By Lucy Beesley
Delve into the colourful world of Hispanic flavours and the history of some of the most 'classic' dishes.
The Hispanic world has long been renowned for its exciting tastes and unique combinations of food, so much so that many of its most traditional customs have been integrated into our own English cuisine in recent years. As you walk the streets of a large Spanish city, Barcelona predominantly, you can see that restaurant doors are teeming with tourists eager to taste some of the most delicious food in the world. Even some of Britain’s major food chains now serve versions of traditional Spanish dishes, which shows the huge influence their food culture has on the rest of the world.
Today I will take you on a little trip to some of Spain’s most gastronomically influential cities, looking at the best dishes available and their history. You will already know about paella, tapas and gazpacho, so here are some more of the less popular culinary masterpieces that are hugely underrated and forgotten about.
Barcelona
This coastal city in Catalonia is hugely food-focused and enriched with thousands of restaurants, thanks to being filled with tourists for the majority of the year.
The most iconic Barcelonian dish of all is Bombas.
With the English translation of ‘potato and meat bomb’, these are large breaded and fried balls of meat, mashed potatoes and other vegetables. Usually, the meat is pork or beef, and they are also commonly served with a spicy sauce or alioli (garlic mayonnaise) and served hot. They are at the epitome of Barcelona’s tapas culture and are essentially large meat-filled croquettes.
In the early 1900s, during a series of attacks in the neighbourhood of Barceloneta, the weapon of choice was a round iron ball filled with explosives and lit by a string. A bar owner in this neighbourhood created this tapa to resemble these bombs to try and make light of a bad situation. They have become customary in most tapas bars in Barcelona and throughout Spain, but the history of their origin is not always remembered.
Seville
The Andalusian version of fast food is typically a warm sandwich, with similar contents to a traditional American burger.
The serranito is Seville’s signature sandwich, filled with grilled pork (or chicken), fried green pepper, sliced tomato and sometimes lettuce or cheese. It is topped with salty cured ham and served as a main dish rather than at tapas, with french fries and sauces like alioli. The traditional dish dates back to the 1970s, and its variety has greatly expanded since then.
Bilbao
One of the most iconic dishes of this industrial northern city is chipirones en su tinta or ‘squid in its ink’. This delicacy involves a cuttlefish or baby squid being cooked in its own ink along with other spices and flavourings, such as red onions, green peppers and tomatoes. It is customary to have stale bread alongside this dish, for dipping in the ink sauce.
This dish is particularly prominent in Bilbao because of its close proximity to the ocean - squid and fish are very common in the sea at the border of Bilbao, thus have become an intrinsic part of Bilbao’s gastronomy.
The idea of using squid ink in cooking has been a widely accepted aspect of Spanish cuisine for centuries, however to other cultures the practice certainly seems strange, which is probably why it hasn’t been added to any English menus.
All in all, Spain has one of the most vivid and vibrant cuisines in the world, and the huge range of dishes to choose from is simply staggering. There truly is something for everyone, no matter how fussy you are, and every visit to a Hispanic country will have in store a new and unforgettable culinary adventure for every tourist.
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