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Click
here for a (free) recipe booklet of
delicious Spanish recipes Spain is famous for its cuisine, the most famous
Spanish dish is the 'paella' generally
known as the national dish, although there are many different types
of paellas today.
The people of Moorish Spain often made casseroles of rice, fish and
spices for family gatherings and religious feasts, thus establishing
the custom of eating rice in Spain. This led to rice becoming a
staple by the 15th century when Spanish Catholics expelled the
Muslims. Afterwards, it became customary for cooks to combine rice
with vegetables, beans and dry cod, providing an acceptable meal for
Lent. Fish always predominated with rice along Spain's eastern
coast.
On special occasions, 18th century Valencians used paelleras
to cook rice in the open air of their orchards near lake Albufera.
Marsh rat was one of the main ingredients of early paellas, along
with eel and butter beans.
Living standards rose with the sociological changes of the late 19th
century in Spain, giving rise to reunions and outings in the
countryside. This led to a change of paella's ingredients as well,
these being rabbit, chicken, duck, seafood and sometimes snails.
This dish became so popular that in 1840 a local Spanish newspaper
first used the phrase paella to refer to the recipe rather
than the pan.
On the Mediterranean coast, however, Valencians used seafood instead
of meat and beans to make seafood paella. Later, Spaniards mixed
seafood into the original Valencian recipe and mixed paella was
born.
During the 20th century, paella's popularity spread past Spain's
borders. As other cultures set out to make paella, the dish
invariably acquired regional influences. Consequently, paella
recipes went from being relatively simple to including a wide
variety of seafood, meat, sausage, (the most popular being Spanish,
chorizo) vegetables and many different seasonings. However, the most
globally popular recipe is seafood paella.
In Spain, mixed paella is very popular. Some restaurants in Spain
that serve this mixed version, refer to it as Valencian paella;
Valencians insist only the original Valencian recipe can bear the
name paella valenciana.
Spaniards, as all Europeans, are experiencing a
change in cooking and eating habits, as more and more families see
both the husbands and wives in full time employment, the families are
turning to quicker and more convenient meals, and the laborious
traditional cooking is slowly disappearing in the more modern
cities. Thankfully Spanish cuisine will never
completely die as food is very important within the Spanish family
and the traditional estofados or guisos and cocidos (different types
of stews) are quite easy to prepare and can be cooked in advance
which is helpful to the modern family.
Tapas of course is synonymous with Spain, tapas bars are found in
the smallest village or largest city, it is quite common to go 'tapeando'
literally visiting five or six tapas bars during an evening, eating
a few tapas with a drink or two and moving
on!
Tapas can also be used as starters to a meal or
as a side dish. Gazpacho is a beautifully flavoured
cold soup. There are various different types, basically raw
vegetables and bread. On the drinks side, obviously Spanish
wines have made huge improvements
over the last 20/30 years and are well received all over the world,
the most famous region is Rioja, but this is by no means the only
wine making region in Spain. Beers
have also been well received for many years and are exported all
over the world. Sangria must be the most popular of the Spanish drinks, this
also has many different variations and is enjoyed in summer
throughout Spain. Tinto de verano is a variation of the Sangria, it
is a simpler version and is drunk more often in small cafes /
restaurants during lunch as it is lighter than a glass of wine or
sangria. For a non alcoholic sweet summer drink try horchata. Spaniards love bread and
will buy fresh bread twice daily, for breakfasts and later for 'la
merienda'. Normally the
sweet tooth is satisfied during merienda (High tea) when a good
strong coffee is accompanied by a delicious pastry or two, or a
sandwich using freshly baked bread.
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