spanish food & drink
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Travel writer, Robert Bovington, writes about his experiences of Spanish cuisineTRANSCRIPT
BOVINGTON / SPANISH FOOD AND DRINK
Spanish food & drink
My first encounters with Spanish food were less than satisfactory. This was
partly my fault for visiting places like Torremolinos, Benidorm and Arenal in the
first place, partly the fault of the average British holidaymaker who mistrusted food
produced anywhere south of the English Channel and partly the fault of the hotel
chefs who, in order to appease the insular Brits, attempted to cook English-style food
but were not very good at it.
Like most British holidaymakers who spent their two-week holiday in Spain in
the 60's and 70's, I saved some of my hard-earned cash in order to spend it on a
package holiday that included full board. After a few hours on the beach, I would
make my way back to the hotel for a less than adequate lunch. Some days, I would
obtain a packed lunch in lieu of the midday meal but this was mostly uninspiring -
some unidentifiable meat or processed cheese sandwiched between slices of dry
bread accompanied by a hard unripe peach. Even breakfast was abysmal - a couple of
hard rolls with a modicum of butter and very sweet jam. In short, we Brits did not
visit Spain, in those days, for its cuisine!
Today, some British holidaymakers are more adventurous and part of their
holiday experience is sampling the local food whether they are in Barcelona, Bilbao
or Bangkok. If, like me, you love Spain you will not be disappointed with the food. It
is not all paella or calamares and chips, though I have to admit a fondness for both.
There is tremendous variety and plenty of opportunities to enjoy a gastronomic
experience.
However, do not expect eating customs to be the same as in the UK. The
Spanish do things differently to us Brits! Their hours are different - they take a nap in
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the afternoon, often dine in a restaurant after midnight and eat breakfast mid-
morning. I have been patiently waiting in a queue in a bank or the doctor's surgery
and the receptionist has suddenly left, leaving a notice - "gone to breakfast - back in
20 minutes"! Usually, the 20 minutes turns out to be half-an-hour.
There are many places to eat, from bars to gourmet restaurants. Living in
Andalucía as I do, I am invariably offered a tapa whenever I buy a beer or a glass of
wine and I have noticed that this excellent practice has spread to other regions. In
most places a menú del día is offered which is usually tremendous value and
typically offering a choice of first and second courses plus salad, bread, a drink and
pudding for around 9€ - about £8! Restaurants also offer platos combinados - the
Spanish equivalent of meat and two veg, as well as raciones which is a plate of one
particular food. It is customary for a group of people to share two or three of these
plates of food between them.
On special occasions, my wife and I visit a posh restaurant and choose 'a la
carte'. My favourite dining experience, however, is to drive up to the little mountain
village of Enix. In a restaurant there, I order 'conejo con ajo' - garlic rabbit - for my
main course. I also order a dish of ajo blanco in which to dip the doorsteps of crusty
bread. It only costs a few euros for this scrummy dish made from almonds and garlic
but it is enough for four or five people to pass a pleasant interlude whilst waiting for
their main course, especially when washed down with glasses of country wine! It is
peasant food but delightful!
This sort of experience can be had all over Spain - unless you are the type of
Brit who visits the Costas to gorge yourself on 'Full English' breakfast and British
beer!
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Every town and tiny village prides itself on its local gastronomy. There are
regional differences in the cuisine offered but also local differences. The speciality of
Ugíjar, a town in the Alpujarras, is 'cabrito en ajo cabañil' - kid in garlic. A few miles
away, in the village of Válor, their main speciality is 'puchero a la gitanilla' - a gipsy
style stew.
With even tiny villages providing their own specialities, I could not begin to
compile a comprehensive list of Spanish food. Instead, I will just mention some of
the dishes on offer.
Paella is, of course, one of the characteristic dishes of Spain. It is a rice dish
and is usually garnished with vegetables and meat or seafood. The three main
ingredients are rice, saffron, and olive oil. Paella is a speciality of Valencia where it
is traditionally eaten on Sundays. However, these days, it is on menus in restaurants
all over Spain. The name paella is Catalan for "frying pan".
