But still it is the national Spanish cuisine - the most spicy, spicy and salty in Southern Europe.
For Spanish cooking is very characteristic dishes with garlic, onions and vinegar. A lot of dishes are cooked on coals and on an open fire.
In addition, each Spanish province has its own, only inherent, culinary traditions.
For the Catalan cuisine is characterized by the mandatory use in all dishes of all kinds of sauces, which are often the main component of the dish. In Catalonia, there are 4 main types of sauces. This - "sofrito" (sofrito) from onions, garlic, tomatoes, greens, peppers; "Samfaina" (samfaina) from aubergines, pepper, tomatoes; "Picada" (picada) from garlic, roasted almonds, greens; "Ali-oli" (ali-oli) from garlic with the addition of olive oil.
The famous dishes of Catalonia are "casuela" (roast), suquet de peix (fragrant dense ear from the sea line), mongetes amb botifara (fried in boiling pork lard pork sausages with garnish of white beans), capi-i-pota is prepared from pork legs and a pig's head).
In Catalonia, white bread is liked, which is eaten with olive oil, rubbed with garlic and tomato. Served as a snack, and separately.
The cuisine of Valencia is typically Mediterranean. Here, a paella with a variety of ingredients (fish, meat, seafood, vegetables), other rice dishes, for example, the well-known Valencia salado of fish and rice, prepared on charcoal in a deep frying pan, is perfectly prepared.
In the Valencian cuisine there are many vegetarian dishes from vegetables - boiled, stewed, fresh. Very popular vegetable stew in the peasant (pisto huertano) of beets, beans and beans.
Sweet dishes are the legacy of the "Moorish" period of Spanish history. Halva "turron", ice cream, pastries - all this echoes of Arab cuisine.
Madrid occupies a special place in Spanish cuisine. The most famous dishes - fried meat in Madrid, "abomasum" (stewed internals, cut into pieces), cod, "kosido madrilenio" (soup of peas with croutons). Especially popular is the Madrid "calos" - a scar with blood sausage, with pepper sauce, spiced with spices.
The cuisine of the province of Meseta is characterized by the predominance of vegetables, beans. Meseta also cooks dishes from pig meat, specially fed by acorns and chestnuts, like game dishes.
In Castile-La Mancha, boiled meat with vegetables, as well as meat salad, fried eggs and fried cracklings are very popular.
The Basque Country is a typical representative of the northern Spanish culinary tradition. Here is the so-called "family" cooking, including dishes of "home table": "changurro" (shellfish and crabs), "marmataka" (potato with mackerel).
Basques have a great respect for seafood. A well-known dish is "bacalao al pil-pil" (cod in Biscay), which is cooked with garlic sauce. Very fond of eel fry here, "kokotxas" (fins of sea pike). The diet includes various mollusks, for example, "pulpo a feira" (boiled octopus). By the way, the last dish is more typical for the cuisine of Galicia.
In other northern provinces, anchovies, beans, various dairy products, excellent cheeses from cow, goat and sheep milk are popular.
The north of Spain is famous for its quality products. The provinces of La Rioja and Navarre are famous for the abundance and variety of natural food. This garlic, asparagus, cucumber, pepper, potatoes, lettuce, pears, peaches and other, other, other.
Traditional dishes here: "pimientos rellenos" (stuffed sweet peppers), "navarro cochifrito" (stew of lamb).
Desserts - canned fruit, fruit in chocolate, buns. Sweet dishes, as already mentioned, is the heritage of Arab culture.
Andalusian cuisine embodied the culinary traditions of peoples who ever inhabited the south of Spain.
The famous cold soup "gazpacho" comes from Andalusia. It is here that a method for frying deep-fried foods is invented. Olive oil produced in the south of Spain is considered the best.
Very famous in the southern Spanish cuisine are pescaitos fritos - small fried fishes that are eaten with head and bones, pinchos morinos (marinated meat cooked on skewers), and pork dishes (the delicious habugo ham is produced in the southern province of Huelva).
If you are in Spain, be sure to try the classic national dishes - Spanish omelette "tortilla", smoked sausage "choriso" with spices, sheep cheese "manchego", ham "serrano", delicacy smoked ham "hamon", and, of course, " gazpacho".