Food in Costa Blanca

Eating In and Out

When visiting the Costa Blanca depending on where you are it can sometimes
be quite difficult to find bars and restaurants serving traditional Spanish
cuisine amongst the many variations of global food types available including
Chinese, Indian, Italian.

Finding a great restaurant can make a holiday or become a life long friend if you live in the area or visit regularly, ask around friends, neighbours and locals for recommendations as these can be invaluable.

The amazing fresh produce of the area are reflected in the menus and also include seafood-inspired dishes, ranging from fresh fish to
shellfish - even the supermarket fish counter will amaze with its abundance
and variations. Spanish food such as sucs and suquet de peix (fish stews) are generally feauture in the Costa Blanca towns. Other popular Spanish foods include entrees such as dried fish, tripe, and roe, main dishes such as paella (rice dishes), and desserts such as leche merengada (ice cream made from egg whites and milk) and almond cookies.
Spanish breakfast is small and usually consists of a cup of coffee with a slice of toast and jam, or a pastry. For a savoury option you will always find ham and cheese toasted sandwiches and nearly every bar no matter how big or small will have a machine for freshly squeezed orange juice.
The most economical way to eat in a restaurant in Spain is to take the menu del dia (meal of the day). Nearly every restaurant / café and bar will offer this and generally includes 3 courses with bread (pan), a drink (bebida), though occasionally this is not the case so make sure you check and if you are looking for a bargain make sure tax (IVA) is included - 'IVA incluido' or 'IVA NO incluido'.

 

Tapas

This page wouldn’t be complete without mentioning tapas.
Tapas allows you to taste lots of dishes, and if you are with a group of
friends you will have a dozen Spanish foods or so to share. Tapas is ideal
as a light meal or quick snack while grazing from bar bar or working you way through the whole menu. There are normally two sets of prices, a lower
price for sitting at the bar and another price for sitting at a table. When
you go to the bar it is just a case of pointing at what food you would like;
Spaniards rarely drink without picking at Spanish food like tapas and I have to say I concur.

Examples of Spanish Tapas

Albondigas - Meatballs
Alitas de pollo - Chicken wings
Almejas - Clams
Berenjenas horneadas - Roasted aubergines
Butifarra - Sausage from Catalunya
Calamares - Battered squid
Callos - Tripe
Caracoles - Snails
Chistorra - Spicy sausage
Chopitos - Small cuttlefish fried in batter
Chorizo al vino - Spicy sausage pan-fried in red wine
Cogollos fritos - Lettuce fried in garlic and oil
Criadillas - Bull's testicles
Costillas - Ribs
Croquetas - Croquettes, normally with ham, chicken or cod
Diablitos picantes - Mini hamburgers
Escombros - Fry up of bits of small squid.
Figatell - Speciality of Valencia meatballs of pork and liver
similar to faggots
Gambas pil pil - Sizzling Prawns in Olive Oil and Garlic
Gambas rebozadas - Battered prawns
Huevos de codorniz - Quail's eggs
Jamon serrano - Spanish ham
Judias blancas - Butterbeans and whole cloves of garlic in a
white wine vinegar
Longaniza blanca - Normal sausage colour but not as spicy as longaniza roja
Longaniza roja - A speciality of Aragon, red spicy pork sausage
Magro - Pork in a paprika/tomato style sauce
Manitas de cerdo - Pig's trotters
Mejillones - Mussels
Merluza a la Romana - Hake with a very thin batter
Morcilla - Black pudding
Muslitos de mar - A croquette of crab-like meat skewered on a crab claw
Orejas de Cerdo - Pig's ear
Patatas a lo pobre - Potatoes with onions and peppers
Patatas alioli - Potatoes in a garlic mayonnaise
Patatas bravas - Potatoes in a spicy sauce
Pinchito - Kebab
Pollo al ajillo - Chicken in garlic
Queso Manchego - Manchego cheese in varying degrees of maturity
Rabo de Toro - Bull's tail or oxtail
Sepia - Cuttlefish
Sesos - Brains, usually lamb or calf
Tortilla Espanyola - Spanish potato omelette but can also have peas, ham etc

 

Self catering and gifts for home

If like me going away is a chance to bring home some authentic ingredients and recreate and experiment with recipies when you get back you can certainly make the most of your trip for stocking up. Alternatively when staying in self catering accommodation if you are inclined the abundance of local produce means you can create simple but amazing meals with very little effort. The local supermarket is a great place to start especially if you need to stock up on Ruffles, maybe that’s just me and my crisp addiction, and the fish counters will amaze but of course finding a local market is your best and most enjoyable bet.

