Paella is a golden rice dish which rates with the best rice dishes in the world. In Andalucía, paella is happy food, fiesta food, served for Sunday lunch or a picnic in the country. Beyond paella are more rice dishes which also make tasty eating.
In Andalusia, as in the rest of Spain, the feast of Christmas dinner takes place late on the night of Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) and normally goes on into the small hours of Christmas Day. Traditionally, the exchanging of presents is not until the 6th of January, on King's Day (Reyes) and so full attention is given to the cooking of an extravagant meal on the night of the 24th.
The pigs of Andalucia also contribute to the making of sausages, with red chorizo and black morcilla being the best-known. The villages in the vicinity of Ronda and Antequera (Málaga) are renowned for their sausages. Sausages, along with pulses, potatoes and vegetables go into hearty stews and soups that are winter fare.
Gazpacho, in one form or another, is nearly as old as these hills. It probably derives from a Roman dish, a gruel of bread and oil. The name gazpacho may come from the Latin caspa, meaning fragments or little pieces, referring to the breadcrumbs which are such an essential ingredient.
Furred and feathered game is plentiful in Andalusia and, in former times, a dish of rabbit or partridge was more common than chicken in rural homes.
Delicious Almond Soup Recipe. Ajo Blanco Boil the milk with the cinnamon and lemon peel a few hours before making the soup and leave the cinnamon and lemon to soak to obtain more flavour. Right before serving, heat the milk mixture; take out the lemon peel and the cinnamon stick and add the ground almonds.
Almond trees and the nuts they bear are an integral part of life in Andalucia. While the countryside is dotted with almond groves, kitchens throughout the region make use of creamy almonds for soups, meat dishes, pastries and seasonal treats.
The aroma of delicious sweet roast chestnuts roasting on the streets of Andalucía from late October to December, always brings a warm hearty feeling. There’s something really special about eating freshly roasted chestnuts outdoors.
Oranges are big business in Spain. Andalucia topping the charts in production ahead of Valencia since 2019. However, the “naranjo” (orange tree), its blossoms and its fruits have a long tradition in Andalucia with Moorish poets singing their praises in Islamic Spain and historians reminding us that these trees were also valued by Greeks and Romans who surely cultivated them in their Iberian colonies.
Andalucian cuisine is generally simple and tasty. In this section you'll find recipes that bring the flavours of this region to your kitchen no matter where you are in the world.
Tapas are more than just snacks in Andalucia. The word means, literally a lid and the term was thought to have come from the habit of having a few nibbles with a drink and the necessity of placing a saucer or tapas on top of a glass to keep the flies out.
Andalusia is Al-Andaluz, the kingdom of the Moors (Muslim Arabs and Berbers), who ruled southern Spain from the eighth to the 15th century. Way back then, Andalusian cuisine was the most opulent of all of Europe, in the use of spices, herbs, almonds, rose water, orange blossoms and other exotic flavourings of the Oriental heritage.
Cured ham is called jamón serrano, or mountain-cured ham. It can be very good. But, Andalusia has some special pigs with a southern accent. These are a native breed called iberico, a small brown pig which thrives on the acorns from scrub oaks and cork trees.
Five of Andalucia's eight provinces have stretches of coastline (Almería, Granada, Málaga on the Mediterranean; Cádiz and Huelva on the Atlantic), while a sixth, Sevilla, has a tidal river and a seaport. So, you can imagine that the cooking of the coastal regions is distinguished by a huge variety of seafood. The fish market is a great place to get acquainted with the local catch.
Andalucia has some excellent cheeses, often eaten as a tapas accompanied by a glass fino or manzanilla sherry. The cheeses are mostly made from goat's milk, from herds which live in the mountainous areas of the region. A whole round of cured cheese with textured rind weighs between one and four kg and costs about 12-18 € per kg.
Andalucia is best known for its beaches, sunny weather and flamenco. But food is a hugely important part of southern Spain - indeed, the Mediterranean diet was recently recognised as being part of UNESCO's world cultural heritage.
Spain does fresh produce remarkably well - and that includes the fruit and vegetables that are so important for vegetarian and vegan diets. Spaniards have a great respect for what's in season, with market sellers and greengrocers often only selling produce from within Spain.
If you are in Andalucia more permanently and have a kitchen to cook in, then keeping to your vegetarian diet will be much easier. Supermarkets such as Mercadona, Mas and Super Sol don’t have a huge variety of wholefoods and veggie-friendly ingredients. However, most stores stock a good selection of grains, pulses and cheese as well as soya.
Trying to order a vegetarian meal in a Spanish restaurant can be a challenge - just explaining to your bemused waiter you don’t want any dishes containing meat or fish can be problematical. Some good phrases to learn are: No como ni carne ni pescado (I don’t eat meat or fish), and ¿Esto lleva carne o pescado? (Does this have meat or fish in it?).
There is no doubt about it: being a vegetarian in Spain, and Andalucia, can present a challenge. The Spanish eat a large amount of meat (especially jamón), and the majority of dishes have pork or chicken as their main ingredient; here in Andalucia, fish is also very popular.
