Spanish Food

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Spanish food is a reflection of the culture's fondness for full flavor and familiar faces. With a variety of geographic and cultural influences across the country, there are many regional versions on what is considered standard Spanish cuisine.

Food in Spanish Culture

Spanish culture revolves around conversation and food. Most meals are shared with friends and family. If eating solo at a restaurant, it's common to take up a conversation with those around you while enjoying your meal.

Unlike the typical three square meals a day you'll find common for Americans, Spaniards enjoy multiple smaller meals throughout the day. Starting the morning with the smallest meal of the day, breakfast is usually something simple like a cup of coffee and milk and a roll with or without cheese and ham. Tapas are eaten after breakfast, but before lunch. They are little plates of various food eaten to tide one over until lunch, the biggest meal of the day. Eaten in the early afternoon, usually between 1-4, lunch is a multiple course meal stretched over a couple of hours. Lunch often includes soup, bread, salads, a main dish and dessert. Because dinner is eaten late, often after 9 pm, tapas are again often eaten in the late afternoon or early evening. One can expect the dinner meal to be something simple, quick and light. After dinner, typical late night snacks in Spain are churros (a crispy fried pastry) and hot chocolate.

Types of Spanish Food

The most commonly found foods in Spanish cooking are olives and garlic. That said, because Spain has such diversity in culture, weather and geography, there are often vast difference in cooking style from region to region. Areas bordering water naturally lend themselves to ocean foods like halibut, shrimp and octopus. Those living inland, enjoy dishes loaded with eggplant or zucchini and have more cheese and eggs in their diet. Relatively difficult to narrow down foods that are specifically Spanish, there are a few that can be found throughout the country.

They include:

Olives and olive oil
Garlic
Fish and seafood
Ham
Chorizo, a Spanish style sausage
Almonds
Oregano, rosemary and thyme
Eggs

Examples of Spanish Cuisine

Despite culinary differences from region to region, there are a few common dishes that can be found throughout the country of Spain.

The dish Spain is most known for is Paella, a type of stew that is loaded with veggies, rice and meat. With its origins in eastern Spain, it is a dish that is now made in every region of the country. Variations abound according to the locally available foods and flavor preferences. Similar to Cajun style shrimp gumbo, one recipe may be loaded with shrimp and seafood while another has chicken and rabbit. Just as it's found in paella, rice accompanies many other main dishes. Spanish rice is a side dish that has small pieces of vegetables added to it. Usually with tomatoes, onions and some sort of pepper, it is made from left over rice that is fried in olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika. Tapas, the small plates of food mentioned above can be found from the smallest village to the largest cities of Spain. They can range from a very simple plate of mixed olives or spiced nuts to a complex omelet or savory pastry. Emphasis is on presenting a small amount of food with an intense amount of flavor.

Turrón and mantecados are two types of traditional Spanish sweets. Turrón are a combination of nuts (usually almonds) and honey. They vary in texture from soft like nut butter to crisp as brittle. Mantecados are small crumbly cakes. Commonly loaded with a combination of lemon, anise and cinnamon they have a uniquely rich and decadent flavor. Both of these sweet Spanish foods can be found throughout the year but are available in abundance during the Christmas holiday season.

Perhaps less globally known for its style of cooking than the French or Chinese, Spanish cooking finds at its heart a tradition of community and eating together. When enjoying Spanish food, be sure to do as the Spaniards and offer others the pre-eating wish a good meal, "Buen provecho!"