Spanish Cuisine

Spanish food has never really caught the imagination of the international palette. This is hardly surprising as the vast majority of visitors to the country generally head for the coastal regions and as such has spawned a vast array of fast food outlets along with a huge variety of international restaurants. Under this barrage of competition from foreigners who bring their own delicacies into the country, food of the ‘real Spain’ hardly gets a look in.

This is a real pity as Spanish food in the areas away from the tourist resorts is much more than simple nutrition; it’s the focal point of family life in Spain.

Spain’s history is littered with battles and occupation by people of different cultures and this along with the diversity of its landscapes is reflected in the food served here. During the time of the Moorish occupation, the Spanish diet was heavily influenced by olives and oranges which had begun to be cultivated as they were cheap and plentiful and an ideal way to feed an impoverished population.

Cumin, saffron and a host of other spices are another testament to the Moors in many modern day Spanish dishes. Fabulous soups and stews which once formed the staple diet of the peasant community, who were forced to grow their own food, can now be found being enjoyed on dinner tables all over Spain.

What of Paella?

The original paella recipe is believed to have contained rabbit pieces, home grown vegetables and short grain rice which had successfully been mass produced due to the ingenious irrigation systems developed by the Moors in the area around Valencia. This combination of cheap ingredients to make such a sumptuous dish is attributed to the peasants of the Valencian region who hardly knew at the time, just after the Spanish civil war, that these were the beginnings of Spain’s most famous dish. This traditional Valencian paella is far removed from the variety served up on the Costas where mussels, clams and other exotic trimmings are thrown in to tempt the money from the pockets of tourists.

From a country the size of Spain, it is to be expected that there are many regional dishes which form part of the cuisine, but to speak of Spain and the national diet in general, the popularity of olive oil cannot be overlooked. This is used widely for cooking, flavouring and seasoning (not to mention drizzling over salads) and the general passion for all things fish is one of the reasons why the Spanish diet is widely considered to be one of the healthiest in the world.

A selection of other Spanish dishes includes:

Arroz Con Leche (rice pudding)
Calamares (Fried squid)
Cocido (a chickpea and meat stew of sorts)
Cocido Montañés typical from Cantabria
Chorizo (spicy sausage)
Chuletillas (grilled chops of milk-fed lamb)
Gazpacho (cold bread and tomato soup)
Gooseneck barnacles typical from Galicia
Fabada Asturiana (bean stew)
Jamón serrano (cured ham)
Lechazo asado (roasted milk-fed lamb)
Shellfish
Marmitako typical from Basque Country
Paella (saffron rice)
Pescaito Frito, battered fried fish, typical from Málaga and Western Andalusia