In the Asturias, a favourite dish is fabada Asturiana. It is often simply known
as fabada and is a rich bean stew. Again, it is available throughout Spain. It is made
with dried white beans which are soaked overnight before use. Pig products are also
added - chorizo, morcilla and shoulder of pork. It is a heavy dish that is mostly eaten
at lunch with bread and Asturian cider. Merluza a la sidra is another Asturian dish -
hake cooked in cider.
When I was first offered gazpacho, I was a bit apprehensive. "Cold soup!"
"Whatever next!" However, it is delicious. My Spanish friend, Jaime, often makes
gallons of the stuff and gives me some. He uses the best fresh tomatoes, cucumber,
peppers, olive oil and plenty of garlic. It can be eaten as a soup, possibly garnished
with pieces of jamón, with crusty bread or drunk from a mug as a refreshing drink. A
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relative of gazpacho is the aforementioned ajo blanco. It is another cold soup and is
often the same sort of consistency as gazpacho. However, I prefer the 'porridge-like
consistency' served up in Café Bar Almería in Enix. Ajo blanco is made from garlic,
almonds, olive oil and bread. In Málaga province it is served with grapes.
Jamón is probably Spain's greatest contribution to gastronomy - not any old
ham, mind you, but quality cured hams! Some 40 million hams are cured annually
with the average Spaniard eating over 10 pounds of the stuff every year - that's
pounds weight because jamón can be quite pricey, especially the very best Jamón
Iberico de Bellota. There is a vast range of jamón available in Spanish shops and the
difference in quality is identified by a number of factors including the type of pig,
what they eat and the time of curing. Ninety percent of the jamón available is
ordinary cured ham and comes from white pigs. Phrases like jamón serrano, jamón
curado, jamón reserva and jamón extra serve to identify these lesser varieties of
cured ham. Having said that, these types of jamón can still be delicious.
Jamón Ibérico, is ham from the Iberian pig - also called Pata Negra. However,
these particular pigs are not really black - they are grey coloured! Come to that, why
do people call non-red wines white? They are mostly yellow! But I digress. The very
best jamón comes from Iberian pigs that feed on a diet of acorns - especially those
lucky swine snuffling under the oak trees of Extremadura. The word ' bellota ' is used
to identify this variety, which produces some of the best 'Jamón Iberico de Bellota' in
Spain.
Spanish sausages are delicious. There are those that are similar to English and
German bangers but I particularly like the red and black varieties - namely chorizo
and morcilla. Chorizo is spicy; pork based and is a popular tapa. Morcilla is the
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Spanish equivalent of black pudding. Both can come in the higher quality Iberico
variety and both are constituents of plato alpujarreño - the Spanish equivalent of
sausage, bacon, egg and chips, although pobres patatas are usually substituted for the
patatas fritas.
Another Spanish favourite is Tortilla de patatas - a sort of omelette made with -
um - eggs and potato. It is sometimes called tortilla española to distinguish it from
the tortilla francesa (French omelette).
Many of the dishes mentioned so far can be found in restaurants all over Spain
but there are regional differences, which are often determined by environment and
climate - like thick stews in cold mountain areas and lots of fish in coastal regions.
The specialities of Andalucía include pescaito frito - fried fish as well as the
aforementioned gazpacho, ajo blanco and, in the Alpujarras, plato alpujarreño.
Seafood is popular in Galicia and the Basque Country. Bacalao al pil pil - fried
cod in hot garlic sauce - is a favourite with the Basques whilst in Galicia they favour
pulpo - octopus. Caldo gallego, a hearty vegetable soup, is another favourite of the
people of Galicia.
La Mancha is famed for its game dishes like rabbit stew and, of course, queso
manchego. In Murcia, salted fish is popular whilst Extremadura is noted for its
sausages but then it does have lots of pigs! And so it goes on - every region, town
and village has its own specialities of delicious food which, of course, can be
accompanied by the local beverage - Sherry in Jerez, Cava and Penedés in Catalonia,
Rioja in La Rioja, Cider in the Asturias, Valdepeñas in La Mancha. Of course, the
drinks mentioned above are available throughout Spain and the rest of the World -
just like the best of the food!