cuts the richness of the offal and adds a vegetal anise note. Most traditional cooks consider it the non-negotiable ingredient; a frit without fonoll isn't really a frit.
Related terms
- SobrasadaMallorcan cured pork sausage that's spreadable rather than sliceable: soft, paprika-red, eaten on bread or stirred into sauces.
- TumbetMallorcan vegetable casserole: layered slices of fried potato, aubergine and red pepper, all topped with tomato sauce. The Mallorcan answer to ratatouille.
- Arròs brutMallorcan 'dirty rice': a brothy rice stew with rabbit, chicken or game, sobrasada, vegetables and saffron. Winter staple, eaten in a deep bowl with a spoon.
- CellerCatalan and Mallorcan word for a cellar restaurant. Traditionally built in or below a wine cellar, serving regional cooking and the house's own wine.