Spanish Cuisine
It is difficult to identify and isolate everything that falls into the category of Spanish food. There are many regional schools, traditions, and styles of food preparation in this beautiful country. And as far as generally accepted essence of Spanish cuisine is concerned, each school or tradition can introduce significant variations. The food here is quite varied because it absorbed Roman and Mauritanian traditions, French and African elements, the gist of the Mediterranean traditions and many other elements brought in from the New World. The original local cuisine is actually surprisingly simple. At its basis lies meat and olive oil, saffron, pepper and spices, greens and cheese, different dough products, and wine, of course. Stewing with wine, roasting with eve cheese, grilling and the wide use of sage and walnuts is common for practically all the Spanish regions. But everything else can be so dissimilar that it is customary to distinguish between individual regional cooking traditions which sum up the aftermath of what people call Spanish food.
Appetizers
On every occasion various cold and warm appetizers called tapas, are served to the table. Tapas can be served in the begging of a meal, as light snack, or as a full meal when combined with other similar appetizers. There are very many varieties of tapas, which is also sometimes called pinchos or pintxos in the Northern regions, but normally the main ingredients used during the preparation of tapas include some of the following: olives, fresh bread and Jamón (a type of Spanish ham), Paella (Paelia) and omelets, smoked cod and calamari, sandwiches or simply diced meats or fish, battered shellfish, ginger bread "pan-de-Higo" (fig cake), "pan-de-oli" pancakes with olive oil and tomato sauce, cheese and "patatas-bravas" (spicy fried potatoes), squid and anchovies, sautéed mushrooms and eggplant –variations are virtually endless.
Soups
As a first course meal soups are probably the most popular, especially the think puree-type soups like the semolina crème-soup with almonds, tomato soup with garlic bread, cold bread soup, a crème-soup from onions, rice and tomatoes, garlic soup "sopa-de-aho", "puchero" (a chickpeas and beef stew with "chorizo" sausage, bacon and vegetable dumplings), different fish soups (the most famous being "Bullavaise" a variation on the French "Bouillabaisse"), "cocido madrilène" –another chickpeas (Garbanzos beans) stew with toasted bread, shellfish crème-soup, bull tail soup with tomatoes, the famous "Gazpacho" cold tomato soup with cucumbers, olive oil and seasoning, and various sweet soups. After the soup follows a light "intermission" appetizer such as pasta or a vegetable stew- in which case vegetables are not served in the second course.
Meat, Fish and other seafood
Meat is usually stewed with vegetable and sauce or fried on the grill. By the way, people in Spain are not afraid to mix meat with different kinds of fish and even fruit. Oftentimes complex meals contain ingredients such as smoked meat or sausages complimented with conservative amounts of fried potatoes and salad. Some of the better known dishes include "La chapfaina" (stewed liver with vegetables and spices), "Pepitoria" (stewed chicken with butter and ham) and a similar dish called "Chilindron" (beef and lamb instead of chicken and ham), "Pinchos Morunos" skewers of marinated pork, "Pisto" (a dish with stir-fried vegetables including eggplant, onions, and tomatoes, served both hot and cold), the famous Paella (or Paelia, rice with a seafood mix or regular meat, with spices and greens), "Churrasco" (grilled meat) and the omnipresent meat pies, "Chanfaina" (stewed chicken fillet with bell peppers, greens and dry wine, not to be confused with Chapfaina), "Raksa" (fried pork tenderloin in tomato and crème sauce with wine), "Chorizo" Spanish sausages with various side dishes and preparation methods. And of course, the characteristic Spanish omelet, which has dozens of recipes, but one common trait – it is stewed rather than fried, having cheese, mushrooms, bacon, ham, chorizo sausage, diced chicken breast, etc. Other popular meat dishes include the "Burgados" (snails), sausages, beef steaks, meatballs and patties, which are first fried and then stewed in different sauces or white wine.
