Take a Peek Inside the Spanish Kitchen

If you want to cook Spanish food, You’ll need the right ingredients and equipment. So, let’s take a look at a typical Spanish kitchen.

The traditional Spanish kitchen is instantly recognizable. The pots and pans hanging from the tiled walls. The tins, bottles and jugs on the shelves. And the cured serrano hams and chorizo sausages acting as decorations as well as ingredients. All are sure signs you have wandered into a Spanish kitchen.

Take a closer look and you will see many other ingredients synonymous with Spanish cuisine. But many began their journeys centuries ago and thousands of miles away.

Equipment and cooking methods

A simple array of pots and pans, as well as a decent chef’s knife are enough to get started with most Spanish recipes.

Cooking on open fires using wood or charcoal was the traditional way to create Spanish recipes. And many Spanish homes and commercial kitchens still have the facilities to cook in this way. But modern kitchen equipment allowed creativity to flourish.

Terracotta-coloured pots known as cazuelas are very popular in the Spanish kitchen. These versatile dishes are great for cooking and serving many recipes. In fact, many tapas bars serve their food this way.

Another classic pan is the paellera from Valencia, famous as a cooking tool for the famous dish from which it gets its name.

Paella pans come in all sizes, from small ones for one person, to enormous pans to feed an entire village. A whole array of accessories can compliment your paella pan. Including dedicated stands, burners and spoons.

Olives and olive oil

The single most defining ingredient of Spanish cuisine is the olive. The fruit has been grown in the region for thousands of years and is one of the oldest cultivated in the Mediterranean. Currently, Spain is the world’s largest producer and exporter of olives and olive oil.

There are well over 200 varieties of olive grown in Spain. The best are grown for table consumption and to make the finest extra virgin olive oil. Olives are often served with herbs, oil and vinegar. Or stuffed with almonds, peppers, garlic or anchovies. They serve them in every bar and restaurant across Spain,often as a free tapa alongside a beer or glass of wine.

Popular varieties of Spanish Olives:

• Manzanilla (meaning ‘little apple’) is a small green olive from Andalusia. Popular in tapas dishes and used in Martini cocktails.
• Arbequina, another small brownish green olive, is grown in Catalonia.. But is also found in smaller quantities in other regions such as Aragon.
• Empeltre is a versatile medium-size black olive grown in Aragon and the Balearic islands.
• Picual, the most popular olive in Spain, grows the province of Jaen. It has a strong and sweet flavour ideal for table oil.
• Cornicabra from Toledo, is also popular for oil.
• Hojiblanco olive oil from Córdoba has a bitter and peppery flavour that is much-appreciated.

Cheese and dairy produce

Spain boasts over 200 cheeses, many of which come from regional farmhouse dairies. As a result, each region produces cheese with very distinctive flavours and textures.

Spain exports many cheeses with Manchego the most popular. Cheese does play a large part in Spanish cuisine. But, it is not used much in cooking. Instead, it is often served fresh on its own, or with other ingredients such as nuts, herbs and oil.

A list of popular Spanish cheeses:

• Afuega’l pitu (Asturias)
• Alpujarra (Andalusia)
• Cabrales (Asturias)
• Campo de Montalban (La Mancha)
• Cantabrian queso de nata (Cantabria)
• Casín (Asturias)
• Flor de Guía (Canary Islands)
• Gamonéu (Asturias)
• Garrotxa (Catalonia)
• Ibores (Extremadura)
• Idiazabal (Basque Country)
• La Serena (Extremadura)
• Mahón (Balearic Islands)
• Majorero (Canary Islands)
• Mallorcan (Balearic Islands)
• Manchego (La Mancha)
• Mató (Catalonia)
• Murcian (Murcia)
• Palmero (Canary Islands)
• Picón Bejes-Tresviso (Cantabria)
• Roncal (Navarra)
• Tetilla (Galicia)
• Torta del Casar (Extremadura)
• Valdeón (Castilla y Leon)
• Zamorano (Castilla y Leon).

Spanish vegetables and pulses

The climate in Spain makes it ideal for growing pulses and vegetables. And the quality of produce is impressive. In Spanish cuisine, vegetables appear in abundance. And provide many of the benefits associated with the Mediterranean diet.

Beans, lentils and peas are all popular and often preferred to potatoes as a way to bulk dishes. Chickpeas are the most used and are a staple ingredient of Spanish cuisine.

It is common to soak dried beans and lentils in advance of cooking. This is not a problem. Because planning, preparation and patience are all essential in Spanish cooking.

Herbs, spices and nuts

Spices have given identity to many cooking styles around the world and Spain is no exception. Smoked paprika, saffron, oregano, bay leaves, thyme, parsley and cumin. These are some of the flavours you will encounter on your Spanish culinary journey.

