Spanish Recipes and Cuisine

Spanish recipes, information about Spanish cuisine, and reasons why you should cook Spanish food at home. The anatomy of a Spanish lunch and recipes for common Spanish culinary classics such as gazpacho, tortilla de patata and sangría.

In recent years, Spanish cuisine has been a hot topic within international food circles, and for good reason too. Rooted in several cultures, Spain’s gastronomy is at once traditional and inventive. Spanish cuisine has a dazzling variety of both regional and national dishes and, as you know, makes liberal use of olive oil and red wine. And the fact that some of the top chefs in the world today are Spanish doesn’t hurt Spanish food’s reputation either. Think of Ferrán Adrià, Juan Mari Arzak, and Martín Berasategui. These and other chefs (mostly Basques and Catalans) have been particularly good at capturing palates both within Spain and around the world.

If you like to cook, or if you think you’d like to start, cooking Spanish food at home can be a great way to:

1. Eat well everyday: The Mediterranean diet has widely recognized health benefits that stem from using olive oil as opposed to butter, eating more fish than red meat, and relatively greater consumption of fruits, vegetables, and grains.
2. Immerse yourself in Spanish culture: Whether you’re trading recipes with your Spanish neighbors or hosting dinner parties for Spanish friends who balk at some of the food you’ve brought from home, whipping up some Spanish food can give you more insight into the country you’ve chosen to call home.
3. Join an international food phenomenon and impress the ladies (or the gentlemen) with your wicked tortilla-making skills: with all the Spanish restaurants and tapas or “small plates” restaurants popping up all over the world, Spanish food is ever more popular with the masses.

Are you hungry yet? No? Ok, let’s change that:

• A Spanish Lunch Menu
• Spanish Recipes


1. Gazpacho
2. Tortilla de patata
3. Sangría

A Spanish Lunch Menu

For Spaniards, lunch (comida) is still the biggest meal of the day. Even with the proliferation of fast food chains and the almost complete disappearance of the mythical after-lunch siesta, a Spanish lunch is still a rather leisurely affair.

A full Spanish lunch generally consists of:

• Sparkling or still water, wine, and/or other drinks
• Bread
• A first course (primer plato)
• A second course (segundo plato/plato principal)
• Dessert and coffee or herbal tea

Our lunch will be no different – a bonanza of tried and true Spanish classics:

The First Course: Gazpacho

A bright red, cold soup packed with vegetables, gazpacho is a summer favorite. Dice some tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, and bread for added texture and flavor. Place the vegetables on a plate and each guest can spoon themselves the right amount. Other options include a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of cumin, or chilled bowls.

The Second Course: Tortilla de Patata

Tortilla de patata, also known as tortilla española or Spanish tortilla, is a simple, hearty dish made from potatoes and eggs – a classic widely available throughout Spain. And it’s vegetarian. That is, unless you decide to add strips of ham or other meat. Other tortilla variations include adding diced green bell peppers, zucchini, spinach, or mushrooms, though you can literally add just about anything. 

Accompany the tortilla de patata with oven-roasted bell peppers brushed with olive oil or a fresh green salad.

Spanish tortilla is not to be confused with the Mexican tortilla, a staple of Mexican cuisine made of flour or corn and an integral part of enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, and other Mexican specialties. 

Bread

A loaf of Bimbo will not do here. Go down to your local bakery (panadería) and get a fresh loaf (una barra, baguette, hogaza, chapata, etc) or some rolls (panecillos). Feel free to accompany your bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.

Drinks

Water is a popular, healthy choice, either sparkling (con gas) or still (sin gas), and best accompanied by wine.

Wine is largely a matter of personal taste, but as a friend of mine put it, “You can never go wrong with a bottle of red wine from the region of La Rioja.” To lighten it up, mix red wine with carbonated gaseosa or Casera (to start, try 60% gaseosa to 40% wine).

Fruit juices and sodas are also fair game. Coffee in Spain, however, is reserved for after the meal.

Dessert

The most common Spanish dessert is a piece of fruit or a yogurt cup, of which Spain has countless varieties. But if you’re looking for something more decadent or something for a special occasion, I’m sure your neighborhood cake shop (pastelería) can tempt you with an assortment of sugar-laden cakes and pastries, if it hasn’t already tempted you every time you’ve walked by.

