Spanish Food

There's a lot more to Spanish food than paella, delicious though it is! Part of the joy of living in Spain is the variety of cuisine available – and Spanish restaurants, cafes and tapas bars can be extremely cheap. Spain has a diverse and rich gastronomic heritage, reflected in countless regional specialities all of which make use of fresh, local produce to best advantage. According to some, Barcelona, rather than Paris, is now the ‘foodie’ capital of the world. As Home Espana sells property in Almeria, Murcia and the Costa Blanca this article will look briefly at the foods of Southern Spain but throughout Spain there are gastronomic delights to be discovered. Typical ingredients, wherever you are in Spain, are olives, fresh herbs, garlic (lots of garlic!), saffron, almonds and sherry. Southern Spain has one of the healthiest diets in Europe – typically Mediterranean, with plenty of olive oil, fish, fresh fruit and vegetables. The incidence of heart disease in countries with a Mediterranean diet is much lower than in countries like the UK, something which has received much publicity over recent years with a more Mediterranean diet being encouraged as a healthy lifestyle option. Spain is the world’s biggest producer of olive oil and one of its biggest consumers too. Other famous foods of Spain include Serrano ham (Jamon Serrano) which is dry cured ham, on the bone – it is a little like Parma ham but with a much firmer texture and is a great delicacy as well as a staple food of Spain.

The most outstanding ingredient in the cuisine of Almeria is the abundance of fresh fish – you may need to be a little adventurous if you have never tried things like squid or red mullet before but you are unlikely to be disappointed. Fish chowder (a kind of soup or stew) is typical of the region, with variations between towns – for example in Almeria City you would eat Sopa de Almeria, a similar dish in Mojacar would be Caldo Colorado, or Caldo de Pescado in Almanzora. The food in Almeria is wholesome and substantial, rather than pretentious – no Nouvelle Cuisine here.

Murcia region is known as the ‘Market Garden’ of Spain and is particularly famed for its rice, which is considered the best in Spain. Other typically Murcian cuisine includes stews, salads, roasted meat (lamb is very popular in Spain), and – along the Costa Calida – outstanding fresh fish and shellfish. Murcia is also renowned for its goats cheeses and its excellent wine and has three Denominaciones de Origen: Jumilla, Bullas and Yecla.

The Costa Blanca is highly dependent on tourism and, as you would expect, you can find every kind of cuisine here: fish and chips, Thai, Indian, Chinese – even Spanish! The local cuisine reflects Spain’s rich history, with Moorish and North African influences – cinnamon and almonds in savoury dishes, great use of herbs and spices, oranges and other fruits used to great effect with meat and fish dishes.

Eating out in Spain can be very cheap – lunch is the main meal of the day and can go on for two hours or more. Tapas bars are everywhere and are a marvellous way to try lots of different dishes – the variety of which is indescribable: meat, fish, vegetables, olives, seafood – cooked in so many ways and with a huge range of sauces and dips. Spanish food is impossible to summarise – there is so much variety, but if this has whetted your appetite the following sites will have your tummy rumbling for sure.

All about tapas, including recipes – also lots of information on other Spanish dishes.

General Spanish Recipes

3 page article on eating out on a budget with lots of useful information