taste-of-spain

A Taste of Spain

Spain
aaron-ellul

Aaron Ellul

A former chef, Aaron chooses his holiday destinations with the potential for great food, wine and laughter in mind. This philosophy has served him well and led him on travels through Japan, Cuba and Malta among others.

13th December 2018

A Taste of Spain

Spain has a reputation as a nation of nocturnal eaters. Having a steady stream of nibbles arriving at the table as you talk long into the night over many glasses of wine… brilliant idea! Just don’t miss out on some of the bigger bites that still abide by Spain’s golden rule: food is social.

At half a million square kilometers, Spain has many different regional flavors to try. As you travel around, sample broadly and eat plentifully. Make sure you see what’s new on the menu and choose what the locals do.

Madrid – Asada Cochinollo

The metropolitan capital borrows heavily from all around Spain. As Spaniards migrated to the capital, they brought their traditions with them, so you can find a little bit of everything here.

The best part is, the wealth of the capital has allowed proprietors to get fairly extravagant with their food, and one local dish dressed to the nines is the suckling pig.

The dish is emblematic of cuisine from the lands north-west of Madrid including Arévalo, Ávila and Segovia.

Simplicity is the key, with the pig seasoned only with salt and water, roasted whole in an oak wood fired oven and served with some deliciously simple sides like roast potato.

Much is made of piecing the delicately crisp, golden brown skin and seeing the press a plate through the meat. Yes, it’s that tender.

It’s the perfect way to turn new tour mates into friends as your start your Iberian adventure.

Pork by Jeffrey Lin

spanish-pork

Castile La Mancha – Pisto Manchego

Many have heard of this region thanks to the adventures of the knight-errant Don Quixote. Located in southern-central Spain, the elevated plains of La Mancha are bordered by mountains, making for some cool evenings. This of course means warm and hearty dishes –and pisto delivers on all fronts.

Made from tomatoes, eggplants and courgettes, it’s like a Spanish version of ratatouille but with two very important additions. The incredible peppers grown in the region are thrown into the mix along with a generous helping of Manchego cheese.

This firm sheep’s cheese is synonymous with the region and is a product of the geography. La Mancha has arid but fertile lands meaning they are great for dry crops and robust animals like sheep. Its unique flavor, rich, sharp and with a slightly nutty taste, has been sought after for hundreds of years.

Pisto Manchego by Rodrigo Fernandez

pisto-manchego

Jerez - Pedro Ximénez Sherry

Just as a visit to Épernay is a must for any wine lover traveling through France, no journey along the southern coast of Spain would be complete without visiting the home of this world-famous sherry.

Pedro Ximénez is actually the name of the blanc (white) grape variety used to make this sherry. The richest of the sherry family, its exceptional sweetness is developed in the traditional method by laying the grapes out in the sun.

PX is syrupy like a port, and you can expect to taste raisins, dates and figs, vanilla, chocolate and licorice.

Sherry by Dominic Lockyer

jerez-sherry

Córdoba – Alboronia

Many of the dishes in the southern regions of Spain have taken on a Middle Eastern influence thanks to the 800-year occupation of the Moors. This stewed vegetable dish is a prime example of the Moorish version of agrodolce; the sweet and sour flavor combination.

This spicy autumn salad is not something that just gets thrown together; it requires a bit of time and attention to bring it all together so that it arrives at the table warm for maximum enjoyment.

While the quince and pumpkin roast in the oven, eggplant is fried in a pan and tomato puree is reduced with onion and peppers to a thick sauce. This labor of love all comes together in a pan before being served with fresh herbs.

Use this dish as an introduction to the amazing agrodolce flavor combination and explore its variations around the world.

Alboronia by Arnold Gatilao

alboronia

Granada – Manzanilla

For Granadinos, there is nothing tastier than fresh seafood straight from the Alboran sea and into the fryers of the freidurías.

Sitting under the Mediterranean sun, Granada is the perfect place to try all the summery seafood you can pile on your plate. Deep fried sole and the buttery soft flesh of langoustines are a must. And best of all, they have a perfect foil in manzanilla sherry.

By itself, manzanilla is dry, pale and even a little salty (so, the complete opposite of Pedro Ximénez,) – but it’s perfect chilled with some fried whitebait on the side.

Manzanilla is a delicate drink that needs to be consumed within a year of bottling and less than a week after popping the cork. It’s the perfect excuse for indulgence. Bottoms up!

Have your taste buds been tantalized? Book a Blue-Roads tour of Spain to start your food journey through the Mediterranean.

Fried Scorpionfish by t-mizo

manzanilla