Spain is famous for the quality of its food. Food is very important to the Spanish, and because fresh produce is readily available it is easy to achieve fine, rich flavours. Garlic and olives are favourite ingredients. Flavoured cheeses, cured hams, and sausages are a Spanish speciality. Between breakfast and lunch, many people have a snack called almuerzo, which usually consists of a bocadillo - a crusty roll with perhaps a ham or cheese filling. Lunch is the main meal of the day in, served much later than in other European countries at about 2.30pm, sometimes with a few glasses of wine. Businesses and shops usually close for a few of hours to allow the siesta to take place. Evening meals are light and eaten later still at 10pm. Before dinner, people are likely to have a drink and eat tapas, a selection of light snacks and sweetmeats served in all bars and restaurants to accompany early evening drinks.

Eating out in Spain is very affordable. Restaurants are graded in five categories of excellence, indicated by forks. A five-fork restaurant is the absolute best and highly recommended.

Spanish food is traditional and varied and differs greatly from region to region. In the North the fish and sea food from Galicia are a speciality. Valencia excels in rice dishes, which are delicious when served with a traditional tasty chilli or marinade sauce from the Pyrenees. In the Balearic islands many delicacies are made, not least the special sweet pastries from Mallorca and the spicy sausages and cured hams.

Spain’s most famous meal is paella, and it has many variations. Seafood, snails, rabbit, or poultry can be chosen as the base ingredient for this dish, and this is then fried in a big pan with onions, peppers, and olive oil and served with saffron rice and lots of finely chopped herbs and vegetables.

tapas

Andalucia has more tapas bars than anywhere else in Spain. Rumour has it that this custom began here when a generous bar owner overlaid each drink he served with a slice of cheese or ham. Others say tapas was invented as a means to make your drink last longer. As dinner is eaten late, tapas makes a useful snack and is still regarded as informal, street-style food, although it is also served in high-class restaurants.

Tapas can range from traditional hams or mussels on cocktail sticks to carefully stuffed anchovy olives or octopus. The variety is amazing, but what makes tapas a real delight is the dips and sauces that accompany each mouthful. Toast rubbed with garlic, topped with tuna and roasted peppers and dripping with olive oil is just one example. Alternatively, you might have a piece of nutty Manchego cheese or baby-octopus, dipped in bean oil with chilli.

The best thing about preparing tapas is that it is so easy and quick. For example, vegetables can be chopped and covered in mayonnaise, spiced oil, or marinade sauces. Thin slices of ham and chunks of cheese can be served with dried bread or biscuits.


wine

Spain is one of the largest wine producers in the world, and three million tonnes of grapes are bottled each year. Rioja wine is the most famous of all its varieties. This comes from the northern Rioja region which boasts 129,050 acres of vineyards. The climate and soil in this area are perfect for grapes. Tempranillo grapes are the most common Rioja type. They ripen early on in the season, hence their name from temprano, meaning ‘early.’ They have a high-sugar/low acidic content and so combine well with other varieties.

Quality Rioja wines have a common feature: they are aged in oak casks for several years before they are ready for bottling. The oak wood is always American because it has small pores and lets in less air. This means the wine develops slowly and more smoothly and acquires the flavours it is famous for.

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves, minced
8 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon powdered saffron
Coarse salt
200g olive oil
50g cured ham, chopped
100g chorizo sausage, sliced
1 kg chicken, cut into small pieces
250g squid, cut into small pieces
250g halibut, cut into small pieces
250g swordfish, cut into small pieces
500g small or medium shrimp, shelled
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
250g cooked small clams, in their shells
500g cooked mussels, reserve few shells for decoration
675g short-grain rice
1 lemon
1 litre hot chicken broth
750ml hot fish broth
Parsley sprigs and lemon wedges for garnish

Method

In a small bowl mash the garlic, parsley, saffron, and salt. Heat the olive oil in a paella cooking pan with a 15 inch (40 cm) base. Add the chopped ham and chorizo. Fry, stirring for a few minutes. Turn out onto a warm plate. Add the chicken pieces, sprinkled with salt, to the pan and fry over a high heat until golden on all sides. Turn out onto the warm plate. Add the squid, halibut, and swordfish to the pan. Sprinkle with a dash of salt and fry. Turn out onto the warm plate. Add the shrimp to the pan and sauté for three minutes, or until barely pink. Turn out onto the warm plate. Add the chopped onion, tomato and peppers to the pan. Sauté until soft.

Return the cooked ham, chorizo, chicken, fish, and shrimp to the pan. Add the chopped parsley, minced garlic, and the cooked clams and mussels. Stir in the rice and the juice of one lemon. Fry for two or three minutes. Pour in the hot chicken and fish broth, and continue to stir. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes without stirring. Turn off the heat and shake the pan lightly to prevent any rice from sticking. Cover with a dry towel for ten minutes. (This allows the rice to absorb any excess broth.) Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley sprigs before serving.

1 litre (4 cups, or 1.75 pints) milk
Peel of 1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick
6 egg yolks
6 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
Flour for dusting
2 beaten eggs
Oil for frying
Cinnamon and sugar for dusting
Powdered sugar

Optional: strawberry jam

Method

Put milk, lemon peel, and cinnamon in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for ten minutes. Set aside. In another saucepan beat the egg yolks until lemon-coloured, then beat in the cornstarch. Stir in a few tablespoons of the hot milk mixture, then gradually stir in the rest. Cook over a moderate heat, stirring constantly, for about four minutes or until thickened. Discard the lemon peel and cinnamon stick. Pour into a large greased, rectangular pan and leave to cool. Then refrigerate this for several hours or overnight. Once set, cut it into small squares, dust each square with flour, and dip them in the egg mixture. Heat the oil and fry the squares until brown on all sides. Drain. Dust with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Just before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar. If you wish, serve with strawberry jam.