Saffron is one of the country’s most successful exports. The Moors introduced “az-zafaran” in the 18th century. And Spanish saffron is among the finest in the world. The majority comes from the region of Castilla-La Mancha. It has enjoyed Denominacion de Origen status there since 2001.

As well as herbs and spices, nuts are also used to flavour many sweet or savoury dishes. With almonds, pine nuts and hazelnuts the most common.

Spanish rice and pasta

Think of Spanish rice dishes and you will think of paella. Yet, rice features in many recipes including stews, sausages, soups and desserts. Spanish rice is of exceptional flavour and quality. And with a worldwide export market to please, rice-growing is serious business.

The Spanish have been enjoying pasta for a long as the Italians. And although it does not dominate the menu, it is still plays an important part in Spanish dishes such as Fideua.

Some popular Spanish rice varieties:

• Bahia (Valencia)
• Bomba (Valencia, Murcia)
• Calasparra (Murcia)
• Senia (Valencia)

Fish and shellfish

The Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts provide Spain with some of the finest seafood in the world. As a result, Spain is the seafood capital of Europe. Globally, only the Japanese consume more fish per head than the Spanish. The health benefits of eating fish are well reported and recognised by UNESCO as part of the Mediterranean diet.

Some of the biggest fishing ports in Europe are in Spain, with Vigo in Galicia the most dominant. The quality of the seafood is of global renown.

Preserved fish are also very popular. Many of the techniques are centuries old but are still used to produce ingredients such as salt cod. Other fish such as Anchovies are also preserved in tins of oil or brine.

Meat, poultry and game in the Spanish kitchen

The variety of meat available in Spain is almost as great as the variety of seafood. The Spanish really are spoilt for choice.

The pig plays a major role in Spanish cuisine and remains a symbol Spanish nationality following the unification of the country over five hundred years ago. Prior to this, the consumption of pork was forbidden by both the Muslims and the Jews.

Spanish Jamon

Spain’s most famous meat product is ham with Spanish Jamon Serrano a delicacy the world over. The acorn-fed black wild pigs of Extremadura and Andalusia are native to Spain. And the Iberico Serrano ham they produce is a prize ingredient in the culinary world. However, due to its rarity, it is expensive.

Suckling pigs are also popular. The two to three-week-old piglets are traditionally split then roasted whole in large oak-fired ovens.

Beef is less widely eaten but does make an appearance in many traditional stews and casseroles. The Basques serve their beef very rare or even raw using the carpaccio or tartar cooking methods that are popular in France and Italy.

Chickens are eaten less frequently than some other meats. But the birds are found in many Spanish homes and cherished for their egg production. Street vendors roast them whole and sell them at local markets.

Game-hunting tradition

Shooting game (Caza mayor) or birds (Caza menor) are very popular pursuits in Spain due to the large variety of edible wildlife. Migrating birds use the peninsula as a stop off point on their way to and from Africa. As a result, there are enough to ensure that breeding stocks are not depleted by the enthusiastic Spanish hunters. The most popular birds are duck, pigeon, pheasant, quail and partridge.

The mountainous terrain in Spain is also rich in game. The Spanish hunt rabbit, hare, goat, boar and deer for food in the rural areas. Delicacies such as snails, lizards and frogs are among the traditional ingredients from areas where produce was more limited. Here, hunters grabbed what they could for the cooking pot. In some rural areas of Andalucia, lizards are still a delicacy. And snails remain popular all over Spain.

Fruits

Due to the amount of fruit in Spain, some restaurants serve fresh fruit as a desert with little preparation. Many rural homes will have their own fruit trees. For eating and bartering with neighbours for other produce.

Apples grow all over Spain, with the best varieties coming from the Northern areas. The Reineta from El Bierzo deserves particular praise.  This large, firm and extremely juicy variety earned PDO status (Protected Denomination of Origin) in 2002. The conditions in the area are so good that apples grown elsewhere are not of the same quality. The apple growers of Girona also take their business seriously and produce apples of exceptional quality.

Bread and baking

Bread is everywhere in Spain. It appears at every meal and plays a part in all aspects of Spanish culture including religious festivals and ceremonies. Bread comes in all shapes and sizes, and recipes vary from region to region.

Flatbreads, like cocas or roscas, come topped with sweet or savoury ingredients. They are popular in Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearics but appear all over Spain.

Empanadillas are small pies made of pastry or bread dough often served as a tapas dish. Larger versions, empanadas, are also popular for sharing.

Cakes, biscuits and pastries are a must at any Spanish mealtime. Bakeries, known as pastelerias take pride in their window displays. Popular products include palmeritas, macarrones, tortas and cookies. They can be hard to resist for hungry passers-by.