History

Tumbet is the island's summer glut dish, made when aubergines, peppers and tomatoes all arrive at once. Every element is fried separately in olive oil so each keeps its texture, then layered and finished under a slow tomato sauce. It is served as a vegetable course, as a side to grilled pork loin, or under a fried egg, and it is one of the few Mallorcan classics that is vegan by default. Palma kitchens run it from June through to the end of the tomato season.

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Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 45 minTotal 1 hr 15 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 2 large aubergines, sliced 1cm thick
  • 4 floury potatoes, sliced 1cm thick
  • 3 red peppers, deseeded and cut into wide strips
  • 600g ripe tomatoes, grated
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced
  • Olive oil for frying
  • Salt

Method

  1. Salt the aubergine slices and leave them 20 minutes, then pat dry.
  2. Fry the potato slices in olive oil over medium heat until tender and pale gold, then drain on paper.
  3. Fry the peppers until soft and blistered, drain, then fry the aubergine until golden on both sides.
  4. In the same pan, soften the garlic, add the grated tomato and a pinch of salt, and cook down for 25 minutes.
  5. Layer potato, then pepper, then aubergine in an ovenproof dish, salting each layer.
  6. Pour the tomato sauce over the top and bake at 180C for 15 minutes.
  7. Rest for 10 minutes before serving so the layers hold when cut.

Tip from the editors. Frying each vegetable separately is the whole technique. Cook them together and you get a stew.

Where to eat tumbet

Tumbet in Palma

Featured by TableJourney as a signature dish of Palma. See where to eat Tumbet in Palma or the Palma signature dishes guide.

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