Top 12 Dishes of Spanish Cuisine You Will Love
Try these 12 dishes representing the crown of Spanish gastronomy an ideal fusion of Mediterranean and Moorish gastronomic impacts.
Beautiful Spain, renowned for Picasso, flamenco, football, and magnificent architecture, also boasts a rich gastronomic heritage enjoyed with all your senses.
Spanish cuisine is various and colorful, and each dish represents an explosion of flavors, colors, and aromas. Many specialties feature pork and cured meat products, alongside elements of Mediterranean cuisine incorporating a variety of vegetables, fish, and essential olive oil.
Some dishes originate from Moorish cuisine, brought by North African Arabs to Spain who ruled the Iberian Peninsula for almost 700 years. How important the meal itself is to the Spaniards is also shown by one of their famous sayings that “food comes immediately after dear God.”
Almost every region of this beautiful country is characterized by some vegetable or national specialty. Whether you’re planning an extended summer vacation or just stopping by for a short visit to explore the vibrant streets of colorful Spanish cities like Madrid, Barcelona, or Seville, don’t miss the chance to savor Spain’s culinary masterpieces found in these 12 famous dishes!
- Paella — A Dish that has gained World Fame
Valencia is known as a region of rice and oranges, but also for the famous paella, a traditional Spanish, and today an international specialty. This dish is prepared and served in a larger, wide dish, with a shallow bottom called “pealjon”, so it’s not difficult to conclude how it got its name. The original recipe includes rice, chopped pieces of meat, vegetables, fish, and seafood, while in certain country regions, some of these ingredients are excluded. This mixture may sound excessive to you, but the taste is amazing, especially with the obligatory and most important addition, of saffron, the most expensive spice in the world!
2. Gazpacho- A flavorful Andalusian Tomato Soup
This flavorful tomato soup is a typical dish, associated with the very south of Spain, Andalusia, known for its scorching climate. In the summer days when the temperature soars above 40 degrees daily, this tasty tomato soup, prepared in a specific way, and served cold, is real salvation from the unbearable heat that does not stop for months.
It is made from ripe, red tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and onions, adding pieces of old bread, various Mediterranean spices, olive oil, and vinegar that give it a particular, piquant flavor. Blend all ingredients well, and leave all in the refrigerator to cool for a while, as a result, you get the perfect appetizer or snack, which is on the menu of Spaniards every day. Delicious, refreshing, and invigorating, gazpacho is a traditional Spanish soup with preparation ways varying depending on the region.
3. Spanish Tortilla - A Savory Twist on Tradition
If you immediately thought of a Mexican tortilla, this Spanish one is nothing like it! Believe it or not, its main ingredient is potato, with a lot of onion fried in olive oil and adding a few eggs.
In appearance and thickness of a few centimeters, resembles a slightly larger omelet or a pie. There is no single preparation recipe for her, and almost every resident of Spain makes this dish to their liking, combining different types of vegetables, cheese, and cured meat products.
4. Fabada Asturiana- Spain’s Savory Bean Sensation
Beans are an integral part of Spanish cuisine, given Spain boasts an impressive cultivation of various legumes, including beans. With over 20 registered varieties of this vegetable, there is a growing demand for Spanish beans worldwide. Among an abundance of diverse sorts, black beans dominate Spanish cuisine. Several festivals are performed in honor of beans, but the most famous is Alubias de Tolosa, held in November. Beans lend a distinctive and flavorful touch to many traditional dishes, which are gladly prepared in Spaniards’ homes, and at the same time, they are healthy and rich in nutrients.
If you’re a fan of cooked food, try Fabada Asturiana, or simply Fabada, one of the most famous bean dishes whose roots derive from the northern Spanish region of Asturias. Made from the eponymous type of beans, dried meat, and sausages, it allures with its rich and hearty flavor. Delicious and soupy, enriched with various Mediterranean herbs, it offers a unique taste and aroma you should experience if you plan your journey to Spain. On cold winter days, there’s nothing better than your home being filled with the distinctive scent of Fabada, which embodies the traditional gastronomy of this part of Spain.
5. Cocido Madrileño — A Favorite Dish of Madrileñas
This delicious meal is a traditional specialty of the Spanish capital, Madrid. Its main ingredients include chickpeas, stewed pork and/or sausages, and obligatory seasonal vegetables. The resulting broth, often consumed as a soup with noodles, meat, and vegetables separately, is ideal for colder winter days, with many adding cabbage to the original recipe.
What’s particularly interesting is that when visiting Madrid, you can join organized tourist tours where, alongside a knowledgeable guide, you can explore the best restaurants and sample Cocido prepared in different ways.
6. Pisto Manchego — Ratatouille in the Spanish Way
This culinary creation originates from the small but incredibly vibrant Spanish province of Castile — La Mancha, sprinkled with vineyards, castles, and windmills, around which are mountain ranges spreading, after which it got its name, and it can be said that it is very similar to the famous French specialty ratatouille.
