The 4 fantastic of the vegetable garden of Europe: Almería, gastronomic capital 2019

Andalusia is one of the most visited regions in Spain. Its monuments, landscapes, gastronomy and climate are its main attractions, also in Almería!

Desert. This is, without a doubt, the word that comes to mind when hearing about Almería. Well, although it is a very common landscape in the province, it is by no means the only one. In fact, there is also the green Almería!, that of its 29.000 hectare orchards, a reality that has made the city the gastronomic capital of 2019.

Founded in 955 AD, under the name of al-Mariyyāt Baŷŷāna (watchtower for Baŷŷāna, the current Pechina), Almería has had a troubled history accompanied by significant economic-social backwardness. Although it enjoyed some periods of timid bonanza (XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries), the great rebirth of Almeria it has been given thanks to arrival of agriculture under plastic, which has turned the province into a reference in the cultivation of tomatoes, aubergines, potatoes, courgettes, peppers, watermelons, cucumbers and melons.

The tomato, key piece of Almería, the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy of 2019

Even if it seems incredible to you, the tomato is not only tasted, but in the case of the Almeria, the raf, it is also heard and, of course, it is seen.

The latter seems simple, since this tomato variety it is green, but not all tomatoes in this color are raf. In fact, in addition to its taste and sound when splitting / biting it, The great differentiating feature of the raf tomato is that its external appearance does not indicate that it has been pulled from the plant prematurely or that it is hard.

Nothing is further from reality! The tomato raf always has a green hue, whether it is (worth the redundancy) green or mature.

Because in the supermarket or greengrocer you can’t start breaking the tomato to find out if it is raf and, of course, it is not that it is very well seen that you bite a piece, the keys to be sure that you are acquiring this delicious and unique variety are the following:

• It has a green collar on the top
• Features a non-brindle star at the bottom
• The only scratches it may have are always on the sides
• Green and yellow-apple green coexist in perfect harmony, which, in most cases, is the first, above and the second, on the sides and bottom

4 dishes top of the gastronomy of Almería

In addition to the excellent quality of the vegetables grown in the orchards of the province, Almería is this 2019 Spanish Capital of Gastronomy for its rich and original cuisine.

As in most Spanish regions, its traditional recipes live a golden age having incorporated contemporary avant-garde elements and techniques.

All this has given rise to the following 4 jewels in the gastronomic crown of Almería:

• Papaviejos. We started with a sweet made with potatoes! very typical of Easter. Its origin is similar to torrijas, with the difference that the old daddies, instead of taking the bread from the previous day, do the same with potatoes from previous days. Crushed and together with milk, sugar, egg, lemon and cinnamon, they give rise to tempting fried buns.
• Alpujarra dish. We continue with potatoes because this delicacy of Almeria gastronomy is built on a base, cooked poorly, of this vegetable. Above it are black pudding, ham, sausage, fried egg and lump of centerboard.
• Gurullos. One centimeter in length and made with durum wheat semolina, saffron and water. This is how gurullos are, some edible wrappers and seasoned with Red peppers, which can be filled with various foods. For example, rabbit meat or snails.
• Raf tomato with garlic and Arbequina oil. The avant-garde touch of this dish, which is usually eaten as a starter, is provided by Arbequina oil. Flavor sweet and fruity, each year that passes (for more than a decade), is used to provide an original taste and very identifiable to a multitude of gastronomic preparations.

Besides the food, yeah visits Almería on the occasion of its capital status in 2019, you will discover a city that hides many more monuments than is believed, such as the Alcazaba and Walls of Cerro de San Cristóbal, the Old Railway Station or the Butterfly House.

Immerse yourself in them with the best company, their gastronomy