And of course, one cannot avoid mentioning the famous Spanish Jamón – smoked pork tenderloin, analogous to the Parma ham. There is a whole gastronomical cult surrounding the use of Jamón in Spanish cuisine. This is not surprising though, since there are hundreds of variations of Jamón, and its history dates back as much as 2 thousand years. There are two main types of Jamón: "Jamón Serrano", or mountain Jamón and "Jamón Iberico" also known as pata negra. The main difference between the two is the breed and diet of pig used for the preparation and the way the Jamón was cooked (in terms of time and temperature). Other types of ham subclassing Jamón are Jabugo from Huelva and Trevelez from Grenada. Today Jamón is being produced almost everywhere in Spain (the coast is the only exception) and is considered an expensive product, served on special occasions.
As a side dish you are the most likely to see rice, fried potatoes, beans (especially beans with chorizo), corn, marinated cauliflower, and more. Actually potatoes serve as the basis for many main course meals. Nachos (corn chips with salsa sauce, pepper and melted cheese) are also popular. Other well known dishes include the Valencia huertano beats and beans ragout, "La Baneasa" and "El Barco" beans, Fuentesauco peas, La Armunia lentils from Castilla y León, frittata (braised potatoes and eggs with garlic, tomatoes, and spices) and the tortilla (a kind of a potato omelet-such meals are roasted rather than fried in Spain); another dish is young fried potatoes "papas-arrugadas" (usually served as a side dish) or Gofio (a flour made from roasted cereals) a Canary Islands’ original recipe.
Cheese
Cheese is another Spanish cuisine specialty, a legitimate matter of national pride. Unlike the virtually insane cheese freaks in Italy, France, and Switzerland, the Spanish are more conservative and tend not to experiment too much with the recipes for cheese-making, and are very careful during ingredient selection. There are hundreds of regional cheese brands in Spain, however the most popular are the spicy Cabrales, eve milk Manchego from La Mancha, Mahon with red pepper, smoked Idiazabal from Bask Country, the sweet Castigliano and Zamorano from Castilla y León. The main characteristic of cheese consumption in Spain is the fact that it is rarely served at the end of meals, instead it is used as an ingredient in most of the meals (Spanish roasted dishes are unthinkable without cheese) or as part of tapas.
Deserts
Speaking of Spanish desert one should definitely start from the fresh local fruit: avocados (aguacate), papaya, guava (guayaba), melon, mango and manga, pineapple (ananas), oranges, peaches and pears. These fruits are always present on the table, either by themselves or as freshly squeezed juice, fruit pies, or jams. It is worth noting that the Spanish are big fans of various puddings, very sweet pies with almond crème (bienmesabe), crème brulee (Leche Asada), caramel (crème), and pudding based on these crèmes. A very tasty desert is called Churros (long thin strips of dough baked in the shape of a doughnut); Porras are a thicker breed of Churros, while Buñuelos are the smaller ones. Another popular desert are the tostadas covered with butter and some fruit jam or marmalade, also, cookies ("pastele" or "bolio") and especially the almond cookies called Almendrados, fluffy puff pastries called ensaïmadas and deserts from sweet potatoes, pumpkin and almonds from the Balearic Islands. Local ice-cream, Helado or Gelado, is known for its great taste.
Wines
Wine is a must for any occasion involving food. Spain produces a great variety of first class wines, with vineyards in 57 regions of the country. Local wines are relatively inexpensive, are of good quality, and home-made wines are produced in quantities that compete with industrial producers and often surpass the latter in quality. The variety of wine brands here is mind-boggling, however not all the wines have a good quality, which is why one should use the traditional wine brand marking system. Wine (Blanco-white, Rosado-pink, Tinto-red) is strictly divided into the following categories: Crianza (aging time not less than two years, of which at least half a year aged in an oak barrel), Reserva (for pink and white wines aging has to be more than two years, of which half a year aged in an oak barrel, for red wines at least three years of aging of which at least one year aged in an oak barrel), and Gran Reserva (five years of age for red wine, of which at least two years aged in an oak barrel; for white and pink wines at least four years of aging with at least half a year in an oak barrel). You can also use special markings on the bottles such as the DO tag (Denominacion de Origen), which is imprinted on every wine bottle that passed a quality standard certification test – top notch wines have a DOC tag, which stands for Denominacion de Origen Calificada.
