t An inviting tapas bar serving traditional dishes in central Granada
Many of Spain’s most beloved culinary traditions reach their crowning glory in Andalucía. Most famously of all, this is the home – if you believe the locals, at least – of tapas, those tiny appetizers offering the perfect opportunity to experience a little bit of everything.
t An inviting tapas bar serving traditional dishes in central Granada
Sevillanos will tell you that their city invented tapas, but you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy these delightful mouthfuls all over Andalucía. Córdoba, for example, is famed for its sheep’s milk cheese, while tortillitas de camarones (prawn fritters) are a speciality of Cádiz. The tapeo (tapas bar hopping) is the classic way to spend an Andalucían evening, and in Granada, where they still do things the old-fashioned way, you get a free tapa with every drink.
As you would expect from a region with both an Atlantic and Mediterranean coastline, Andalucía has an impressive daily catch. Savour fried choco (cuttlefish), coquinas (clams) simmered in garlic and white wine, and tuna, particularly in Barbate. We suspect that you’ll enjoy Andalucía’s seafood so much that you’ll want to recreate it at home. Learn to whip up a paella with Cooking Olé (www.cookingole.com), or create fishy tapas with Spain Food Sherpas in Málaga (www.spainfoodsherpas.com).
The beautiful Andalucían countryside is responsible for some of the region’s tastiest dishes. You’ll see black Iberian pigs roaming the region’s hillsides and fields. Reared on a special acorn diet, these pigs are to thank for jamón ibérico, the tasty cured ham that locals feast on both at breakfast and on the tapeo. Cheese also features heavily in Andalucían cuisine, with many different varieties produced across the region. Visit Finca Los Robledos, an organic farm in the Sierra de Aracena, to learn all about the strong, hard cheese made here from goat’s milk (Carretera Castanuelos s/n; 658 52 88 00).
Perhaps no food is more evocative of Seville than oranges, but think twice before plucking one off a tree – these bitter fruits are only good for marmalade. Sweet oranges are grown elsewhere in Andalucía and Coín hosts an annual festival each May to celebrate the harvest (www.turismocoin.com).
Insider Tip
A cookery course is the perfect way to take some of the unique flavours of Andalucían cuisine home with you. Seville’s Taller Andaluz de Cocina will see you shop for ingredients at a local market before getting to grips with gazpacho, carillada (pork cheek) and other Andalucían classics (www.tallerandaluzdecocina.com).
DISCOVER Seville and Andalucía Your Way
|
eat With such a wealth of culinary heritage, it’ll come as no surprise that Andalucía boasts so many Michelin-starred restaurants. These are our favourites. Aponiente ⌂ Calle Francesco Cossi Ochoa, El Puerto de Santa Maria ∑ aponiente.com ¡¡¡ Noor ⌂ Calle Pablo Ruiz Picasso 8, Córdoba ∑ noorrestaurant.es ¡¡¡ |