Spanish Ingredients - Must try’s and buy’s

Spanish Spices
Spanish Paprika: Spanish Smoked Sweet Paprika ia also known as Pimenton de la Vera, Dulce.
It is a popular ingredient in many Mediterranean recipes. Anyone from Spain swears by this paprika. The peppers are dried, slowly over an oak burning fire for several weeks. The result is a sweet, cool, smoky flavor. Popular for dishes such as gratin of leafy greens and crispy potatoes, fish dishes, spinach and chickpea stew or bean dishes.
Olive Oil: Spanish olive oil is the best in the world. Every grocery store in Spain stocks an impressive selection of olive oils.
Spanish Ham: Serrano cured ham is the hind leg of the pig that undergoes a manufacturing process, including the following phases: salting, or incorporation of salts into the muscular mass; washing, or elimination of the salt sticking to the surface of the piece; settling, drying and maturing. Its colour has to be pinkish when cut, which is done by hand in a thin slice with veins of fat.
Manchego: Manchego is the best known and most widely available Spanish cheese. It comes from La Mancha, the land of Don Quixote, and was originally made only from the milk of Manchego sheep. Manchego is aged for 3 months or longer, and is a semi-firm cheese with a rich golden color. It comes in a 10 inch diameter wheel, 5 inches thick with a herringbone design on the rind. It ranges from mild to sharp, depending on how long it is aged.
Chorizo & Sausages: Every household in Spain has at least one or two of the hundreds of varieties of delicious chorizo sausages. The origins of this spicy sausage are quite old. There is documentation of the Roman praises of this product. The ingredients used to make it are lean pork, pork fat, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic. oregano and thyme. Of note in the production process is that it is cured in a natural environment and it is smoked with oak wood for 25 days, which gives it a characteristic and rich flavour. It is presented in a horseshoe shape ('sarta'), each unit tied to another with a single string. It may be consumed naturally, fried or in stews.
Turron: Turron is a nougat obtained by cooking honey and adding toasted almonds (usually peeled) and egg whites and kneading it to form a rectangular or round tablet. Turron is a typical christmas dessert, and its main varieties are Alicante Turron and Jijona Turron.
If you fancy further insight into Turron and a trip out, on the outskirts of
Jijona you will see the turron museum. The museo del turron is located and
maintained in the same factory which also makes the famous "EL LOBO" and
"1880" turron brands. Its easy to find and well worth a visit.

The museum offers a guided tour - (in various languages) - which not only show you the very detailed museum, but also let you see the real factory from a high above balcony area inside the plant. I was fortunate, because as
I visited on 15. December, I was told that the factory is usually already closed. It only operates from mid June until mid December, but today they
had to fulfill a "last minute order" and so I could see most machines running. Very impressive.Museum of Turron in Jijona Xixona

The museum gives you a wonderful overview on the different kinds of sweets they offer. From the two types of turron (the Alicante turron to the Jijona turron), to marzipan and other varieties. The centuries long tradition of turron making in Jijona can really be felt inside the museum. A wonderfully detailed display of traditional and modern production methods, up until the packaging of the turron over the years to a very nice highlight and old turron delivery Rolls Royce truck.

As always at the end of the tour you get a chance to buy some of the different varieties in the enclosed shop. Even sugar free turron's are available.

Spain is such an amazing and varied place and this is echoed in its food and drink if you are interested in trying what the country has to offer you will not be disappointed and make your experience of this fantastic country so much more memorable.