Mojo at the table

Mojo does not live on the plate alone: it lives at the table, at the fiesta, at the gathering. In the Canaries there is no celebration without mojo —it is there at the romerías, at the barbecues, at Sunday lunch, in the cheese grilled over the fire while people chat. Its most famous companion is papas arrugadas, those small potatoes boiled with plenty of salt which, with a red or green mojo, become the mouthful anyone recognises instantly as the Canaries.

But mojo goes with almost everything: fresh fish, char-grilled meat, sancocho, grilled cheese or, quite simply, bread. It is democratic: it ennobles the humble and accompanies the festive. And behind every bowl there is a web of people —those who grow the pepper, those who make the oil, those who raise the garlic—; buying from them is what keeps the flavour alive. Take the recipe book with you and, when you make it, invite someone over.