Spain may not be the conquering power it was in the past, but the country has left the world a richer and a better place to live. Apart from the Spanish language that is spoken by more than 400 million people, apart from the fact that the country continue entertaining the globe with the best soccer games from the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid Football Clubs; the country has left a rich heritage of Spanish dishes that grace millions of dining tables everyday world wide.
Spain may not be the conquering power it was in the past, but the country has left the world a richer and a better place to live. Apart from the Spanish language that is spoken by more than 400 million people, apart from the fact that the country continue entertaining the globe with the best soccer games from the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid Football Clubs; the country has left a rich heritage of Spanish dishes that grace millions of dining tables everyday world wide.
If you want to sample the authentic Spanish dishes however, you will have to travel to the country itself. Below are some of the top rated dishes you should sample while in Spain.
1. Pulpo a la Gallega
This dish is called Galician octopus in English. The delicacy has dates back 125 years when the Muleteers would bring the Galician octopus to cook with olive oil and lots of paprika during the cattle fairs. The tradition stuck and today, it is one of the delicacies that are sampled during the fairs.
2. Gazpacho
This is an Andalusian soup that is made from tomato, cucumber, onion, stale bread, olive oil, wine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. It is served with ham, croutons, chopped vegetables, and ice cubes. It is the tastiest soup that that you will ever have.
3. Jamon Serrano and Jamon Iberico
These two types of cured ham are a Spanish delicacy that is unavailable anywhere else. True, you will get some variation of the Jamon in Spanish speaking countries in South America, but noting tastes quite the same as these two in Spain.
4. Empanada Gallega
This is the Spanish version of super sautéed pie. The bread is wrapped around offerings such as vegetables, minced pork or chorizo or tuna, sardines, peppers as well as other seafood. It goes without saying that the taste is out of this world.
5. Rabo de Toro
Talking of huge chunks, this is the Spanish dish that makes mockery of refinement. The onions are cooked whole, the meat chunks are huge, the carrots are cut into large pieces and some healthy measure of wine and chocolate is added into the mix. The resultant delicacy that comes out of this mixture is nothing like you have tasted before...it is sweet, even delicious, and satisfying too.
Spain is a beautiful country; but its gastronomy makes it even more alluring to its 'would be' visitor.