Whatever Spanish province you are going to be, be sure that you are waiting for an amazing gastronomic experience.
Anyone who has visited Spain only once knows little about her cuisine. To understand it, it is necessary, perhaps, to pass the country far and wide. Despite the almost identical list of products for all provinces, what you are offered to try, for example, in Castile, you will not find either in Catalonia or in Valencia. Each of the regional cuisines boasts its own signature dishes. In Andalusia, for example, this is a gazpacho, which the Spaniards drink from glasses in the heat. Valencia is famous for paella, Catalonia - for sauces, Basque Country - for variations on the theme of fish and seafood (the most famous dish is marmitaco: thick fish stew with potatoes), and Castille - for tortilla and orange salad with fish or smoked ham. However, the best Spanish chefs note that all regional cuisines are united by the desire to achieve the perfect combination of ingredients, which means perfect taste.
Famous jamon Spaniards consider the treasure of the nation. To be in this country and not to try this uncooked smoked ham, cut into the thinnest slices, is an unthinkable omission! Locals willingly tell legends related to the delicacy. For example, it was thanks to him that Christopher Columbus was able to discover America: he provided his expedition with food, the basis of which was precisely unpretentious to the storage conditions of jamon.This product is produced according to a centuries-old recipe, and, in essence, cooking jamon, like hundreds of years ago, requires only the freshest pork, salt, air and time (the meat is dried and dried for at least a year and a half). Jamon is used both for the preparation of tapas, salads, and, of course, “in pure form”. If, having appreciated the magnificent delicacy, you want to bring it home, it is better to choose slices in a vacuum package, and not a whole piece. The fact is that the process of cutting jamon requires special tools and a certain skill, otherwise, oddly enough, the taste sensations will be much weaker. The best locals recognize jamon Iberico from black pig meat.
One more culinary pillar of Spain can be safely called paella. Many tourists torment the cooks, trying to find out the "correct" version of the preparation of this dish. In fact, there are a lot of official paella recipes, and every Spanish housewife just cooks it in her own way. This surprisingly satisfying dish of a very simple peasant origin can combine at first glance incompatible ingredients: chicken and shrimp, pork and mussels, fish and rabbit. Indispensable components of paella are rice, as well as saffron, which gives the dish a beautiful golden color. If you intend to try paella in Spain, you should know that it is not customary to cook it for dinner (therefore, a good, self-respecting restaurant will simply not allow such liberties).Traditionally, this dish is served in a pan, and some establishments will also offer wooden spoons, since it is believed that metal appliances violate the “sound” of this Spanish “serenade of taste”. If paella is cooked with seafood, shrimp, shells and other animals, you will most likely find it unpeeled. It is supposed to be moved to the edge of the pan, and at the end of the main part of the dish, clean it by hand and eat.
Walking ontapas - so in Spain they call snacks served in a bar for beer or wine. It is interesting that, according to legend, tapas, unlike the same paella, has a very high origin. Once upon a time, King Alfonso XIII was offered a glass of wine during his visit to one of the villages, covered with a slice of jamon from the wind. The king ate jamon, washed down with wine and asked to repeat the serving. Today, for every Spaniard, tapas mean much more than a simple snack: it is live communication, relaxation, lifestyle, in the end. The fact is that one of the most common entertainments of indigenous people in the evenings is moving from bar to bar, in each of which it is customary to drink a glass of wine or beer and enjoy a signature tapas. In many cities, these establishments regularly hold contests, as a result of which culinary masterpieces appear, attracting new customers to the bar.
If the menu of a Spanish restaurant attracts you with a beautiful name tortilla, know that this is perhaps the most democratic and very popular dish here, which resembles our omelet.In fact, his full "name" is tortilla patatos (tortilla with potatoes), which explains his special satiety. Everyone loves this dish in Spain; it is prepared literally in every home. Neither a festive table nor an everyday dinner can do without it. A caring mother puts a tortilla sandwich on the schoolboy’s satchel, they eat it warm for breakfast and cold as a snack for lunch. Every Spaniard is a true expert in the preparation of tortilla, so any chef of the most famous restaurant should be ready to hear the remark that "Aunt Bernadette makes tortilla much tastier."
For those traveling around the country of flamenco and bullfighting sweet tooth, we note that there are not so many original Spanish delicacies: almost all of them are of Arab origin. Almond desserts (e.g. turron - nuts in nougat), churros - deep-fried donuts from custard dough, as well as tender egg and milk mousses, the most famous of which is catalan cream - the pride of the province.
However, whatever you choose the dish for tasting - dessert or soup, roast or grilled fish, listen to the sensations and try to feel all the shades of taste that reveals a passionate, sincere, indomitable Spanish temperament!
The article was published on the materials of the magazine "Good advice" 11/2013
Text: Alexander Sotnikov. Photo: Legion-Media; Konstantin Vinogradov
Material prepared by Julia Dekanova
