What espinagada de sa pobla is
The espinagada is a filled dough pasty from the village of Sa Pobla in the Pla de Mallorca. It looks like a flat, round empanada — dough above and below with filling between. Classically baked in a specific shape about a third the size of a car tyre.
The filling is the signature: eel from the Albufera (the marshland between Sa Pobla and Pollença) combined with spinach, pine nuts, raisins and a paprika-peppery seasoning. The sweet-sour-savoury combination of spinach, pine nuts and raisins is the Mediterranean tradition; the eel is the local twist.
History
Sa Pobla is one of the agricultural centres of the island — sitting on the edge of the Albufera, Mallorca’s largest marshland. Eel has been fished there for centuries — it was part of the rural diet and is used in several Sa Pobla specialties.
The espinagada was traditionally baked for the Sant Antoni feast (17 January) — the village has a particularly elaborate Sant Antoni celebration with bonfires, folk dance groups, and field kitchens. Espinagadas were part of that field kitchen and were prepared in large quantities for hundreds of feast-goers.
Today the espinagada is the best-known dish from Sa Pobla — and a symbol of that village’s culinary identity. There are pastry shops and small bakeries in Sa Pobla that specialise exclusively in espinagada.
Season
Main season is January to March — around Sant Antoni and the weeks after. Eel is better in winter, spinach is a winter vegetable. In summer espinagada is rarely seen.
Where to get a real one
The recommended source is the specialist bakeries in Sa Pobla itself — the small kiosks along the Carretera or around the market square, which have held the recipe for generations. The Mercat de Sa Pobla on Sunday morning is the best place to buy one direct.
At our restaurant we serve espinagada occasionally — mostly in January and February, when we can source it from a Sa Pobla bakery. It’s not on the menu every day — ask the team.