For most of us hedgehogs conjure up Mrs. Tiggywinkle type images snuffling nocturnally around the garden eating the cat's food or smeared flat across the public highway. But did you know that here in Ibiza the hedgehog was part of country folks' staple diet until only 50 years ago?
Favourites from the country kitchen included hedgehog stew and fried hedgehog with garlic and potatoes. They even had special hedgehog dogs trained to sniff out the little creatures and once consigned to hedgehog heaven by way of a sharp blow to the head, they were de-spined with the aid of a hollow cane and put in the pot.
We are grateful to Mariano Planells and his book 'Dictionary of Ibiza Secrets' for this information and we've promised not to try it at home.