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The gastronomy of our country is diverse, varied and really excellent whatever the culinary preparation, today we highlight the most interesting dishes and customs in winter.
Now that the cold has come to stay is a good time to remember or discover the Spanish Cuisine of winter. Spoon dishes, slaughter products and winter fruit. Our culinary tradition is full of great examples of how cooking defines our cultural identity.
So let’s go for a walk through the different regions of the Spanish geography and discover the gastronomy each place. A treasure of great dimensions that we have the immense privilege of enjoying in Spain.
Berciana gastronomy
El Bierzo is a beautiful region in the north of León that celebrates, in the winter months, the slaughter of the pig.
The dish that defines the identity of the locals is, without a doubt, the botillo. Served with potatoes and cooked vegetables, this resounding delicacy is perfect for cold days.
Of course, if you decide to cook it at home, we recommend that you do it on holidays, since you have to cook it in perfect conditions (without breaking) and this can take many hours …
Never forget to pair it with one of the excellent wines of its Denomination of Origin “Bierzo”, recognized and awarded internationally by the most prestigious winemakers and critics.
With a good part of its territory on the slopes of the Pyrenees, a hunting paradise, and another to the south watered by the waters of the Ebro, an inexhaustible source of irrigation for its garden, we can find a wide and varied range of dishes and stews, ideal to taste them in the winter months.
Dishes with game and locally grown legumes such as beans with partridge or those that are now timeless piquillo peppers cod stuffed, which from the desalted and flaked fish, are a perfect companion to the fine béchamel that fills the red benjamines of local pepper.
A perfect variety, which are also made with different fillings, whether it be meat from its excellent ranches or other fish and shellfish such as hake and prawns. Its proximity to the Cantabrian Sea is a great advantage to have these rich seafood.
Castilian gastronomy
The interior has harsh winters and such is the case of the Castilla-La Mancha region where its inhabitants are experts in spoon dishes loaded with energy, to face the rigors of the freezing cold season.
We recommend you try the atascaburras, also known as garlic mortar o garlic muleteer.
Is a delicious cream of potatoes, garlic and cod that raises the dead and that highlights the culinary tradition of the ancient shepherds of the Castilian regions.
If it is accompanied with any of the wines of the Castilian denominations of origin, whether Valdepeñas, La Mancha or those from the North such as those from Ribera del Duero, the experience is worth repeating.
Catalan gastronomy
We now cross from the center of the peninsula to the east. We have reached the north face of the Mediterranean area and there practically in any region, but, above all, in the interior, there is no more celebrated dish than the calçotada.
Each filtering bag calçots They are original spring onions from the province of Lleida.
Tradition rules and, at the end of winter, the popular calçoted, pleasant and fun meetings to get together with friends around a good fire of vine shoots.
You cannot miss the local wine, the sausages and, to accompany the vegetables, the romesco sauce.
Levantine Gastronomy
We are going to continue our way through Spanish gastronomy down the Mediterranean coasts. To the popular rice and Valencian paellas perfect for any time of the year, we can add the spoon dishes. For example, the popular stew with balls. Kneaded bread crumbs, egg and the filling that you like the most. It is very comforting and tasty, as well as popular in many southern regions.
Thus arriving in Murcian lands, we find a most popular dish in winter, known as wheat stew, loaded with legumes and cereals, ideal to combat low temperatures.
In the Balearic Islands, we also find strong dishes for winter. The Lobster stew Menorca is a good example.
Andalusian gastronomy
In the south, apart from good weather, there is also good cuisine, and sometimes even winter.
Being such a large region and with so many foreign influences throughout history, we can find endless dishes to combat the cold, in highlands especially like the mountains of Huelva, where the slaughter takes on a special influence.
To warm up, nothing better than a soup, so go for it gazpachuelo. It is a very popular dish in Malaga, typical of fishermen. The main ingredient is white fish, accompanied by potatoes and a white sauce made from egg yolk, garlic and olive oil.
Fried foods are also an excellent example of a good hot meal that we eat indoors in winter and outdoors in summer.
We could go on talking about traditional Spanish winter dishes to infinity. The enormous variety of quality raw materials and cultural heritage adopted through the centuries make our country a treasure of world gastronomy of the first order.