What the hell is Spanish food?

Tapas

Tortilla (like an egg and potato omelette).

Tapas & pinxtos, croquetas, tortilla, patatas bravas, pan con tomate, allioli, olives, padron peppers, gazpacho, jamon iberico, paella & fideua, fabada asturiana, cocido madrileño, albondigas (meatballs), migas, pulpo a la gallega, churros, turron.

The poster above me listed a bunch of great examples, here are a few more. Membrillo, a thick sweet paste made from quinces. Manchego cheese and many others. Tinned fish of all types are a specialty of Spain, they are amazing and are even served in restaurants. Torta de aceites are delicious cookies made with olive oil. Sherry.

Tortilla Española recipe

That recipe at R5 gets step 4 backward (plus onion is a whole other debate that can cause Spanish bloodshed). It says to flip the raw side onto the plate, when you actually want to slide the cooked side onto the plate and then flip the raw side over into the bottom of the pan. Or buy a double tortilla plan that stacks one pan on the other to flip, or just use two similar sized pans. Lastly, looking at their finished tortilla they haven't cut the potatoes finely enough.

Sangria.

Albondingas (meatballs)

croquetas (see below)

Tantos respuestos y no one has asked me for my opinion? I cook the, how you say, cucumber? for mis Baldwinitos all de time.

They love their olives.

There are many regional cuisines in Spain. If you are ever there, try Asturian restaurants. I have also heard good things about food from Galicia (lots of seafood) and from (in?) the Basque country. Those regions are on my list.

Taco Bell

Whenever I'm making paella for an intimate dinner party I hop in my Chevrolet Bel-Air and go to the grocery store to get some Spanish sowsage, and I always pick up a few red weirdos for Tina.

Everything you need to know:

R13, that was cool.

Drinks: Tinto de verano; Palo cortado; Sherry; Rebujitos

Espinacas con garbanzos

Berenjena frita con queso de cabra o miel (o cana de azúcar)

Sopa de ajo blanco (garlic and almond soup thickened with bread and lightly flavored with vinegar, topped with sliced green grapes - "white gazpacho")

Solomillo de cerdo al whisky

Salsichas al miel

Pringá (pork and morcilla mixed with other meats in small sandwiches)

Salmorejo (a creamier, simpler counterpoint to gazpacho)

Puchero - a complex broth/soup seasoned with hierba buena (mint)

Tortillitas de camarones (wafer like fritters of tiny shrimps)

Cazón en adobo (a variety of shark made very tender in vinegar, seasoned, and fried)

Huevos a la flamenca

Habas con jamón

Jamón ibérico de bellota

[quote] Tinned fish of all types are a specialty of Spain, they are amazing and are even served in restaurants.

Yes!

R4, one of my favorite little restaurants in Saltie Girl Seafood Bar.

They have an extensive tinned seafood menu. Delicious!

Here is a photo of some of the tinned seafood Saltie Girl serves.

They only have some of the best food in the world. Yummy.

Delicious.

Spanish food is Delicious- but they have a penchant for frying things. A sustained diet on it, and you might want to have a Cardiologist on standby.

And not a Google Is Your Friend?

It's fantastic food--some of the best in the world. Lots of cheese, lots of ham, lots of olives, lots of seafood. As r20 says, they love to fry things (in oil).

Cabrales cheese and figs drizzled in balsamic vinegar

I spent a month in Granada , Spain many moons ago and my favorite is their typical breakfast...piece of bread with some fresh tomato rubbed on it, slice of manchego cheese and DRENCHED in olive oil. Yum.

They have tapas, but some are dumb. Like the boiled potatoes.

Also, this is a great recipe, another Sopa de Ajo but a variation. A bread soup loaded with sliced garlic, tons of paprika and famous spanish ham. Chef John has a great recipe, highly recomend.

[quote] Tapas & pinxtos, croquetas, tortilla, patatas bravas, pan con tomate, allioli, olives, padron peppers, gazpacho, jamon iberico, paella & fideua, fabada asturiana, cocido madrileño, albondigas (meatballs), migas, pulpo a la gallega, churros, turron.

This list perfectly exemplifies why Spanish dishes are not recognized as Spanish, because they're so integrated into other cuisines that they're generally seen simply as Continental cuisine.

It's a pity you don't hear a lot about Spanish food. You hear about how great French food and Italian food are, but IMO Spanish food is right up there with them.

You don't hear about it so much in the U.S because there aren't really that many spanish immigrants. In Latin American countries, especially the ones with alot of spanish immigrants like Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, as well as in Europe itself, it's considered up there with the best of them.

Alcachofas con queso de cabra

Espinacas con garbanzo

Queso Payoyo con membrillo (the latter mentioned above)

Berenjena frita con miel (fried eggplant with honey)

Salmorejo, an Andalusian cool soup (not gazpacho)

Pestiños (fried thin strips of dough with sesame seed soaked in honey)

Polverine (powdery baked sweet disks with almonds and scented with anis, a licorice like flavor)

Torrijas - a seasonal desert of soft bread soaked in honey (sometimes with wine and lemon)

The above are a few Andalucian specialties, nearly all influenced by the centuries of Arab occupation which saw the introduction of now key foods: olives, garbanzos, dates, pomegranates, garlic, lemons, oranges, figs, eggplant, and more

Yet for all the cheese, meats, breads, and fried foods, Spaniards are slim.

Let's not forget churros and chocolate (though I find the spanish hot chocolate too thick, its basically pudding)

Screw the food, where are the men dammit?