A hot drink can also be a great way to end a meal, with or without dessert. Common choices include a cortado (an espresso with a drop of milk) or an infusión de hierbabuena (mint tea) or poleo (pennyroyal tea).

Spanish Recipes

Gazpacho

• 2 small white onions or 1 large one
• ¼ kilo green bell peppers (0.55 lbs.)
• 1 small cucumber
• 1 kilo ripe tomatoes para fritos (2.2 lbs.)
• 3 or 4 pinches of salt
• 220 ml. olive oil (scant 1 cup U.S.)
• 110 ml. apple cider vinegar (scant ½ cup U.S.)
• 660 ml. water (scant 3 cups U.S.)

Dice the vegetables, then put all the ingredients into a blender. Blend until the mixture is uniformly liquid. Pour into a container and refrigerate until cold. Serve the soup cold, with or without the additions suggested above.

Tortilla de patata

• 10 small potatoes
• ½ medium white onion
• 4 large eggs
• 2 large pinches of salt
• olive oil

Peel the potatoes and cut into thin slices. (A Japanese mandolin is an easy way to make uniform slices; otherwise a knife will do just fine.) Put the potatoes in a bowl, add one large pinch of salt, stir, and set aside.

Finely dice the onions and set aside.

Heat up some olive oil in a nonstick frying pan on high, just enough so that you’ll be able to cover the potatoes. This pan will effectively be the mold for the tortilla, so make sure it’s the size and shape you want. Important note: If you don’t use a nonstick frying pan, it’ll be practically impossible to invert the tortilla properly.

Add the potatoes to the pan and turn the heat down to low or medium-low. After a few minutes add the onions. Turn the potatoes over every once in a while so that they cook evenly. As the potatoes start to cook more, take a wooden spoon and crunch the potatoes up into smaller pieces. When the potatoes and onions are soft and lightly browned (but not too much), drain the oil into a colander with a bowl underneath. Reserve some of this oil for later.

Beat the eggs in a bowl and add a large pinch of salt. Add the potatoes and onions to the eggs and stir. On medium-high, heat a spoonful or two of the reserved oil and add the egg/potato mixture. Once the tortilla has cooked on the bottom (so that it’s firm but not browned), you’ll need to invert it. This takes a bit of skill, but can be fun once you’ve gotten the hang of it, almost like throwing pizza dough up into the air – but easier, and Spanish.

Take a plate that’s big enough to cover the surface of the entire frying pan plus at least a couple centimeters, turn it upside down, and lay it over the circumference of the pan. With one hand hold the frying pan handle and with the other lay your hand on top of the plate. In one quick, smooth motion you’ll need to turn the frying pan over and the plate will then be on the bottom.*

Take the pan off the plate and put it back on the burner. Very carefully slide the uncooked tortilla bottom from the plate into the pan and cook until done. Then slide the finished tortilla onto a plate, cut into wedges, and enjoy!

** If the tortilla doesn’t invert as it should and breaks apart on you, don’t despair. You have a couple of options: 1) You can put the tortilla back in the pan, add another egg, keep frying, and try inverting it again. 2) Put it all back in the pan and mix and loosen it up like you were making hard scrambled eggs. Just tell everyone you were really making huevos rotos – a popular Spanish dish within itself – call it a day, and try the tortilla again some other time.

Sangría

• 1 liter of red wine
• 1 can of lemon-flavored soda (Fanta, Schweppes, etc)
• ½ shot glass of gin
• ½ shot glass of orange liqueur
• 1 whole cinammon stick
• 2-3 whole pieces of fruit, sliced or diced (Slice oranges and lemons or dice apples and firm peaches, etc)
• Sugar to taste (Don’t be afraid to use a lot of sugar here. Just keep spooning it in until it tastes “right”.)

Mix all ingredients together in a big glass jar or pitcher with a lid, adding as much sugar as you like. Stir.

Refrigerate for at least an hour, discard the cinammon stick, pour the sangría into glasses, and enjoy! You could also add ice to the glasses.

So whether you’re cooking Spanish food for better health, a group of friends, or the simple pleasure of it all, a leisurely, home-made Spanish lunch can be a great mid-day treat. Just don’t forget the loaf of bread and how to say “¡Que aproveche!” before you eat. 

Last updated 02 04 2007

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