INTRODUCTION
We will start by outlining the typical food region by region. People have this conception of Spanish food, watch out, really greasy, Spanish tummy. That might have been true in the 1960s when Spain was still a poor country. Today however, the food in Spain is high quality, generally made with fresh ingredients, in hygienic kitchens, and both healthy and delicious. The food is also vary varied, as typical dishes vary substantially from region to region. So here´s our list of the main regions with a description of the food associated with them. We have deliberately left out the Canary Islands as it is better to treat them as a separate destination. For now, we cover all of mainland Spain and Mallorca. Now before we get into this, we just want to say that anyone who knows us, Anthony and Lean, the travelling donkeys, will also know that we simply love Spanish paradors. Aswell as being lovely hotels, usually in old historic castles, monasteries and palaces, they specialize in serving local typical dishes in their excellent restaurants. This is where we recommend you try out the dishes we describe. So after giving you a run down on the food to expect in each region, we will embark on a mighty culinary tour of Spain, staying mainly in paradors with a couple of exceptions, and while we are not eating, are discovering things we can do and experience in each place. We recommend you take 2 or even 3 months for this tour, but if you don´t have that time, then split it up by dividing it into two or three visits. Spain is addictive. Once you experience the real Spain you will want to keep coming back for more.
REGIONAL FOOD SPECIALITIES
Our first region is the Basque country, or El país Vasco as it is known locally. This is the land of pintxos, small bits of bread with all kinds of imaginative stuff put on top of them, often held in place by a plastic skewer. What goes on top of the bread can be cold or hot. For example, you might have smoked salmon with a bit of avocado and some thousand island dressing. You might have a piece of serrano ham, with some cheese, and asparagus. You may have some hot pork with garlic, covered in red peppers, or you may have a thin fillet of chicken breast with an egg on top. There is no typical pintxo, but rather whatever the imagination conceives, the pintxos varying according to what bar you eat them in. Typically, people order lots of pintxos on a plate and make their meal out of them.
Next we have Cantabria, the capital of which is Santander. Before the Costa del Sol in the south became fashionable, most tourists from Madrid used to go to either Santander or San Sebastian for their summer beach vacations. Fresh caught fish is the order of the day here. We have ´meganos encebollados´ which is squid with onions. We have ´cachon en su tinta´ or cuttlefish in their own ink sauce. We have ´merluza verde´ which is hake in a green sauce. Then we have ´almejas´ which are served as a kind of clam soup but only with a little bit of liquid, and usually as a starter.
Next we have Asturias which is famous for its ´fabada asturiana´ a good hearty white bean soup with black sausage, chorizo, bacon, potato and a few chopped vegetables. Asturias is also known for its ´babes con almejas´, large white beans with clams.
Next we have Galicia, known for its ´pulpo a la Gallega´ - octopus with paprika, olive oil and baby potatoes. Then there is it´s famous ´tarta de Santiago´ - made with groung almonds, sugar and eggs, with a touch of lemon and cinnamon. It is decorated with icing sugar, with a cross showing in the centre. It is of course gluten free as it does not have any flour in it. It can also keep a long time in a sealed container, so if you love this cake, you can load up on supply and take it home with you.
Next we have Extremadura, known for its black pigs that roam around the countryside eating acorns from the many oak trees. These acorn fed pigs produce the most delicious flavour ham which is known as ´jamón bellota´ - typically it is ordered as a plateful on its own, very thinly sliced, so that it is not mixed with any other flavour, allowing you to savour its delicious taste on its own. At Christmas time, people will buy a whole bellota pig ham to share around the family and nibble at everyday during the Christmas period.
Next we have Andalucía, famous for a whole lot of dishes. We love gazpacho, which is a cold drink or soup made with fresh tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onions, and other vegetables all pureed together - as a cold soup it is served with croutons, hard boiled eggs and red peppers on top. The Cordoba version of gazpacho also has bread as an ingredient, making it thicker and creamier. Another favourite of ours is ´huevos a la flamenco´ - tomato, bacon, ham, chorizo, peas, garlic and esparragos cooked in the oven in olive oil, and then at the last minute have a couple of eggs added so that the whites are hard but the yolks runny. Then we have three fish dishes. First is ´fritura de pescado´ which is a big mixture of different fish, prawns, squid and octopus, gently sprinkled with a flour and eggs mixture and then lightly fried in olive oil. Second, is ´arroz meloso de mariscos´ - an extremely moist almost soup like rice with lots of shell fish in it. Third, are freshly caught sardines, served on spits, grilled on a fire on the beach. For meat dishes, in the mountains, we have venison in a rich sauce, or wild pig, roasted and served with a sauce, and thick nutritious soups such as lentils with chorizo, carrots, potatoes, garlic, bits of chicken and rabbit, or chickpeas in the same type of hearty soup. Rabbit in garlic, or rabbit with a creamy almond sauce is also popular, especially in country villages. Finally, we have tapas, or nibbles which are little dishes of whatever the imagination creates, both hot and cold. Examples might be chicken or ham croquettes, Russian potato salad in mayonnaise, a small bowl of soup, ham, cheese and olives, slow cooked lamb in a sauce, pork with peppers, fiery hot chunks of potato, hot king prawns with garlic, a slice of tortilla (Spanish omelette made with potato, eggs, onion and garlic), or a bowl of nuts or stuffed olives. Some people have a few tapas as a starter for their meal, others choose a lot of tapas and make them their main meal, others eat them as a nibble between meals along with a drink. In the old days, a complimentary tapa used to be served automatically when one ordered a drink - today, tapas mostly have their price, though sometimes a complimentary tapa of olives or nuts is still served in some bars and restaurants. One breakfast and merienda (tea time) speciality of Andalucia is ´churros´ a batter, made into a long tube, fried, sprinkled with sugar and served with coffee or hot chocolate.