In Spain at the moment, only day one but food so far is lacklustre

YUM!

Hamburguesa con queso

My step-grandma was from Madrid so I grew up eating Spanish food. One of my favorite simple dinners was the tortilla, a green salad and crusty bread with Tinton. She made the best salad dressing, bar none, I've ever had. We'd sop up the dressing with the bread.

r37, do you remember the ingredients of the salad dressing?

Cochinillo adaso (Roasted suckling pig)

Horrifying, yet so, so tender and delicious. Restaurants in Segovia do it best.

I don’t eat it

I want to know what the hell they ate before the Columbian Exchange.

Ditto for the Italians.

Chimichangas

OP plays the formula.

Ugh.

Yeah - I see OP's point. Spain is the epicenter of the culinary world and has been for well over 10 years now. But besides paella and some tapas, I couldn't name Spanish food.

Weird.

R38 she had no recipe. It was a simple olive oil dressing but I've tried replicating and failed. She didn't use measurements. She'd use red wine vinegar, but sometimes lemon juice, salt and minced garlic. I've tried to copy the flavor but unsuccessful so far. She said "oh, that's how I learned from my mother".

Grandma's holding back.

Abuelita, you bitch!

Unfortunately she died. After my grandfather died in Alicante where they lived she was hot by a car crossing the street. The asshole who hit her actually wanted to sue her family for damages to his car.

On a side note she had an absolutely fascinating life pre marriage. A classical Spanish dancer who toured the world with her sisters performing. She had stories of Beirut being like the Monte Carlo of the Middle East. I loved looking at her theatrical pics as a young gayling. So glamorous.

One thing that I put in my salad dressing: raw garlic grated on a Microplane (the finest grater possible). The garlic being that finely pulverized makes it mellow. The other ingredients (e.g., vinegar) in the dressing "cook" the garlic, I'm guessing.

Anyway, that's the secret to my salad dressings.

[quote]One of my favorite simple dinners was the tortilla, a green salad and crusty bread with Tinton.

Tinton? What is Tintin, R37? Pimentón maybe?

*"Tinton" per your post

It was supposed to be "tinto" but autocorrect changed it.

Almejas and coquinas (both are tiny clams cooked with wine and parsley and with olive oil added.

Gambas blancas de Huelva.

Langoustins lightly dusted with breadcrumbs and fried (similar to tempura)

Solomillo al whisky - tenderloin medallions of ibérico pork cooked with onion, loads of garlic, lemon and a bit of brandy de Jerez (despite the whisky name)

Tortillitas de camarones - crispy wafer thin disks with a batter of wheat and garbanzo flours with onion, parsley, and camarones - very tiny whole shrimp

Pavía de bacalao - chunks of bacalao friend in a fried batter: a crispy and crunchy casing that enhances the sweet saltiness of the delicate fish inside (every bar and restaurant has its own variation)

Tomate fried with onion, pimienta, served with olive oil and a perfect fried egg. Ridiculously good with Andalucian tomatoes and good olive oil. Every bar and restaurant has a variation, sometimes with an excellent pisto, but less is more

Here's a cute little Spanish food tutorial which sums it up nicely, op.

I’m not sure how authentic but Goya’s chorizo is a product of Spain and it’s very dry and goes well with cheese and crackers.

Two guys interview Spaniards on the street and ask what they eat during typical meals.

They all seem to refer to a Mediterranean diet, and not specific dishes.

I don't think there really are very many Spanish dishes as there are in, say, Italy.

Lots of vague answers about bread, seafood and coffee, but not much mention of specific dishes.

This video pretty much answers the op's question.

Like the OP said, you never hear about it.

r41 wheat, oats, and some varieties of beans.

[quote]What the hell

Yeah, retard. That’s something to get worked up about. Fucking moron.

I like this guy's videos.

He and his friend in the video at R57 asked people on the street, what typical Spanish food is like.

In this video, he explains what it's like to eat at Spanish restaurants, what the service is like, and how much it costs.

His breakdown is very good.

He also mentions that you will see an abundance - or as he puts it, "lots, and lots, and lots" - of potatoes in different dishes. Lol.

61 replies and none of you fat whores have mentioned flan? I know it's similar to dishes in other countries but it's so delicious, especially if served with membrillo instead of a caramel topping.

Eh, R62. I'm in southern Spain and while you can certainly find it in restaurants, it's not hugely popular; tocino de cielo is rather a lighter, similar desert that's more popular, though more often eaten at home than in restaurants. Crema Catalana (which the Catalans will waste no time telling you they gave to France in the form of Creme Brulé) is much better than flan and has different key ingredients. Flan is more popular in Madrid and that part of the country.

R61: Interesting video, though I knew from his first words that I would grow impatient with his Latino courtesía (which he eventually arrives at in the section Idioma). The manner of Spain and Latin America are often a shock for first time visitors. In Spain, people answer the telephone with a no nonsense 'Digame!" or simply 'Diga!"; or instruct a waiter 'Ponme otro' when your glass is nearly empty ('Pone me otro cuanado tu puedes' if you want to be especially polite about it.) In Spain conversation is direct and there's not a lot of exchange of courtesies. 'Usted' and formalities are reserved for a very few -- when you are introduced to the mayor, when is someone very decidedly older, or for school children to address their teachers. But both the food and the service are very different, as he notes, but the differences seem to go down well in both directions.

Tapas