Enjoy Spain’s Famous Food!

by Terry Roberts

Travel around Spain and you’ll find that you can eat a different kind of dish in almost any town or village. Regional specialties abound, and every region, town or village is proud of its own foods - and will tell you that they’re the best in the whole of the country.

On the coast, logically, you’ll find some excellent fish and seafood dishes, and inland you’ll be delighted with the wonderful dishes made from meat and vegetables. There are an infinite variety of ways of combining these ingredients - and you’ll find excellent fresh fruit, too.

And, both on the coast and inland, you’ll find “tapas” everywhere. With Tapas Bars becoming common in many countries, these have become the ambassador of Spanish cooking outside Spain, but you can be pretty sure that you’ll find an amazing variety of tapas in Spain that you’ll never have seen in any tapas bar abroad!

Outside the main cities you’ll not find many smart restaurants, but the food served in the tascas or bars will be tasty and based on fresh local produce. In places like Madrid, Barcelona and other larger cities, you’ll find restaurants of all types - and prices - where you’ll be able to try not only local specialties, but also international cuisine to the highest standard.

A popular dish for a snack or a main course is calamari, deep fried crispy rings of squid that are served with different dipping sauces. Shrimp are either deep fried or pan fried and spiced, usually served in a peel and eat style, not shelled and prepared as is more common in North America. For those that enjoy spicy foods a sausage called a chorizo or a salami like meat called salchichon is very popular with fresh sourdough bread.

There is a lot of talk about the healthy qualities of the Mediterranean diet, and the traditional Spanish diet fits in well with this. The basic ingredient is olive oil, preferably Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The Mediterranean diet is also rich in cereals, vegetables and fruit. Spanish cooking is also very strong on fish dishes, and Spain has one of the biggest fishing fleets in the world. Strangely enough, in Madrid, which is in the geographic center of the country, over 300 kilometers from the nearest coast, you can find some of the most wonderful fish dishes you’ll ever taste.

Vegetables and fruit make up a very important part of many Spaniards’ diets. A typical entree will be a salad or a vegetable sauted with ham, and fruit is eaten by many people as a dessert. The main course could be meat or fish.

Desserts are perhaps not as varied as in some other countries, but you can still find a great variety, often varying from region to region. And after your dessert, why not end your meal in typical Spanish fashion, with “caf, copa y puro” (coffee, liqueur/spirit and cigar - although the cigar is becoming less and less common).

About the Author:

Terry Roberts has lived in Spain for over 30 years. Check out his website, Travel to Spain, for tips and guidance on your upcoming visit there - and take special notice of his ideas on the Top Ten Things to Do in Spain.