We were surprised by the wide variety of dishes local to Tenerife. A rich cuisine isn't one of the characteristics which immediately spring to mind when thinking about the Canary Islands, but of course it makes sense -- close to Africa, linked historically to Europe, and with a strong connection to the New World, the food of Tenerife should be special. Here are a few more dishes we loved.
I had thought that the word "guachinche" must somehow be related to the guanches -- the original inhabitants of the Canary Islands, who were conquered by the Spanish in the 15th century. But that missing "n" in the root syllable bugged me… "guach" is not the same as "guanch".
Throughout the age of industrialization, the Canary Islands experienced massive immigration to the New World. Later, the current of people began flowing in the other direction. People from across Latin America settled down in the Canaries, including a large number of Venezuelans... and you know they weren't going to leave their arepas behind.
