Where to find traditional foods in Spain

[Erica Gott]

I'm heading to southern Spain in March, and will migrate northward with the warming weather. Can anyone point me to a good place to begin? I'm going to spend a year traveling the world in search of traditional foods.

 

My goal is to spend a month (or more) in each region. I hope to live with families and get to know them and their culture and foods. Along the way, I'll be blogging about my adventures on http://globalforager.wordpress.com.

 

For Spain, I am looking for ideas for which regions to visit. I'd like to see Galicia and the Basque region for sure. Where else? Thanks!

[David Paul Appell]

Hi again, Erica.  I'll post this here as well as in the Spain group so other folks can see it, too:  If you have a particular
interest in food, absolutely do not miss Asturias, a lovely, very
historic mountainous region which lies on the north coast between
Galicia and the Basque country (in fact, in many ways I find it more interesting than either of those other two, although Euskadi is undeniably also a foodie must).  Many marvelous cheeses (especially cabrales, a lightish sheepsmilk blue cheese), sidra (cider), sausages, seafood, and dishes like fabada,
a bean stew which is the quintessential regional dish. Contact me if
you'd like more info, I can drone on and on, lol....

[FAMILY RECOMMENDS]

Galicia should not be missed, indeed. By all means sample the wonderful seafood they have, specially scallops that are juicy and fresh.

In our short trip to Spain (only 10 days), we spent most of our time in Barcelona, since our son is a huge Gaudí fan. Barcelona is great for tapas and (more) seafood - paellas and arroz caldoso (a kind of paella-type rice stew). We had a kind of lobster called bogavante, that´s waaay better than the dry, rubbery lobster they usually serve in other countries. It´s tender and moist, reminding us more of crab than lobster.

But our absolute favorite was jamón ibérico, the famous Spanish cured ham, especially when had with pá amb tomaquet, which is nothing more than slices of bread smothered with tomato juices, garlic and olive oil (yum). We were surprised to find out how different jamón ibérico (found at every single restaurant in Catalunya) is from jamón serrano (which we found more often in Galicia). We like ibérico best, but this is up for discussion! Our guess is everyone has their favorite cured ham (italian or spanish), so we say: try them all and find out by yourself.

[Douglas Horne]

Hi Erica,

 

I live in Denia in the Alicante province which is part of the Communidad Valenciana. This part of the country has many traditional rice dishes such as the paella Arroz a Banda, Arroz Caldoso and Arroz al Horno. Many different types of rice are grown in the area and each dish would traditionally be made with a specific type of rice (I'm told that there are more than 400 types of rice to choose from). As the Moors ruled this area for about 700 years there are also many other interesting traditional dishes such as Couscous. Denia is also famous for its seafood and specifically for the red gambas which are caught locally and are regarded as a delicacy. Tapas dishes of course are also local and therefore different in every area of Spain which is effectively made up of 17 autonomous regions each with its own traditions. For a general description of local dishes take a look at http://spanishfood.about.com/od/spanishregionalcuisines/a/valencia.htm.

 

Hope this helps. If you need accommodation in the area take a look at my hotel - www.HostalLoreto.com.

 

Regards, Douglas Horne

[Abigail King]

Hi Erica,

Well, it depends upon what you want to do the most (food or travel!) Here's what I'd add to the other replies...

 

Paella - Valencia Region (beautiful plus you can learn how to make a "real" one)

Jamon - the best (and most expensive) comes from Andalucia, where the pigs are raised outdoors and only eat acorns. Andalucia's also the home of sherry (if you're including drinks in your quest)

Papas arrugadas and mojo (salted potatoes and a spicy sauce) are traditional in the Canary Islands.

Enjoy!