1. CROQUETAS
By all the laws of healthy eating, they ought to be firmly off limits. The
filling is a thick creamy béchamel made of flour and oil and milk which is
allowed to congeal in the fridge. But wait: this goo is then dipped in egg
and breadcrumbs and deep fried. The croqueta is the greatest product of the
laudable Spanish reluctance to throw anything edible into the trash-can.
The recipe (every Spanish cook has their own) deploys leftover meat from the
Sunday roast chicken or cocido (see below), the last shreds off the bone of
a fine jamón, the remains of a roast partridge, rabbit, or else chopped
boiled egg, chopped cooked mussels, wild mushrooms… the possibilities are
virtually endless.
Whether the results are worth eating is another matter. A bad croqueta is
floury and dry-textured, mean on the filling, and insufficiently seasoned. A
good one is a sublime nugget of savoury creaminess with a crisp outer shell.
Six or eight (or ten) of these morsels along with a green salad and a beer,
and you’ve got yourself a Monday night supper fit for King Juan Carlos.
2. BEACHSIDE EATING
The seaside, as a central element of Spanish life, has its own rules and
rituals. And beachside food and drink is no exception. You can either bring
your own food: classically, iced gazpacho, cold breaded pork cutlets,
tortilla de patatas, and a big slab of watermelon.
Or you can head for the chiringuito - the Spanish beach bar which often
contains a simple, sandy-floored restaurant. The chiringuito menu is almost
identical from the Costa Brava to the Costa de la Luz: you are bound to find
paellas and/or other rice dishes, fried squid rings, juicy steamed mussels,
clams a la marinera, fish a la plancha, fried, or char-grilled a la brasa…
Everything will come with chips and a standard beachside ensalada mixta of
iceberg lettuce and tomato and onion. To drink, there will be cold white
wine or sweet sticky sangria in jugs packed full of ice. For afters you will
probably just grab a cornetto from the freezer and head back to the beach to
sleep it all off.
3. ESCABECHE
Medieval British cooking used to have this too: it was known as ‘caveach’. The
basic idea is a mild pickle applied to meats or fish, usually after cooking.
The vinegar and spices help to preserve the main ingredient for another few
days, creating a whole new dish in the process. Nowadays the technique is
most often used with rabbit, partridge or quail, or sardines which have been
previously fried. A quick-simmered sauce of vinegar, wine, herbs and spices
is poured over the meat or fish, which is then kept cold in the fridge for
those moments when you want something easy, quick and tasty. Escabeche is
fast food from heaven.
4. MOJAMA
The miracle of mojama is little known outside Spain, but it’s surely only a
matter of time before it catches on. The facts are these: the loin of a red
tuna Thynnus thynnus, preferably caught in one of the fixed tuna-nets still
found along the coast of Cadiz, is salted and dry-cured until it has the
hard yet toothsome texture of a good jamón serrano. It is then finely sliced
and served with salted almonds and a cold glass of dry sherry. And there are
very few things in this world, in my entirely unbiased opinion, that come
close to it in sheer deliciousness.
Yes, the richness of Spain comes from diversity, and food is not an exception. Try some tapas in Seville, there are some treasures to discover in the old town, like the bacalao frito. And, to write about history, please, first reading, and then speaking.
birkken, barcelona, spain
I've been living in Catalunya for 13 years and, while I'd say that Pa Amb Tomaquet is indeed a popular choice for dinner, it's less so for lunch and I've never seen anyone having it with coffee in the morning
Brian, Arenys de Mar, Catalunya
Eduard: mojama is widely sold and eaten in Barcelona, where I also come from, buy it at the Boqueria market, it's delish!! Yes, this is the beauty of Spain, the variety of regional dishes. From Galicia to Catalunya to Castilla to Andalucia and the rest of Spanish regions, we do have a wealth of typical dishes. Let's hope they are not lost to modern imports like tastless iceberg lettuce...whoever wants to chew on water?!
