Mallorca de Jamon y Queso

Sometimes exploring a sandwich is a journey. Maybe an ingredient is difficult (or impossible) to find, or a recipe doesn’t exist in English and it has to be translated. Maybe it becomes an actual journey, where we drive or even fly to another state (or country! hasn’t happened yet but stay tuned) to try one in its native habitat. Maybe it’s outlandish, or unpleasant, or delicious beyond all imagining.

Sometimes, though, a sandwich just comes together so easily that you spend the next two weeks wondering what in heck you’re going to write about it. Mallorca de Jamon y Queso is one of those.

The “Mallorca with ham and cheese” is named for the bread, a Puerto Rican take on the Ensaïmada pastries from the Spanish island of Majorca. The Majorcan version is a flaky coiled pastry made with lard, often filled with sweet ingredients such as cream or chocolate, or covered with fruits. The Puerto Rican version is more of a buttery brioche curled into a spiral and topped with powdered sugar.

The biggest hardship I had while I was pursuing this sandwich was that the Puerto Rican bakery where I intended to buy one (or at least the Pan Mallorca rolls it’s made with) didn’t open up on time (or at all? Who knows?) the day I went to visit. I had a tight schedule that day and couldn’t wait around. I shook my fist at the sky, went home empty handed, and ended up searching online for a recipe to make them myself.

The very first link I found yielded a recipe that made 6 rolls (once I cut the proportions in half) so perfect, so rich and soft and just a little sweet (made sweeter by the dusting of powdered sugar on top), that I don’t think I’ll ever have to return to that bakery.

After that, it was simply a matter of slicing a roll in half, griddling it with just a touch of butter…

Pan Mallorca griddled with butter

…while also heating some ham and American cheese on the griddle until the cheese melted, then assembling. It doesn’t get much simpler.

Mallorca de jamon y queso

My first thought upon tasting it was “mmm, brunchy.” The bread is soft, sweet, and eggy, the ham is salty and the cheese melty. It’s basically almost everything one could want for a lazy weekend breakfast.

I tried a few variants, in an attempt to change it up a bit. A panini press added a bit of texture but not much else.

Perhaps my favorite version was when I added two eggs, scrambled. It was no less brunchy but felt more substantial.

Mallorca de jamon y queso y huevos

And that’s pretty much it! If you’re inclined toward baking, I can highly recommend the recipe I used for these rolls, and they do come together fairly easily (though they’re a bit time-consuming, and my shaping techniques are clearly not up to snuff). I used Krakus ham and simple deli American cheese, though I’ve read that a mild Swiss cheese wouldn’t be out of character for a Puerto Rican sandwich either.

Any fans of Puerto Rican Mallorca out there? Please leave a comment and tell me about your own experiences with the sandwich!

Jim Behymer

I like sandwiches.

I like a lot of other things too but sandwiches are pretty great