Olives with mojo sauce

The early colonizers, immediately after the conquest of the island, introduced their olive seeds and saplings to the parched, sunny south of the island… and with them a Mediterranean olive-growing culture. The first mills started up in the 16th century, while the last of the eight of them that existed in the area was still working until midway through the 20th century. All of them were dedicated wholly to the production of virgen olive oil.

These mills, with their turning cogs that crushed olives on a stone concavity, are still fondly remembered today in the 21st century. “The olives were thrown into a sink, a stone with a single pin, and they were ground like a waterwheel. The pips and everything were all mashed in together”, recalls Teodoro, one of the first farmers to use the first modern mills in 2003, which were soon followed by others which brought the finest extra virgin olive oil to islanders’ meal tables.

However, the variety known as the “locally grown olive” (which despite many centuries of adaptation, is well known to correspond to the green Huévar variety) has also been consumed –and uninterruptedly so- and is still present in local diet and cuisine. Yet it has always been sweetened and dressed with Canarian mojo sauce in different guises, depending on the region.

The process starts off by placing them in brine for at least four or five days, when they are then strained and a little cut put into them, or, if they are to be eaten soon, they may be gently mashed. The mojo sauce, with its different flavours depending on local or family tradition, is then added, and they are left to soak for a further few days. The mojo sauce is basically a mash of garlic, sea salt, red pepper (or rehydrated, dried pepper), red paprika, vinegar, olive oil and oregano.

Yuri Millares, December 2017