The fertile soil of the Rio Segura valley in Murcia produces a wealth of vegetables which include tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and courgetes. A walk around any market stall will reveal a huge variety of fruit and veg from the many market gardeners in the region . Not surprisingly then that vegetables are part of the staple diet in Murcian cuisine, rice and vegetable dishes are very popular . The region is also well supplied with seafood from the Mediterranean and the Mar Menor an inland lagoon in La Manga. Amongst the fish caught in the area are eels from the Mar Menor which often turn up in the region's fishmongers. Murcia has a few regional specialities which include Empedrao, this is rice mixed with broad beans Reveuelto, a roughly broken omellete which can have a variety of fillings like ham and beans and Zarangollo which usually consists of mince fried onions and courgettes sometimes Zarangollo includes eggs which turns the dish into a large omelette . Stew is also popular in the region. Stews vary according to available ingredients but most include at least one of the regional vegetables.
Cheese & Wine
Murcia has a few good DOC cheeses, one of the favourites of the area is Queso de Murcia al vino. This is a goats cheese which is infused with wild tarragon and rosemary before being soaked in red wine imparting flavour and giving the rind a lovely purple colour.
Murcia al vino
The main wine producing area in Murcia is Jumilla. The priciple grape used is the Monastrell. This produces deep reds which are suitable for ageing in oak barrels(crianza). Wine has been produced in the area for centuries
Buying Spanish Food Online
If you're in the U.S or the UK, its unlikely you'll find a good range of authentic Spanish food in your local supermarket. You may find one or two popular items but to buy speciality products, you need to go to a Spanish food importer.
We've found two excellent companies who can provide you with a wide selection of authentic Spanish food. The tapas Lunch Company are based in the UK and stock a variety of cured meats, cheeses and other hard to find delicacies which are essential for creating a true Spanish food experience at home. For U.S visitors, try Spanish Feast, who provide everything needed to give you the true taste of Spain. Both companies offer fast delivery straight to your door, ensuring the food is fresh and at its best. They also supply a selection of food baskets which make great gifts.
Last Christmas, we were getting a bit stuck deciding on what to give our kids who are both married and seem to have everything they need, I remembered seeing Spanish food baskets on the Spanish Feast website and thinking at the time that I wished somebody would buy me something like that. My wife thought it would be a good idea for the kids because they're both really into their food.
We're in the UK so we bought a couple of wicker hampers locally and then ordered a variety of Spanish goodies from The tapas Lunch Company including cheese, ham, tins of Spanish olives and some turron, which is like a nougat eaten at Christmas all over Spain. One thing I didn't expect, The tapas Lunch Company to stock, was those brilliant little Padron Peppers that you find in tapas bars all over Spain, they call them Russian roullete peppers because most of them are mild but occaisionally you get one that blows your head off. We had to include a bag of those.
We finished off with two bottles of quite expensive Rioja and voila, job done. When we went round to their houses on Christmas morning they both reacted with childish excitement. Maybe it reminded them of when they were young, opening their Christmas stockings which always had lots of little treats.
You don't need to give full baskets to impress, maybe just a few slices of Iberico ham and some different cheese like manchego or one of the lovely Cantabrian goats cheeses which are extremely hard to find outside Spain.
Spanish Feast - Spanish Food For U.S Customers
Tapas Lunch Company - Spanish Food For U.K Customers
