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A taste of Spain
Colourful, exciting, historic - just a few of the words that describe Spain the nation. But they might equally be used when talking about the country's food and wine. With 17 autonomous regions, each with its own diverse character, this is a country to be savoured, and that includes its food
Food and wine can tell us a lot about an area – the ingredients of a regional speciality can hint at past invaders, how far its merchants travelled and traded and whether the countryside is fruitful or unyielding.
For example, the north-west province of Galicia was a stronghold of the Celts for centuries, and the green land with its granite rocks and mountains has a distinctive character. Its Atlantic coast is the area's bread basket and is famed for fine seafood. Here, that most delicious of seafood and the symbol of St James, the scallop, is caught together with sardines, spider crabs (centollas) and octopus (pulpo). After cooking, this is sliced and served with paprika, salt and olive oil, and Villanova de Arousa south of Santiago de Compostela has its own festival dedicated to the octopus.
If fish is not to your taste, try the distinctive meat broth with cabbage and potatoes - caldo gallego - or the lacon con grelos - pork and turnip tops.
The wines of Galicia come from five main areas, including the Rias Baixas. Using the Albariño grape which is native to the region, the wines are dry and aromatic and the perfect companion to seafood.
Travelling east, you enter the Basque region where the cooking is regarded as some of the best in the world (during the 1970s innovative chefs expounded the 'new basque cuisine'). Seafood again features prominently among Basque delicacies, while below the region lies La Rioja, home to one of Spain's best known wines. Catalonia is just east of here, and this is where you’ll find plenty of cava, a sparkling wine made using the same method as champagne.
As you travel down the east coast through Valencia, the dishes begin to introduce rice that is grown in the area. Paella is one of Valencia's most famous dishes, along with Arroz Negro, the rice that gains its black colour from the squid ink in which it’s cooked.
Another Valencian speciality is horchata, a drink made from tiger nuts and sometimes served partially frozen with special cakes.
Andalusia in southern Spain is famous for flamenco, horses and that most quintessential of Spanish wines – sherry. This is an area steeped in history and the cuisine reflects Andalusia’s occupation by the Moors from the 8th to the 15th centuries with lots of spices and sweetness.
Close to Seville – one of whose specialities is the tapas, believed to have originated in Andalusia – lies Jerez de la Frontera, the actual home of sherry, where more than 25,000 acres are given over to the cultivation of the grapes used.
Found in both Andalusia and Extremadura further west is jamon serrano, a speciality cured ham with the best coming from Iberico pigs allowed to run wild and feed chiefly on acorns.
Castilla la Mancha is particularly noted for its cheese, a cheese favoured by Monsigneur Quixote in Graham Greene’s book of the same name. Made from milk from the Manchega sheep, the rind can vary in colour and its unique flavour ranges from mild to strong with a distinct tang, depending on how long it has matured.
Above this area lies Castilla-Leon, sometimes called 'España del Asado' or Spain of the Roast, because of the Castillians' fondness for roasted lamb and suckling pig.
The gastronomic temptations of Spain are many and varied, and there is truly is something for everyone.
This article first appeared in the June 2008 edition of Saga's Travellers' News.
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