Llampuga
Llampuga is the Catalan name for mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus), a migratory Mediterranean fish that reaches Balearic waters each autumn and is one of Mallorca's most anticipated seasonal catches, classically fried and served amb pebres, with peppers.
Llampuga is the Catalan name for what English speakers call mahi-mahi or the common dolphinfish, a fast-growing, iridescent blue-and-gold fish that migrates through the western Mediterranean. In the Balearic Islands it arrives each autumn, and for generations Mallorcan households have built weeks of home cooking around the catch while it's at its best. The fish has firm, lean, white flesh that holds up well to frying, and the most traditional preparation, llampuga amb pebres, pairs fried fillets with fried red peppers. Because the season is short, its arrival has long been treated as a small annual event along the coast, culminating in Capdepera's Feria de la Llampuga in the port of Cala Rajada, where restaurants and producers celebrate the fish each autumn with tastings and cooking through the fair. Outside Mallorca, the same species turns up on menus as mahi-mahi or dorado, though it shouldn't be confused with dorada, the unrelated gilthead sea bream. For Mallorcans, though, it's simply llampuga, an autumn fixture as reliable as the season's first cool nights.
How it's served
Most often pan-fried in fillets and served amb pebres, alongside fried red peppers, though it's also grilled, baked, or preserved in escabeche. It appears on menus and home tables through the autumn season while the catch is running, and is the centerpiece of Capdepera's Feria de la Llampuga each year in the port of Cala Rajada.
Regional variation
Preparations vary from household to household, some add tomato or onion to the pepper fry, others favor a simple grilled fillet, and coastal towns beyond Capdepera also fry and preserve their own catch, though Cala Rajada's autumn fair is the best-known celebration of the fish.
- Origin
- Mallorca
Frequently asked
What is llampuga in English?
Llampuga is the Catalan name for mahi-mahi, also called the common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus), a migratory fish found across the Mediterranean and beyond.
What is llampuga amb pebres?
It's the classic Mallorcan preparation of the fish, fried fillets of llampuga served with fried red peppers, eaten during the fish's autumn season.
When is llampuga season in Mallorca?
Llampuga runs through the autumn months, when the fish migrates through Balearic waters, and Capdepera's Feria de la Llampuga in the port of Cala Rajada celebrates the catch each year around that time.