Valencia is famous for being the home of Paella, a mixture of rice, chicken, meat, shellfish, or pretty well anything that you like to put into it. Sometimes in Valencia they allow the black tint of squid to seep into the rice, making a black paella. During the big fiesta of Fallas in March, you will see stands selling ´buñuelos de calabaza don chocolate´ which are hot doughnut like buns made with pumkin and batter, and served with a dark rich thick chocolate drink. A healthy cold drink typical of Valencia, is ´horchata´, made with ´chufa´ or tiger nuts which are a kind of root grown locally in Alboraya, sugar, and cinnamon. Valencianos have a sweet tooth and have excellent ice cream parlours, a particularly good one called ´heladería veneta´ and coffee - patisserie shops, the best of which is called ´Dulce de Leche.´
Next is Mallorca, famous for its unique sweet bread breakfast speciality, the ´ensaimada´. This is best eaten fresh in my opinion, but they do make satisfactory factory versions of it which are packed into boxes and which can last for weeks. The ensaimada is typically a series of round coils, with its own half bread half pastry like unique texture, and is sprinkled with icing sugar. Another breakfast speciality there is ´pa amb oli´ - bread with oil, which is brown bread, with garlic and tomatoes on it, and olive oil, tasty and healthy. For hot dishes, we recommend their ´Llom amb col.´, which consists of pork loin, cabbage, tomatoes, butifarra sausage, pine nuts and raisins, slow cooked on the fire in a clay pot. Then there is ´Arroz Brut´, which is a rice stew, and another stew, known as ´tumbat´ which is a vegetable stew made with fried aubergines, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and garlic
Next we have Cataluña, famous for three things. First is ´escudilla´, a pork, beef, chicken stew with a big meatball in it, and vegetables. Then we have ´butifarra´ which is a sausage with a very high pork content, so healthy and low fat. It can be served grilled, or as an ingredient in a thick hearty soup of beans, lentils or chickpeas. Then for dessert, Cataluña is famous for it´s ´crema catalana´, a kind of custard cream with caramalised sugar on top, - the sugar should be caramalised by a hot griddle, so that it is hot and crispy when served, with the custard underneath it being chilled and cold.
Next we have Aragón which is known for it´s ´ternasco´, a young roast lamb. There is also ´pollo al chilondrón´ , a chicken dish in a tomato and pepper sauce.
Then, next door in the Pyrenees, we have ´migas a la pastora´, which are breadcrumbs with meat and sausage, and ´trucha ajo arriero´, which is a trout with garlic dish.
Then we have the main high central plateau of Spain which is divided into two big regions, Castilla la Mancha and Castilla y Leon. Castilla la Mancha is known for its variety of Manchego cheeses, which can be goat or cow or a mixture of the two, mild ranging up to extremely well cured and strong in flavour. Then there is also Toledo marzipan, made with sugar, honey, almonds and eggs. ´Judías la Granja´ is a bowl of beans, chorizo, ham, potato and black sausage which will warm you up in winter and also fill you up. A more refined dish is ´perdiz´- partridge, usually grilled and served with green vegetables and potato chips. Then there is ´pisto´ - a mixture of all sorts of vegetables, which is both eaten on its own as a dish in it´s own right, and also used as a side dish with meat.
Castilla y Leon is known for it´s thick soups, such as ´sopa de ajo´ which is a garlic soup with bread in it and an egg added into it at the last minute. The ´olla podrida´ soup is a hearty mixture of beans, lamb, chickpeas, chorizo and potato. Then we have the main meat dishes, ´cochinillo´ which is roast suckling pig and ´lechazo´ which is roast suckling lamb.
