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LOCAL CUISINE - ANDALUCIA
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In Andalucia you will find the essence of all that is Spain – flamenco dancing, bull-fighting and brown sierras (mountains) – often topped by the black bull silhouette that splendidly advertises Veterano brandy. It is a huge area of the south, cut off from central Spain by the Sierra Morena.
The Arabs marked the landscape by planting olives and oranges. They created a cuisine based on spices like cumin and saffron, and ingredients such as olive oil and nuts, all ground with mortar and pestle.
Their chilled soups, such as the white garlic and almond, "ajo blanco", made with local muscatel grapes, and "gazpacho" (now made with tomato and cucumber) are welcome in the summer heat.
It is there that tapas were invented, to sustain evenings that end in a mere five hours’ sleep.
One of the best tapa is sliced "jamón serrano", raw ham cured in the hills and mountains of Huelva at Jabugo. The Costa de La luz is celebrated for its fried fish.
The fried fish take-away was invented here in the great seaport of Cadiz, and the city is now known for its "pescaíto frito" (mixed fried fish), while every beach-bar on the coast offers squid rings in batter.
This coast is also famous for deep-fried fresh anchovies, and a delicious fish stew worth searching out is "Urta a la Roteña".
From Jerez de la Frontera, where your sample of Fino is hurled through the air into a glass, come sherry dishes such as kidneys in sherry (riñones al Jerez) or stewed bull’s tail (rabo de toro a la jerezana). In Seville “duck with orange” was invented (pato a la sevillana).
Tomatoes and peppers were first introduced here 400 years ago and appear in many local dishes, like pipirrana (pepper salad) and huevos a la flamenca (flamenco eggs), the colourful gypsy mixture of different vegetables with eggs. Another "traveller’s" dish is olla gitana, a stew which can include any vegetable or fruit.
Desserts in the south are eaten in small spoonfuls as they are incredibly sweet, like quince paste and "tocino de cielo", a jelly of syrup and egg yolks. The best, however, are the little Arab cakes, such as the almond "alfajores" of Medina Sidonia and the crumbly "polvorones" in Estepa and Antequera. Try also the "yemas", which are rich little egg yolk candies, made by nuns.
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Bolonia
