Asturias with its mountains and coastline is home to a wealth of natural produce including seafood and dairy products. Villages along the rugged Asturian coastline, the Costa Verde have some wonderful seafood restaurants serving locally caught lobsters, bass, crabs, mussels and clams which are said to be the best in Spain.
Sidra
Apart from a small area called Cangas de Narcea, which has a suitable sub climate for grape production Asturias is one of the few regions of Spain where local wine is almost non existent, . The wine from this area is difficult to find outside the Asturias region.
Asturias has the ideal climate for apple farming and the drink of the region is the famous Asturian cider "sidra". All over Asturias you'll find tapas bars with signs displaying "Sidraria" which means that they serve Asturian cider. There is a ritual involved when serving sidra which involves pouring it from a height of about 4ft to produce a froth. I'm sure there have been many mishaps caused by this over the years. Sidra can be found in supermarkets all over Spain.
Asturian Cheese
The most popular cheese of the Asturias region is the famous Cabrales, a blue cheese which can be made using cow's milk or more traditionally a mixture of goat and sheeps milk which gives the cheese a spicier taste. After a curing period of two weeks, the cheese is stored in limestone caves in the Picos de Europa mountains where it develops blue veins which give it a distinctive flavour. There are a wide variety of cheeses which are produced by family run businesses in villages scattered across the mountains and valleys. A few of these cheeses are exported across the world but most are only available in the Asturias region. Some of the most popular cheeses produced in Asturias are Taramundi, a raw cow and goat milk cheese, with a light delicate flavour. Afuega l'Pitu, made from cow's milk which has chillies added to the cheese and also rubbed into the rind and Gamoneu a cow and goat milk mixed cheese which develops a natural mould rind. Afuega l'Pitu translates as "fire in the gut" a name derived from the hot chilli flavour. Alfuega is also available with the addition of paprika. Asturias produces some excellent smoked cheeses mostly from combinations of goat and cow's milk
Asturian Cooking With Cheese
In Asturias the famous cabrales blue cheese is used in some regional menu's, perhaps the most notable being Solomillo al Cabrales. A tenderloin of pork or beef served with a cabrales cheese sauce. This dish served in many Asturian restaurants is usually made by melting cabrales with white wine, cream and paprika which is then spooned over the meat. In some Asturian recipes cheese is placed on top of steak or other meat and melted slightly without being transformed into a sauce.
Buy Spanish Ham Online In The U.S
Spain is renowned for the quality of the air cured ham it produces. Up until recently, it was almost impossible to buy authentic Spanish ham in the U.S but thanks to the internet, there are now a number of speciality food importers supplying a large variety of Spanish food to the U.S market. Opposite, we have listed a range of Spanish hams from the Amazon pages of two of the largest suppliers, La Tienda and Igourmet. For a fantastic taste experience, try some slices of Iberico ham with some Manchego cheese and a glass of red Rioja wine.
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Buy Spanish Cheese Online In The U.S
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Spain is a prolific cheese producer, Spanish supermarkets offer a huge array of cheeses from across Spain. The majority of Spanish cheese comes from the lush northern regions of Asturias, Galicia Cantabria and the Basque Country but the majority of regions have their own varieties. Manchego, Spain's most famous cheese is made from sheep's milk in the region of Castilla La Mancha. Up until recently it was difficult to find a Spanish cheese supplier in the U.S but today there are a number of online food importers who stock an excellent variety of cheese from all over Spain.
Buy Spanish Tapas Online In The U.S
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Tapas bars have sprung up all over the world and Catalonia, especially in cities like Barcelona have some of the best tapas bars in the whole of Spain. Spanish food importers are catering for the upsurge in the popularity of tapas and have a variety of ingredients and other products for anybody wanting to re create the tapas experience at home. We have listed a selection of tapas kits and speciality products from some of the internet's top importers here.
Buy Spanish Gift Baskets Online In The U.S
If you have any aspiring gourmands in the family, a Spanish food basket would make the ideal gift. There are a number of specialist Spanish food importers supplying a variety of gift baskets with products ranging from air cured ham to rare cheeses, herbs, spices and Spanish wines. These hard to find ingredients are perfect for creating a taste of Spain at home. We have listed a nice selection from two of the largest suppliers, La Tienda and Igourmet. Click photos for full details.
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Fabada
Perhaps the most famous dish of Asturias is Fabada Asturiana or just Fabada, a sustaining stew which can contain a variety of pork, sausages, black puddings, chorizo, bacon but must include Asturian white beans called fabes. Fabada is a winter dish best eaten with chunks of bread to mop up all the deicious sauce and washed down with a glass of Sidra. Most Asurias restaurants offer a variation of Fabades and if you find yourself in the region, you must give it a try. You can buy the special fabe beans online in the U.S
Seafood
The Costa Verde provides a rich harvest of seafood for the inhabitants of Asturias. There are restaurants dotted along the coast specialising in fish and shellfish dishes. Hake is one of the most popular if not the most popular popular fish in Spain and is served in a variety of ways in Asturias. Hake and clams baked in cider or "Merluza a la Sidra" is one of a number of regional specialities using hake. The dish most associated with Spain, is undoubtedly "paella", the mixture of seafood, rice and meat which originated in the region of Vlaencia. The popularity of paella has spread nationwide and in Asturias, a wide variety of paellas are available. These can be seafood only, seafood with chicken,chorizo or pork, even snails are used on occaisions.
Buying Spanish Food Online In The UK
If you live in the U.K, you can buy a large range of authentic Spanish food from Iber Gourmet. Iber Gourmet stock some excellent Spanish cheeses, hams and a variety of products you're unlikely to find in the supermarket, all with delivery straight to your door. To see what's available Click Here
