El Portalon is Anne’s first restaurant venture following the release of her debut book ‘Eivissa: The Ibiza Cookbook’ last summer. Anne oversees menu creation at El Portalon, alongside Executive Chef Filippo Alberi and Head Chef Joel Bonino. Justin manages the front of house team alongside General Manager Mark Winstone.
El Portalon’s menu is seasonality-led, using produce from Can Riero, Anne and husband Rene’s organic farm, as well as sourcing from Ibiza’s local artisan producers. Modern Ibizan dishes such as ‘Clams with bellota julianne, belotta consommé and courgette pearls’ and ‘Ibizan squid, sobrasada, cabbage and romesco sauce’ feature on the concise menu alongside house-made breads, pickles and chutneys. Anne, Filippo and Joel also recently introduced a daytime tapas menu offering a selection of snacks including ‘Watermelon gazpacho’ and ‘Lamb meatballs with yoghurt and cucumber’. Drinks at El Portalon follow the same ethos as the food, with cocktails using ingredients such as plum and apricot puree from Can Riero. These sit alongside a European-focused wine list curated by Justin alongside Morgan Lewis, offering a selection of organic and biodynamic wines with a strong Spanish offering.
The restaurant is set on the ground floor of a historic Palacio and offers space for 20 inside, spread across two dining areas and a bar, and a further 40 outside in the floral courtyard. The interiors, designed by Angie Vestey, have been sympathetically restored to incorporate traditional Ibicencan features alongside contemporary minimal twists.
RECIPES: SOBRASADA AND SPINACH STUFFED SQUID
Serves 4
- 500g (1lb 2oz) small whole squid (frozen or fresh)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
- 1 1/2 onions, finely chopped
- 3/4 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 150g sobrasada
- 250g spinach, washed and chopped
- salt and pepper
If you are using frozen squid, place in a bowl of cold water to defrost. Wash the fresh or frozen squid thoroughly, cut off the tentacles and set aside, then remove the hard ‘quill’ and the ink sac from inside the bodies. Remove and discard the heads. Peel away the membranes and skin from the bodies and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add the sobrasada and fry until cooked thru, remove and drain on kitchen roll, set aside, but reserve the fat. Heat 2 tbsp of the fat in the frying pan over medium heat and fry the onions, red pepper and garlic until slightly soft and golden, 3 or 4 minutes. Add the spinach and toss with a pair of tongs, frying for 2 minutes. Add the sobrasda to the vegetables, stir to combine and cook for 2 or 3 minutes to marry the flavors. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from heat.
Hold the squid bodies like an ice cream cone, spoon in the stuffing packing them tightly. Close each one with a wooden tooth pick.
Brush the bodies and the reserved tentacles with olive oil, place them in a roasting pan, cover with tin foil and roast at 180 for 15 minutes, until slightly under cooked. Remove foil and brush lightly with olive oil again if dry. Set the pan under a grill or in griddle pan for 3 or 4 minutes, until the squid is golden, turning carefully to grill all sides. Brush and grill the tentacles briefly for color only. Serve with romesco sauce, fried sweet potato chips and sea foam.
For the romesco sauce, fried sweet potato and sea foam recipes please contact El Portalon via email at kitchen@elportalonibiza.com.