Laia, Barcelona, Spain
Have you ever tried the acedias (baby sole) in the Cadiz, Puerto de Santa Maria area! They are wonderful with the local dry manzanilla! Also try and find someone to make you migas for breakfast, you will never have had anything like it - when you are in Madrid go to Casa Gallego for percebes and txangurro (spider crab) it is to die for! Suckling pig from Meson Candido is even better!
jenny dawson, Exeter (late of Spain), UK
My grandmother was from Spain. When sangria became popular in the United States, she was shocked. She said that it was something poor people made when they wanted to stretch one bottle of wine. They would fill the pitcher with water and fruit to make it look like more than it was and last a long time.
She just couldn't get over it when sangria became something hip and trendy that was served in overpriced bars and restaurants.
Donna , New York, NY / USA
the majority of the food served in restaurants and bars in southern Spain is regretably very poor.It is quite often cooked in oil that is three weeks old and left around for a few hours before you are served it. And the famous tapas is not free, its price is included in the price of the beer. To think that anything would be given away free in a part of the country that has seen dire poverty for much of it's existence is ridiculous
capullo, granada, spain
Being stuck in australia, I miss the many different chorizos and most of all... morcilla - black pud but a world away from lancashire
Stewart, Newcastle, Australia
The fishing technique used in Cádiz and its surroundings (Barbate, Zahara de los Atunes, Conil,...) to capture tunas is called almadraba, it was already in use before the the Roman Empire conquered this area. This technique has little or none environmental impact and consists in creating a maze of floating nets (the sea bed is not affected) between two boats to capture the passing tunas. With the help of boat hooks only the tunas with a proper size are lifted on board. If you ever come for a visit, don't forget to go to Bolonia beach.
David RodrÃguez, Sevilla, Spain
Fabio - England became a unified nation in the 10th Century and some could argue that England existed some 400 years prior. Spain was ruled in the majority by the Moors at this time. It was only after the reconquista of Al Andalus some 500 years later that Spain became a nation let alone an Empire. Due to, amongst other things, brutal feudal policies Andalusia (from where most explorers embarked) then changed from being known as 'The Land of Milk and Honey' (Romans) and the 'The Jewel in the string of Pearls' (Moors) to being a vast and agriculturally (and gastronomicaly) neglected private hunting estate split between the wealthiest of Aristocrats in Madrid. We must however thank the Spanish for discovering potatoes and tomatoes in South America but I think they were more than repaid for their efforts in Gold at the time.
Berkeley, York,
I’m a boy from Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, and I’ve never heard about mojama. Sometimes the topical about Spanish food are the same about Spanish culture: I don’t exist. It’s so different the way our mothers cook in the Mediterranean or in Galicia…
Eduard, Barcelona, Catalonia
fixed tuna nets are a crime against the enviroment, as they drown the tuna and other fish, a danger to navigation, as they are rarely properly lit.
the best tuna are always rod caught.
iberian jamon is some of the very best in the world,particularly if acorn fed, and deserves a special mention,while sucking pig is worth driving kilometres for, as can their lamb, as long as it really small.
surprised the andulacian tapa is not mentioned, as it comes free with a glass of wine or beer, in many bars and one can choose from a menu and is usually freshly prepared in the south.
john haydon rowe, el ejido,
Ah! Spain. Spain is one of the brightest jewels in Europe, the food is only one of it's sparcles. Spain was an Empire before England was England. It was the Spanish, along with the Portuguese, who braved unknown oceans and oppened the doors to the New World, connected Europe to Asia and in doing so made European culture a point of reference. I wish the British had more care with it's culture and food, as the Continentals in general and the Spanish in particular, have with theirs. I which the British had more commitment to a gastronomic tradition, then preocupation in showing off cute and collorfull dishes (usualy made by funny chefs in competition TV shows, as if food was a joke) that nobody makes at home. Oh well...never mind...
Fabio C, London, UK
A tasteful article. We are big fans of Spanish food. We love our pa amb tomaquet slightly toasted. It is crucial to drizzle a very good quality extra virgin olive oil prepared with the arbequina type of olives. Accompanied with some iberico ham and cold meats like llonganissa (salchichon) de Vic it makes an excellent although somehow caloric dinner! We get our olive oil, iberico ham and cold meats from www.delinostrum.com. The products come direct from Spain and they deliver to the UK in 48h.
Gina , Brighton, UK