It is mostly prepared without meat, so it is a favorite dish of vegetarians, and it is made from tomatoes, peppers of different colors, onions, eggplant, or zucchini. With the help of a mixture of various spices, it will be flavorful and aromatic. In many recipes, fried or boiled egg is added on top, and those who can’t do without dried meat products usually use ham.
7. Gambas al Ajillo: A Mediterranean Delight on Your Plate
You may have noticed that almost all Spanish dishes have at least one type of onion; therefore, it is an obligatory ingredient in this extraordinary specialty. Shrimp with garlic, fried in olive oil or butter, with a variety of vegetables and plenty of primrose, is adored even by those, who are not fans of seafood. Try this savory delight, and you will feel all the charms of the sunny Mediterranean on your plate.
8. Marmitako — The Perfect Combination of Fish and Vegetables
The Basque Country, located in the extreme northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, is a picturesque region, where the coastal landscapes, fashionable cities, green mountain slopes, and undulating plains under vineyards intertwine, creating the magical sights of unique beauty. This region belongs to Atlantic Spain, overlooking the Cantabrian Sea, also called the Bay of Biscay.
Thanks to its fertile soil and various climates, it is a cradle of diverse cuisine, and known for numerous culinary specialties. Given the strong influence of a coastal climate Basque cuisine is mostly characterized by dishes prepared from seafood delicacies, including a variety of dishes featuring eels, squid, mussels, and diverse types of fish. Such straightforward, cooked meals form the foundation of the picturesque Basque gastronomy.
During your visit to the Basque Country, indulge in its most iconic dish and gastronomic symbol: Marmitako. This hearty rustic fish stew combines tuna fillets, potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers. For preparation, all you need is fresh ingredients that greatly enhance its overall taste and quality. No special equipment is required; just a pot to cook everything over low heat. You can consider squid a good option for the dish, but if you stick to the original recipe, tuna remains its most common ingredient.
Although its appearance will likely not inspire you to fall in love at first sight, try Marmitako anyway and you might be pleasantly surprised.
9. Savoring Spain: The Majesty of Jamón
Jamon, or dried ham, stands as one of Spain’s most known culinary treasures. Traditionally, the legs of ham were salted and hung to dry, preserving them throughout the extended winter months. Among the varieties, Jamon Serrano (from the mountain) is the most prevalent, sourced from white pigs, while the pricier Jamon Iberico hails from black pigs. The epitome of fine ham lies in its thin slices, which, believe it or not, melt in your mouth, on its own.
10. Churros — A Favorite Dessert of Spaniards
Now it’s time for dessert! One of the most renowned Spanish sweets, and at the same time are also world-famous, are churros. This sweet and fried dough comes in the form of oblong sticks, Spaniards usually eat them for breakfast with sugar sprinkled on top, melted dark chocolate, or honey. It can be eaten dipped in coffee, which is why it is an indispensable part of the menu of all restaurants and cafes.
11. Esmeralda- An Iconic Pastry Delight from Mallorca
World-known tourist destination, the island of Mallorca, a stunning jewel of the Mediterranean Sea, is not only celebrated for its spectacular growing olive and almond trees landscapes but also for its rich pick of delightful sweet threats. Among them is Ensaimada, a tasty puff pastry cake resembling bakery snails.
Its name, Ensaimada derives from the word “saim,” meaning fat, as it was traditionally made with lard. However, modern versions typically use butter or margarine instead. Ensaimada can be enjoyed plain or filled with pumpkin jam, and for added indulgence, it’s best served sprinkled with powdered sugar on top.
12. Tapas — Snack in the Spanish Way
Tapas cannot be said to represent one particular Spanish dish. On the contrary, it is a distinct dining style practiced between lunch and dinner and serves as a precursor to the main evening meal in Spain. Tapas can also be considered snacks eaten in small bites to satisfy hunger and always with the obligatory wine, which they go well with.
Although there are different stories about the origin of tapas, even if it was invented by King Alfonso V of Spain when he could only eat small snacks due to illness, it is quite certain that it originated as a desire of people to eat something before dinner. Due to that, traditional Spanish cuisine offers an abundance of dishes and delicacies, consumed similarly to tapas.
If you like trying various gastronomic specialties, offered by the exciting culinary world, this story is a challenging journey through the diverse, colorful Spanish cuisine. It is the most wonderful blend of various cultural influences, different people, their customs, and habits, which gave birth to a vivid palette of a variety of dishes that are real masterpieces of world gastronomy. This list of 12 dishes is a great way to enrich your everyday menu by discovering the vivid colors, tempting aromas, and magnificent tastes of authentic Spanish cuisine, which already have been its trademark for centuries.