TOURING - THE NORTHERN COASTAL REGIONS
That concludes our culinary outline of Spain. Now let´s go touring and experience all these delicacies and create lifelong memories. We will start our tour in the Basque country, just by the French border, in a charming little town called Hondarribia. From Madrid you can get there by high speed train, changing onto a local train for the last leg from San Sebastian (Donostia). You can book with Omio, this being the link to get a quote: https://omio.tpk.mx/Mm0vs8X6 or by flying to San Sebastian and then taking a train or taxi, the link to book being: https://omio.tpk.mx/zf22RznK If you are driving your own car, so much the better. If you rent a car, remember our advice to get a totally inclusive deal whereby nothing is blocked from your credit card because everything is covered by the insurance. Two companies offer this type of contract in Spain, Goldcar key n go and Centauro. The parador in Hondarribia is an old 10th century castle built by the King of Navarra. To keep the muslim conquerors at bay, the king allowed one of his daughters to be married to the caliph and that strategy worked. There are all kinds of secret tunnels under the building and it is said that those who venture in never come out. As with nearly all paradors, the comfort of the rooms and the food is excellent. Here´s a link to get a quote and book: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/wanN2Hmk While you are here, you may want to visit the famous Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, the elegant resort down of San Sebastian, and cross over the French border into a lovely fishing village Saint Jean de Luz, allowing time too to explore Hondarribia with its typical Basque buildings and beautiful beach. If you would like a guide that you can plan your own personalised tour with and get to know much more about the Basque culture from a local expert, we recommend Aitor Delgado - here´s a link to get his services: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/fyB46xdB
Next we go to Santillana just north of Santander. Santillana is a beautiful little town and the parador there is an old manor house - you can see it and book here: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/frVuChSf While you are here you may want to visit the El Castillo caves and paleolithic art - here´s a tour for that: https://getyourguide.tpk.mx/7hZ58dLF You will also want to visit the Altamira caves and museum which is about a twenty minute walk out of the village. If you like hiking in beautiful mountains, we recommend a day in the Picos de Europa, which is about a two hour drive away from Santillana. We particularly recommend the lakes of Covadonga area where there are beautiful paths around the lakes for non strenuous walking.
Next we go to Cangas de Narcea where the parador is a peaceful old monastery, the link being: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/c668mQ4c While you are here we recommend a relaxing day in Luarca, a fishing village on the coast. The Fonte Baxa Garden is there, a fabulous 15 hectare beautiful garden estate - to really appreciate it, it´s worth going round with a guide, so here´s a link where you can book: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/nacq2oxy If you like hiking, then we can recommend two great experiences for you out of Oviedo which is just over an hour away from Cangas de Narcea. The first experience is to walk like a pilgrim on the pilgrim´s path to Santiago. Before the tour, get to Oviedo early, look around the historic centre and go inside the cathedral which is where you will join the tour when you come out. Here´s the link to book: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/Xyb9nqGe The next experience is a bit less strenuous where you walk for about two hours through the spectacular Asturias countryside to a hot spring spa called Las Caldas which is one of the leading spas of Spain. Here´s a link to book: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/37G4OvSa
Next we go to Santiago de Compostela where the parador, built in around the years 1510, was first of all a hospital to receive the exhausted pilgrims to the city, many of whom had walked hundreds of kilometres to get there. Today it is a wonderful parador. The building is a historic gem and the location is perfect, right by the cathedral Here´s a link to see it and book: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/PlYfIS81 Most of your time in Santiago will be just exploring all the nooks and crannies of this ancient and fascinating city. There are a couple of day trips you could do, both driving in your car (if rented, check you have permission and insurance to go into Portugal) or in case you prefer to do these excursions on a tour with a guide, I give you the links to do so. One is to drive through the green Galician countryside to Catadrais beach and two villages which actually are back in Asturias, called Tapia de Casariego and Rinlo. Here´s the link for that one: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/Oydm5sZ3 The other is a trip to Oporto which is about a 2 and a half hour drive south. Here´s a link for a bus tour: https://getyourguide.tpk.mx/KX3PybpJ For those of you who want to take a break here and really experience walking in the Galician countryside, we recommend a great 9 day walking tour from the historic and beautiful town of Tui which is south of Santiago and Vigo, from which you will walk back to Santiago along the path that the Portuguese and southern Spanish pilgrims used to take. Here´s the link to see and book that: https://getyourguide.tpk.mx/WQkFVmUU - truly a wonderful experience.
Next we go to Pontevedra, also in Galicia just a short drive south of Santiago, where we find a beautiful parador in the heart of the city with a wonderful garden and which was a palace. Here´s a link to see it and book: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/LtiyBhEd There is lots to see in Pontevedra so you will easily need a day just wandering around the city, seeing the main sights. For a day trip, we recommend going to the coastal village of Combarro; its advisable to get there early to beat the crowds as it is a very scenic, picturesque much photographed village.
That concludes our tour of Northern Spain. To continue our gastronomic tour of paradors, see our next blog "Finding Great Food in Spain - Part 2, Extremadura and Andalucía".
We hope you have enjoyed this blog. The links in it recommending places can benefit us financially - we humbly ask you to make your bookings through these links as that helps us to keep this site up and running - and it won´t cost you any more than if you were to book directly on the provider`s own website. Also, in the event of a problem, it makes it easier for us to resolve it. Happy Travels! And we would very much appreciate it if you could forward this to those of your friends who love historic towns, beautiful countryside and travelling. Thank you, and may God bless you. Lean and Anthony, the travelling donkeys.
