Sunday, January 13, 2013

What Spanish cooking has to offer! ? Food "n" Drinks

Spain is country with a mixed and complicated heritage and Spanish cooking reflects this fact. While Spain is a Mediterranean country, and many Spanish dishes owe much to this, Spanish food can also include local foods imported into the country from Spain?s previous colonies in the New World such as beans, peppers, potatoes and tomatoes. Other Spanish dishes draw on the countries Jewish and Moorish heritage ? it was worth bearing in mind that much of Spain was ruled by the Moors for more than 700 years. Even the Reconquista (the Christian reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from Muslims) has left its traces in Spanish cuisine ? pork is popular in Spanish food, and traditionally was a political statement of Christian identity because it wasn't eaten by Jews or Muslims.

The most vital ingredient in Spanish cooking is olive oil, which is unsurprising when you think about the fact that Spain produces just about 1/2 the world's olives. Nonetheless in the North of Spain, butter and lard are also used.

Other characteristics of Spanish food, include the far-ranging use of garlic and onions, the portion of bread and wine with many meals, and the consumption of fruit or dairy foods as desserts. One particularly well-known Spanish custom is the serving of tiny appetizers (?tapas?) with drinks.

Some popular Spanish dishes include:

- Gazpacho ? A cold vegetable broth that's particularly popular in warmer areas like Andalusia. Traditionally gazpacho was made off bread, garlic, olive oil, salt and vinegar, but today, bell pepper and tomato are also frequently added. There's also a alternative called &quit;gazpacho manchego&quit; which is served warm, and that of course includes meat (frequently rabbit) and mushrooms, and is rather more like a stew than a soup.

- Paella ? A rice dish originally from Valencia. The primary ingredients are rice, saffron and olive oil, and the dish is mostly garnished with meat or seafood, and veggies.

- Chorizo ? A spicy sausage made of fatty pork flavored with chili and paprika. There are 2 varieties: hot (?picante?) and sweet (?dulce?). Most kinds can be eaten cold, though there are some regions of Spain which produce variations that need further cooking. Chorizo is not just eaten by itself, but is often utilized as an ingredient in other dishes.

- Jamon Serrano ? Dry-cured ham.

- Fabada Asturiana ? A bean stew that also contains black blood sausage (?morcilla?), chorizo and pork, and which is seasoned with saffron and other seasoning.

- Olla Podrida ? A rich stew with bacon, poultry or game, ham, meats and vegetables.

- Marmitako ? A fish stew made with onions, pimentos, potatoes and tomatoes.

- Calamares ? Fried squid.

- Pescato Frito ? Marinated fish, battered and fried.

- Tortilla de patatas ? An onion and potato omelette.

Lola Espana is a UK based importer of Spanish food and sells the very best Spanish produce to the Uk market, including the general public, bistro and hotel chains as well as to wholesalers.For some more info or to buy their produce, check out their website here: Buy Spanish Food Online

Source: http://boyajianmarc.com/foodndrinks/2013/01/12/what-spanish-cooking-has-to-offer/

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