The Spanish people are masters at serving up spanish food with popular appeal. Whether it`s food for the local populace, or for the tourists, they seem to be able to provide just the appropriate fair to satisfy everyone`s needs. Every visitor to the country cannot fail to be impressed with the phenomenal selection of spanish food and tasty bite-size creations in the tapas bars.
Spanish cuisine is still a largely undiscovered delight to people outside its own borders. This is a shame because it rivals any in the world. Valencia offers a world class selection of paella and its ollas stews are formidable. The famous Girona veal is just one offering from Catalonia which also boasts incredible rock fish and the made in heaven duo of butifarra sausages with mongetes white beans.
The Iberian peoples like their meat and enormous sized steaks are popular in the Basque region. They prefer their food in generous proportions and this includes a whole variety of fish based recipes. Try our Marmitako Basque-style tuna and potato stew recipe. Typical for starters would include a piperrada, an omelette of pimientos. The north is renowned for its hearty dishes. In Galicia, potato stews or salted hams follow starters of sea food such as octopus and scallops. In Asturias the fabes stews and hake in cider are a delight.
In the Navarre expect to be dazzled by an impressive array of fresh vegetables and creative salads. Poultry dishes are great in Aragon; try the recipe for Pollo al Chilindrón. For alternative starters try the celebrated summer gazpacho soup of Andalucia followed by a parillada mixed plate of fried fish, or tasty ham
As we can see, the Spanish are renowned for their sensational choice of ample regional dishes. They like their food and they like it in quantity. Wonderful roast lamb or suckling pig in Castille preceded by their renowned bread to accompany garlic soup is just one example.
Click here to see all our Regional Spanish dishes.
Nevertheless, Spain is also famous for its tapas. There is an interesting ambiguity here: why do the Spanish bother with tapas when their natural leaning is towards banquet-like meals of giant proportions? The answer lies in the timing of their eating habits. Lunch and dinner are taken much later than anywhere else, typically 2.30pm and 10.00pm, so what could be more sensible than a nice tasty snack to keep you going. The word tapas is derived from 'tapar' which means 'to cover', that is, to cover your appetite until it`s time for the main meal times.
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