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Spain spreads out across mountain ranges,
stark plateaus and fertile valleys to coastlines on both the
Mediterranean and the Atlantic ocean and borders with France
and Portugal. The variety of the geography and climates has
created regional
cuisines that are unique and yet very Spanish. With pride,
the regions preserve their heritage and maintain their individuality.
Here are a few examples of the fabulous differences.
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Basque
Cuisine
The
Basques were experienced whale and cod fishermen in the North
Atlantic before Columbus discovered America, so it is no surprise
Basque restaurants are found around the world. Due to the
wanderlust and tenaciously hanging on to heritage even when
far away, Basque cuisine may be the most familiar Spanish
cuisine internationally.
As a good cook said, "If a dish has a
lot of red peppers, it may be Basque." But salt cod,
garlic shrimp, and baby eels (angulas) are representative
as are the all-male gastronomic societies and sheep's milk
cheeses. Pamplona, San Sebastian and Guernica are well known
cities in this region.
Here is a menu for a Basque
dinner party and a few recipes that will give you an idea
of the pleasures of the cuisine.
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Cuisine
of Catalonia
Anyone from Catalonia will tell you that Catalan
cuisine may be the least exported, but that it is the favorite
of Spaniards. That's pride. In addition to all the glory of
Mediterranean bounty, inland areas and the Pyrenees lend to
the cuisine. The sun, the sea, the tomatoes, and the spices
all charm a traveler into returning again and again. And the
wine, of course, makes the balmy days and nights memorable
too.
Catalan cuisine's rich flavors are characterized
by four sauces. Ali-oli (garlic and olive oil paste)
is a common seafood garnish and Samfaina is a distinctly
Catalan sauce of tomatoes, eggplant and peppers that appears
in many dishes. Sofregit is base of slowly cooked onions
and tomatoes with or without additional herbs and peppers.
The tomatoes disappear into the onions and often you can't
discern that there's tomato in a dish, just add a certain
"something" to the overall flavor. Picada,
which also acts as a thickening agent is made with ground
nuts (often almonds or pine nuts), parsley, garlic, and sometimes
chocolate. Colman Andrews, a well-known american interpreter
of the cusine, says that Catalan dishes tend to be relentlessly
brown — the flavors, however, are anything but.
The Catalans also have a tendency to have
unusual combinations such as ham and clams in the same dish.
I have read that this dates from the expulsion of the Jews
as a way for the remaining population to express that they
had converted to Catholicism by eating pork and shellfish.
Barcelona
and Tarragona are well known cities in this famous region
with exciting histories.
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