Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
bottom of the pan where most of the flavour
resides. The main paella staples are paella
valenciana (from Valencia, where paella has
its roots), which is cooked with chicken, white
beans and sometimes rabbit, and the more
widespread paella de mariscos (seafood
paella), which should be bursting with shell-
fish. In most restaurants, ordering a paella re-
quires a minimum of two people.
For all paella's fame, a really good paella
can be surprisingly hard to come by in Span-
ish restaurants. This is partly because saffron
is extremely expensive, prompting many res-
taurants to cut corners by using yellow dye
number 2. It's also because many restaur-
ants play on the fact that every second for-
eign visitor to Spain will order a paella while
in the country, but few will have any idea
about what a good paella should taste like.
Spaniards are much more discerning when it
comes to their national dish, so check out the
clientele before sitting down.
Cooking Courses &
Tours
Even if you're only in Spain for a
short time, the following places or-
ganise full- or half-day cooking
courses:
» Adventurous Appetites,
Madrid ( Click here )
» Cook and Taste, Barcelona
( Click here )
» San Sebastián Food and
Sabores de San Sebastián, San
Sebastián ( Click here )
Regional Variations
The Basque Country and Catalonia are Spain's undoubted culinary superstars.
Elsewhere, Andalucía, Aragón, Galicia and much of the Spanish interior are con-
sidered the bastions of tradition, while Madrid has risen above the mediocrity of its
home-grown culinary traditions to be the place where you can get the best of re-
gional specialities from around Spain.
In the Spanish interior, meats are a much-loved mainstay. Above all else, these
include cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) in Segovia, cordero asado (roast lamb)
in most of Castilla y León, and the steaks of Ávila, inland Andalucía or the Basque
Country. Around the coast, there are few creatures from the sea that Spaniards
don't eat, from the Atlantic seafood of Galicia ( pulpo gallego, or spicy boiled oc-
topus is its most famous dish) to the fried fish of Andalucía, and the seafood-based
rice dishes of Catalonia or the Balearic Islands.
 
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