The Spanish cuisine is known worldwide for its wide variety of dishes. Like in many other countries, there are some dishes that are more typical in one region than in others. La Paella de Valencia, La Fabada de Asturias, El Cocido de Madrid and El Bacalao de Bilbao. If you are going to spend your Erasmus in Bilbao, for sure you are not going to have enough time to enjoy the whole Spanish cuisine. In this article, we are going to present you a list of the main dishes you must try before finishing your Erasmus period.
1. La Tortilla de Patatas
La Tortilla de Patatas or Spanish Omelette, is probably the best-known dish of the Spanish gastronomy. In spite of the potato was not introduced in Spain until the discovery of America, this dish has a special impact on our gastronomy. There are dozens of way to cook the Spanish Omelette: with more eggs, with less, more cooked or undercooked…But don´t worry, if you are coming to San Sebastian, you will taste the best omelette of the world.
2. La Paella
One of the most famous Spanish dishes is Valencian Paella. The main ingredient of this meal is the rice. The paella is usually cooked with shellfish. Paella is not an easy dish to cook, you need to have some knowledge and cook it carefully. Valencians say that not every paella is a Valencian paella. This particular way to cook the rice is so special that there are special courses to learn how to cook a genuine paella valenciana.
3. Pulpo a la Gallega
The best shellfish of Spain is originary from Galicia, that´s why the best octopus récipe is from Galicia, the land of Meigas.If you are going to spend your Erasmus in Spain, you need to visit Galicia to taste this fantastic dish of octopus.If you finally visit Galicia, don´t forget to visit one of its marisquerías (shellfish restaurants) to try percebes, centollos, cigalas and more tipycal shellfish from Galicia.
4. Gazpacho Andaluz
Gazpacho is a cold soup originally from Andalucia, located in the south of Spain. This soup is made of vegetables and olive oil. It is said that this soup was created in Andalucía due to the high temperatures during summer. This soup normally has a reddish color because of the tomatoes used to prepare it and it contains lots of vitamins to face the hot working day.
5. Bacalao al Pil-Pil
Bacalao is a very traditional dish in the Basque cuisine. The Bacalao al Pil-Pil is a cod cooked in a special way, originally from Biscay. Cooking the cod in this particular way is also a difficult duty, because you need to have some knowledge about the procedure in every step. The secret consists on moving the casserole in order to create a perfect mixture between the olive oil and the jelly of the fish.
6. Fabada Asturiana
La Fabada Asturiana is a typical dish from Asturias, in the northern Spain. The Fabada principally contains the faba asturiana which is a local kind of vean. Apart from that, the Fabada usually contains sausage, bacon and blood sausage. It´s not difficult to find canned Fabada in supermarkets, but you need to know that it is not as good as the traditional and homemade fabada. If you really want to try an original Fabada, you have to visit Asturias to taste this popular dish.
7. Cocido Madrileño
There are different ways to cook Cocido Madrileño (a typical stew from Madrid), but the vast majority of récipes include noodles and chickpeas. Apart from that, it is usual to cook it with potatoes, carrot, and other boiled vegetables. In some regions, they also include sausage, blood sausage, bacon and ribs. Being a intense dish, it is the most usual toe during winter rather than in the summer.
8.Sopa de Ajo
Despite its name (Garlic Soup), this soup is not only made of garlic. The traditional recipe is based on the use of stale bread of the previous day to make the soup. The bread is cut in slices to be boiled with garlic. It is common to add jam and hard-boiled egg to obtain a more tasty dish.
