The Valencian community has some of the most fertile plains in Spain. The area has an abundance of fruit and vegetables. Orange groves and almond trees are a familiar site throughout the region. In the north near the coastal strip there are rice fields producing the special absorbant rices found in most of the famous seafood dishes of the area. The Spanish national dish Paella originated in the area and is famous all over the world. Paella was originally a peasant dish containing scraps of meat , fish or vegetables, the contents depended on what was available, rice was added to bulk out the meal. Over the years various recipes evolved containing anything from snails, rabbit, chicken, pork, seafood, red peppers, beans etc. The recipes have been gradually refined and perfected and today most Spanish restaurants have at least one paella dish on the menu. The paella dish has evolved into the famous shallow wide pan we see today, it comes in all sizes, there are even non stick versions available. Seafood plays a large part in the diet of the region, the supermarkets have vast displays of freshly caught fish, prawns, squid and a variety of shellfish.
If you visit the harbour area of Calpe on the Costa Blanca, you can feast your eyes on some stunning displays of seafood outside most of the harbour restaurants. Many of the region's resorts were originally fishing villages and quite a few still retain working ports where the catches are unloaded every day. Vegetables figure highly in the cuisine of the area but surprisingly are rarely found in the restaurants. Large amounts of vegetables are used in home produced cooking. Meat is plentiful, the pork filet is especially good and compared to the uk extremely inexpensive. Lamb tends to be on the small side. You don't see many sheep in the area, and the occasions when you do see them, they tend to be scrawny. The best lamb comes from the north of Spain where the fields are green and lush. The south of Spain is very dry and green fields are a rarity most of the year.
The restaurants of the coastal resorts don't really reflect the regions traditional food and cater mostly for the tourists, all serving virtually the same menu There are restaurants serving authentic recipes but these tend to be away from the main holiday areas.
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
