Gourmets sing of Spanish cuisine, savoring the names of the dishes as much as the dishes themselves. Jamon, gazpacho, paella – do you feel your appetite awakening? Kidpassage has collected information about the most famous, tastiest and most healthy dishes of this country: here you will find a list of delicacies and dishes suitable for a children’s table.
Variety of culinary traditions: from Africa to America The cuisine of Spain has absorbed the culinary traditions of the Arabs, Italians, Greeks, and learned a lot from the gastronomic preferences of the peoples of North-West Africa and America. By culinary borrowings, you can study the history of the country … but first you still need to eat. Connoisseurs say that the national food in Spain is too generalized, and the cuisine of each province should be considered separately.
Nevertheless, some characteristic features can be noted. On the Mediterranean coast (namely, where most families plan holidays in Spain with children), seafood, meat, vegetables, cereals, especially rice, are in honor. Spanish cuisine uses olive oil, herbs and spices to prepare dishes, but there are practically no spicy dishes. We especially love garlic – they flavor, probably, any unsweetened food. National dishes of Spain: not a day without delicacies What is the first thing tourists try in a new country? Of course, gastronomic delights. Jamón – dried meat in Spain is simply called “ham”: this is how the word “jamon” is translated. Dried pork ham is produced in all areas of Spain, but there are two main types of jamon – serrano (white hoofed ham) and the more valuable Iberico (black hoofed ham). One of the features of the national cuisine is that jamon is added to almost all soups, meat and vegetable dishes.
Chorizo – dry-cured or raw-smoked pork sausage with paprika. Chorizo is put on sandwiches, grilled, added to soups. Other Spanish sausages include morcilla and butifarra, and sobrasada, a dried meat sausage. Gazpacho is one of the main dishes in Spain, a cold mashed tomato and sweet pepper soup flavored with olive oil, herbs and garlic. Gazpacho is often served over ice.
Paella is a Spanish cuisine specialty from Valencia. Paella is rice with vegetables, seafood or meat. The addition of saffron gives the rice an appetizing yellow color (unless you order “black rice” with cuttlefish ink). The famous dish has many varieties. Turrón, or torró, is Spain’s most famous sweet dish. Turrons are made from egg white mixed with honey and roasted nuts. Previously, this delicacy was prepared only for Christmas, but now it can be tasted at any time of the year.
Churros is another favorite dessert, crispy biscuits fried in butter. Churros are eaten dipped in hot chocolate or mixed with coffee. Salads and appetizers: tapas for adults, but for children? Tapas are snacks traditionally served with beer and wine. The list of tapas is endless: nuts, olives, sandwiches, fried seafood, jamon, marinated pork, cheese appetizer, meat pies. Tapas can even include small portions of main courses such as gazpacho or paella. Pa amb tomàquet is Spain’s national dish and a convenient snack for kids. It is a toasted piece of bread drizzled with olive oil, grated with half a fragrant tomato and garlic. You can put cheese or a slice of jamon on such bread. Pa amb tomaquet is especially popular in the Balearic Islands and Catalonia.
Ajotomate is again a combination of tomatoes and garlic, only in the form of a salad. Ensalada de apio y naranjas is a refreshing vegetable salad with stalk celery and orange slices. Ensalada malagueña is a salad that can replace a full meal. It includes boiled potatoes, orange pulp, onions, olives and dried cod bacalhau. Ensalada de mar – seafood salad with mushrooms or capers. Remojón is an orange salad. A popular dessert has the same name, and these dishes differ only in sweetness. Soups: bread in a bowl and melon for a starter Among the traditional dishes of Spain there are many different soups. On a hot day, it is customary to eat cold soups with ice, and in winter – hot, rich soups in meat broth. Salmorejo is a gazpacho-like soup made in Andalusia. An egg and finely chopped jamon are added to it.
Ajoblanco is another fellow gazpacho, only without the addition of tomatoes. The soup is seasoned with ground almonds, and instead of bread (which is part of the soup), grapes or melons are served with the dish.Tourists love Cocido madrileño, a hot and thick soup popular in Madrid. The composition of the soup includes chickpeas or beans, small vermicelli (sometimes it is replaced with rice), as well as several types of meat and meat products. Garlic adds flavor to the dish.
The dish is served in several stages: first, broth with vermicelli, then legumes with vegetables, and at the very end – meat. Puchero is another thick soup, more like a second course. It includes several types of meat, jamon, vegetables. Puchero is eaten with rice or pasta. Meat: a variety of recipes If you collect recipes for meat dishes from any autonomous community in Spain, you get a weighty book. Meat in Spain love and know how to cook. Rabo de Toro – stewed oxtails. Spain can be imagined without bullfighting, but without this dish – hardly. Ternasco aragones – Aragonese lamb. The stew melts in your mouth.
Fideua is a close relative of Spain’s other national dish, paella. Only for the preparation of fideua, instead of rice, small vermicelli is used.Fabada is the national food of Spain, most common in Asturias. This Large white bean stewed with meat, chorizo and bacon warms even on a chilly winter day. Pote Gallego is a very fabado-like dish popular in Galicia.
Stewed meat stew with beans and vegetables is served directly in the pot in which it was prepared. Chanfaina – stewed pork or beef liver. During the preparation of chanfaina, wine is used. Albondigas – delicious meatballs with tomato sauce. Fish: how to swallow the tongue (marine) The Mediterranean Sea is rich in fish and shellfish – rich in dishes from them and restaurant menus. Galicia is especially famous for its fish dishes. Seafood is fried, stewed, grilled, boiled in their ear, added to paella. Espeto de sardinas – charcoal grilled sardine. Vieiras a la gallega is the Galician way of cooking scallops. The dish is exquisite, but not very suitable for a children’s table.
