Andalusian gastronomy is profoundly marked by the Arab cooking of Al-Andalus. The refinement of this form of cooking, unheard of in Europe, transformed many customs. It was the Andalusies who created the dining room and the current order of dishes.
Andalusian cooking can be divided into two main parts: cookery based on products from the sea and that based on serrano mountain area ingredients. Vegetable and pulse stews, game dishes, together with the different forms of preparing fish, are the essence of our cookery. The best known Andalusian dish, famed for its nutritional value as well as ease of preparation, is gazpacho, a tomato-based cold soup containing cucumber, pepper, garlic,oil and vinegar. Other variaciones exist, adding or removing ingredients, such as salmorejo, la porra and ajoblanco. .
Almerian cookery, despite its proximity to the sea, is not based primarily on fish dishes. Dishes such as tortas de gachas (pancakes), ajo de colorao, la olla de trigo, las moragas, los gurullos de perdiz o liebre (types of stew), guisos con ajo (garlic-based stews), las cazuelas de habas verdes (green bean stew), are some of the typical meals on offer in Almeria.
Málaga bases its cooking on three main elements: moscatel grapes, gazpacho, and fish. Of renown are espetones de sardinas (grilled sardines), arroz a la marinera (rice with seafood), la sopa de rape (angler fish soup), atun mechado a la malagueña (pickled tuna), habas a la rondeña (bean stew), el menudo de ternera (stewed beef tripe), esparragos amargueros (asparagus), la cazuela de fideos a la malagueña (Malaga-style minestrone stew), patatas en ajopoleo (garlic potatoes), and many more.
The best known dishes in the cooking of Granada are the tortilla de sacramonte (omelette with brains) and las habas a la granadina (bean stew). As with the other provinces, Granada´s cookery is a legacy of Arab times, rich in spices, in soups and stews, and strongly sweet-toothed. The well known jamón de Trevelez (Trevelez ham) is an indispensable element in dishes such as habas con jamón (beans and ham), el plato alpujarreño, or las truchas de Laujar (grilled trout with ham). Also worthy of mention in this attractive province are: el cabrito en ajo caballin (goat with garlic), el arroz al liberal (a rice dish), la sopa moruna (soup) and many other dishes.
In Cádiz, berza (a type of stew with pulses and meat) stands out particularly, along with los guisos marineros (seafood stews), and of course "pescaito frito" (fried fish) and excellent shellfish (mariscos), particularly in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. This is one of the richest provinces in gastronomical terms, with dishes from the sea, the countryside and mountain regions. Other famed dishes include riñones al Jerez (kidneys in sherry), los calmares en su tinta (squid cooked in ink), las gachas (stew), la caldereta de cordero (lamb stew), la cola de toro (bull´s tail), el bistec salteado (saute beefsteak), etc.
In Córdoba, besides the exquisite game dishes, the following stand out: el rabo de toro (bull´s tail), la olla cordobesa (stew), la ternera con alcachofas (beef with artichokes), la caldereta de cordero (lamb stew), la chafaina cordobesa, las manos de cerdo al horno (baked pig´s trotters), los pichones con aceitunas (pigeon with olives), los picadillos, etc.
In Huelva, there are many forms of preparing cuttlefish and tuna. Among the fish stews stand out a number: las sardinas en pimentilla (sardinas with sweet paprika), el atún con tomate (tuna cooked in tomato), los chocos con habas (cuttlefish with beans), el pargo encebollado (porgy cooked in onions), el pez espada en amarillo (stewed swordfish in safron) la raya en pimentón (skate with sweet paprika) and almejas con arroz (clams with rice).
Jaén´s cooking is based on olive oil as the common ingredient, with dishes such as las epinacas jiennense (Jaen-style spinach), el ajilimojil, la alboronia and los potajes de verduras (vegetable stews). Despite being an inland province, Jaén also offers fish dishes containing herrings (arrenques) and dried cod (bacalao), such as ajoharina and los andrajos.
Although it is said that in Seville people do not eat as much as they eat tapas (tapear), this is not entirely true. The tapa forms a part of the culture of this province, but it is no less true that people here eat, and well at that. Proof of this are exquisite dishes such as la ternera a la sevillana (Seville style beef), la ensalada (salad), los huevos a la flamenca (hard boiled egg salad), los soldaditos de pavia (saltfish strips), el menudo (stewed tripe), la cola de toro guisado (stewed bull´s tail), el pato con aceituna (duck with olives) or lomo en manteca (pork in fat), to name but a few.
There are four main gastronomic categories which, due to their particular importance, receive special mention here.
The first of these are Andalusian wines, the most international of which are the sherry wines from Jerez, with the manzanilla variety produced in Sanlúcar de Barrameda standing out. Other wines with their own denomination of origin, besides Jerez-Xerez-Sherry, are Málaga, Condado de Huelva and Montilla-Moriles.
Other areas produce excellent quality wines, as is the case with Los Palacios and el Aljarafe in Seville province; Bailen, Torreperogil and Lopera in Jaén; Costa-Albodon in Granada; Laujar (Almeria) and Villaviciosa de Córdoba. However, one must not forget to mention a young, lightly fruity white wine of recent appearance, which little by little has found a place for itself on Spanish tables, coming mainly from the Cádiz province, and especially from Sanlúcar and Arcos de la Frontera.
As with Andalusian wines, "chacinas" or cold, cured meat products enjoy star rating, with ham from the sierra de Huelva region (Jabugo and other closeby villages) tending to eclipse other Andalusian products of great quality. All Andalusian mountain areas normally have their own range of pork-derived products, such as jamon (ham), caña de lomo (marinated sirloin), morcon (marinated pork), chorizos blancos, salchicon, morcillas (varieties of sausage), etc.
Andalusian cheeses are usually produced for local consumption, not normally being well known outside their own areas. However, the strong personalities of these cheeses make them excellent company with a good wine. They are usually made with sheep or goa´s cheese, with co´s milk being used in some cases. These mountain cheeses from Almeria, Granada, the Ronda hills or Grazalema are firm favourites with those who appreciate traditional cookery.
After a satisfying meal there is nothing quite like some delicious sweetmeats. The influence of Arab cooking has left a mark in Andalusian pastries and cakes. Many of these are made in convents and religious congregations, at times being given fantastic names, such as cabello de angel (ange´s hair), huesos de santo (sain´s bones), borrachos (drunkards) or mariquitas (ladybirds). Popular cooking is exquisitely represented in the many typical cakes and pastries of the different provinces - roscos in Jaén, hojuelas, torrijas and pestiños in Córdoba, polvorones in Estepa, alfajores and mostachones in Utrera, yemas de San Leandro in Seville, roscos in Loja, melojas in Jerez, bizcocho malagueño in Málaga, sufle de boniato, soplillos de almendras and bollos de nata in Almeria, and piñonates in Huelva. |
