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A Food Tour of Spain
Eating out in Spain is relatively inexpensive and the food is usually substantial. Eating to the Spanish is a very sociable and joyous occasion, very often taking up an entire afternoon and early evening. The prices do vary and as a rule the prices are higher on the coasts, but as you move inland there are hundreds of wonderful restaurants to choose from which offer a standard ‘Menu Del Dia’ – a cheap and cheerful Menu of the Day.
The Spanish tradition of Tapas is a great way to sample a large variety of local food. The word ‘tapa’ is used to describe a small dish of food. It is widely believed to have originated in a restaurant called Café De-La-Iberia in Seville. Around the beginning of the century, so the story goes, someone ordered a Manzanilla with something to cover it (tapa). The landlord served the sherry with a slice of ham over the top and this, believe it or not, is how the custom started!
All you need to be able to pronounce in Spain is ‘tapas’ and you’ll never go hungry.
Try these tapas recipes for yourself and wash them down with a chilled Manzanilla Tapas Sherry
Patatas Bravas
Prawns with Romensco Sauce
Russian Salad
Serrano Ham with Olives
Smoked Mackerel Fishcakes
Stuffed Mussels
White Asparagus with Paprika Vinegarette and Tomato Chutney
Cheese and Olive bites
Crispy Fish Balls
Spanish Meat Platter
Peppers Stuffed with Couscous
Breaded Turkey Goujon
Calamares
Spain has a great tradition of seafood from its 5,000 kms of coastline, all of which are delicious.
One of the most enduring, popular and famous Spanish dishes is Paella which is based on seafood, meat or a mixture of both. This world famous meal, which includes rice, stock and saffron is cooked in a special paella pan.
Serrano ham is another delicious food eaten all over Spain. The hams hang from the walls and ceilings from most eating places and food shops. The ham is carved thinly with a flexible knife and is eaten extensively in tapas dishes or on its’ own. The Spanish produce over 30 million of these hams per year. They are salted for a short time and then air dried for at least 3 months. Most are produced from white pigs, but apparently, the darker Iberian pigs produce the tastiest and most expensive hams available.
Take a look at some of the most popular Spanish dishes in our cookbook.
Some of the wines of note of Spain
The wines of Spain tend to be a little bit more vanillary than the wines from France or Italy. This is because the majority of their wines are aged in oak barrels from American rather than French oak barrels.
The wine system in Spain is very different from France in as much as wine making is a communal affair using ‘bodegas’ or co-operatives, although single estates do exist. The grapes are picked by the landowner and then taken to the Bodega, blended with grapes from all over the area to make the wine. Larger bodegas are formed due to the countries appellation system. To be able to sell wines under the Reserva or Gran Reserva labels, a huge amount of each vintage needs to be held by the Bodega itself. Obviously, this then spreads the cost and expense of wine making between all villagers!
Crianza means that the wine has been aged for at least 2 years.
Reserva means that the wine has been aged for at least one year in oak, but cannot be sold for a further 2 years.
Gran Reserva means that the wine has been aged for at least 2 years in oak barrels, but cannot be sold until it is at least 5 years old.
The famous Spanish grapes are:
Tempranillo – gives a soft, plummy red wine
Garnacha – gives a more peppery and juicy red wine
Red wine is by far the more important (and popular) type of wine – Rioja being the most popular. The Rioja region is quite near the French border, near Bordeaux. As the story goes, many French wine growers came to Spain from France when the phylloxera louse devastated their own vines in Bordeaux.
They came armed with their own variety of Cabernet Sauvignon grape and settled in Rioja. This grape was then blended with the local varieties of Tempranillo and Garnacha to develop the varied and complex wine varieties we know as Rioja. There are many different types of Rioja – their taste and depth depends on the grape types and amounts that are blended.
|
NAME |
GRAPE |
REGION |
NOTES |
GOOD WITH |
|
Rioja Reserva |
Cabernet Sauvignon/Tempranillo |
Rioja |
Plummy with a rounded mature flavours
|
|
|
Pata Negra |
Garnacha |
Southern Spain |
Very mature, plummy, blackberry fruit flavours. |
Try Valencian Paella with this
|
|
Palacio De Vivera |
Sauvignon |
Reuda |
Getting a cult following, these gorgeous dry whites have a grapefruit/lemony zing. Beautifully fresh, they’ll leave you happily surprised that Spain can produce excellent whites |
What about Seabass with an Almond Crust? |
|
Cava |
Chardonnay
Parellada
Macebeo
Xarello |
Rioja and Navarra |
Spain’s answer to French Champagne, without the price tag! Older Cavas tend to have an earthy taste, the younger ones are fresher and lighter |
A great aperitif – definitely a sun shine drink! Try out some of our tapas dishes with it, like Serrano Ham and Olives |
|
Moscatel |
Muscat |
Valencia |
A delicious sweet dessert wine which is traditionally drunk ice cold after meals |
Usually drunk alongside desserts or with café con leche |
|
Manzanilla |
|
Southern Spain |
A very popular Tapas sherry that is dry and almost salty. The saltiness comes from the fact that the grapes are grown in the coastal regions outside Jerez |
Fabulous with tapas dishes – try these out
Calamares with Ali I Oli Prawns with Romensco Sauce |