Spain: Prosperous Entertaining - Part 3
From ExecutivePlanet.com
Cuisine in Spain
Obviously, the major Spanish cities offer the standard array of international cuisines [with many restaurants of the very highest quality] and perhaps the greatest dining experience on the planet can be had at a small establishment near Barcelona. It would, however, be negligent to ignore native Spanish cooking. This reflects many historical influences but is typically Mediterranean in its liberal use of olive oil, garlic, onions, tomatoes and peppers and takes full advantage of the abundant supply of fresh fish and seafood. There is also a heavy emphasis on meat such that vegetarians might find a varied and interesting diet hard to come by in some places.
Traditional Spanish dishes include gazpacho, tortilla, paella, jamón serrano or ibérico, queso manchego, etc. and there is an abundance of regional specialities, the best of which are to be found in Catalonia or the Basque country.
The best way of experiencing the best of Spanish food, however, is to follow the example of the Spanish themselves and to 'graze.'
A popular lunchtime snack is the bocadillo [a long bread roll filled with ham, cheese, etc.] but the Spanish nibble of preference throughout the day is the tapa [or pincho in parts of northern Spain]. Almost every café, bar, tavern or pub offers a wide range of small plates of food to accompany drinks; there is rarely a menu of what is available but, typically, there will be olives, raw and cooked vegetables, cured and cooked meats, various cheeses, fish and shell-fish. Sometimes, though increasingly rarely, these will be offered as a complement to your drinks but they are invariably a cheap and agreeable way of eating at any time of day [or night]. A ración is a larger portion and correspondingly more expensive; it might be appropriate for a plate of, say, paella that is intended to be a meal in itself. Normally, however, the tapas-eater selects a series of different dishes, often in a sequence of different establishments, so as to enjoy a most satisfying variety of gustatory experiences.
Spain is predominantly a wine-drinking country [at least at meal-times]. The grander restaurants will have a list of fine wines from France and Italy as well as the best that Spain can offer, but it is worth finding out about [and tasting] the many excellent regional wines [both red and white] that are rarely exported. Rioja and the adjacent Navarra are well known, but Cariñena [from Aragón], Penedés and Cava [from Catalonia], Jumilla and Yecla [from Murcia] and Valdepeñas [from the border of La Mancha and Andalucía] are not to be overlooked.
Obviously, sherry [from Jerez de la Frontera] is the aperitif of choice particularly in southern Spain, but a bottle of fino, oloroso or manzanilla can also be the perfect accompaniment to any meal.
If you want a draught beer, you should order a caña [small] or tubo [larger at 300ml]; simply asking for a cerveza will bring you a much more expensive bottle. There are a few good local brews and some decent national brands; the usual global products are also available.
Sangría [a wine and fruit punch with a large dose of brandy] is best left to tourists who do not necessarily need a clear head in the morning. Indeed, anyone drinking spirits should be warned that Spanish measures can often be extremely generous [the proportions of a typical gin and tonic, for example, are likely to be the opposite of what you would ordinarily expect].
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