Food + Drink

Paella

Spain is known for paella!

According to James Blick (the Spain guy I’ve been watching on youtube), in touristy areas of Spain, the paella is often inauthentically made, expensive, and extremely mediocre, so make sure you’re away from big tourist attractions like the Plaza Mayor when seeking out paella.

Another thing to add, there are several different types of paella, but two that interest me most are paella negra and paella de marisco. Paella negra appears black because it is made with squid ink, and I didn’t know it existed until recently when I was researching. Paella de marisco is seafood paella, which I look forward to eating in instances that I don’t feel like stepping outside of my pescatarian bubble.

Here's another one of my favorite Youtubers, Josh, talking about the history of paella:

Tortilla Española

A Spanish tortilla is not at all the same as a Mexican tortilla. Tortilla española is much more similar to a potato omelet in its taste but it has a softer consistency. It is large and circular but is served in triangular slices at restaurants. This is one of Spain’s most iconic dishes. James Blick says his favorite one is from Bar Cerveriz, but I am not sure whether or not to believe him because in his video he made that comment while in the presence of the restaurant owner, so it is possible he was just trying to be polite.

Here's James Blick eating a tortilla:

Jamón Serrano y Jamón Iberico

Jamón is extremely popular in Madrid and entire legs of it are often showcased in restaurants and markets and shaved off to order. Spanish jamón is similar to Italian prosciutto in the sense that both are dried and cured pork, but they are different in many ways. One notable difference is that jamón is aged much longer than prosciutto.

I have heard that any jamón in Spain is delicious, but there are different types. The more expensive of the bunch is Jamón Iberico, which is made from Pata Negra, meaning black-hoofed, Iberian pigs. These pigs, as their name implies, have black hoofs and they only eat acorns, and this makes Jamón Iberico most expensive and the highest quality. On the other hand, or should I say, on the other hoof, Jamón Serrano comes in several varieties and is most affordable because the pigs are a hybrid breed.

Same video as the tortilla, but here's a jump to where James Blick eats the jamón:

Bocadillo de Calamares

I’m excited to try un bocadillo de calamares! I’m excited to try everything, but seafood is more in my comfort zone since I’ve been a pescatarian for the past 5 years. Even though Madrid is landlocked, it is famous for its seafood dishes, like the bocadillo de calamares. I watched a video by James Blick and he said that the bocadillo de calamares at La Campana is the best one in Madrid, so that’s where I want to go to try it. The dish is typically a roll smeared with garlic mayonnaise (mayonesa con ajo)(ajo = garlic) filled with fried calamari. I am starting to question if I will eat any vegetables at all this summer.

Here's a video of the bocadillo de calamares that I want to try in Plaza Mayor:

Churro

I was surprised to learn that in Spain, churros are a breakfast food! Where I’m from, churros are a dessert. Churros in Southern California are typically covered in cinnamon and sugar, but in Spain they are plain fried dough served with a cup of hot melted chocolate to dip them in.

This wouldn’t be the first time a churro surprised me, when I visited Tokyo in Spring 2018, my friend Alisa and I wanted something sweet so we waited in a super long line for a churro, only to find that it was a soft, savory churro made of potatoes haha.

This video is super useful and explains how to order churros and hot chocolate:

Pan con Tomate

My roommate, Minh, who studied abroad in Spain last summer, told me that pan con tomate was something she’d eat for breakfast really often when she was in Spain. She said that the Spanish eat a much smaller breakfast than Americans, and it was typical to eat a few small pieces of toast with this “tomato jelly”.

I was intruiged with Minh's term "tomato jelly" so I looked up how to make pan con tomate. It is actually a very simple recipe, which is common among a lot of Spanish food. I read that the Spanish typically eat less processed food than Americans. One possible reason for this is that Spain has high quality produce, so their food probably tastes better on its own, I guess I will find out when I go there.

Here is the video I watched on making pan con tomate:

Tinto de Verano

If you want to look like a local in Madrid, order a tinto de verano and stay away from sangria.

Before reading and watching so many videos, I thought that I would be sipping on cangria this summer. However, I found out that Spaniards don't really drink sangria, Spain is much more of a beer-drinking country. One instance that they do, however, is in tinto de verano, a Spanish summer drink that consists of red wine, lemonade, and a splash of vermouth.

Watch this video to see how a tinto de verano is made:

Vermut

Vermut (vermouth in English) is a reddish colored drink served in a glass with slices of orange. Because of its reddish color, people often think that it is made with red wine, however, vermut is made from white wine and is flavored with other things that give it its rosy color. The Spanish primarily drink it on the rocks before dinner.

James Blick explains the history of vermouth and its place in Spanish culture very thoroughly in this video: