Page 206 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

204  EASTERN SP AIN

The Flavours of Eastern Spain

The current stars of Spain’s culinary firmament are Catalans
like Ferran Adriá or Carme Ruscalleda, whose creativity
and innovation have brought them international acclaim.
Fashionable new eateries and traditional country inns alike still
place the emphasis firmly on fresh local ingredients. Along with
adjoining Murcia and Catalonia, Valencia produces a huge array
of fruit, vegetables, seafood, meat and game, all heaped colourfully
in local markets. Rice is the key ingredient in paella and its many
local variations. In landlocked Aragón, country cooking includes
dishes that recall the Arabic occupation more than 1,000 years ago. Valencian rice

obsession). Spain’s finest but also beef, rabbit and
chefs create culinary fireworks free-range chicken, often
in their celebrated restaurants, served simply grilled or slowly
but Catalan cuisine, even at its simmered in earthen ware pots.
most experimental, is essentially There is also much excellent
simple and relies on the wond- charcuterie, including hams and
erful freshness of its produce. cured sausages, some flavoured
with spices, which are often
used to flavour the hearty stews
Aragón
popular in the mountainous
In landlocked, mountainous north. River trout and eels are
Aragón, the emphasis is firmly regularly found on local menus
Fresh octopus lie on the ice of a on meat – particularly lamb, and, perhaps unusually so far
fish-seller’s stall
Artichokes Onions Aubergines (eggplants)
Catalonia Celery
The incredible variety of
fresh produce in Catalonia is
a ref lection of the varied land-
scape – the Mediterranean
provides all manner of fish and
shell fish, the inland plains offer a
wealth of vegetables and fields Capers Tomatoes
of golden rice, and the moun-
tains contribute meat, game Green beans
and wild mushrooms (a Catalan A range of fresh vegetables grown in eastern Spain

Regional Dishes and Specialities
The lush Mediterranean coastline, backed by
fertile plains and cool mountains, offers an
extraordin ary abundance of fresh produce
here. From the sturdy stews of land-locked
Aragón and the traditional cured meats of
inland Murcia, to the celebrated seafood
paellas and other rice dishes of Valencia,
this is a region that dazzles with the variety
of its cuisine. Spring and summer bring tiny
Candied fruits broad beans, asparagus, and all manner of
other vegetables and fruits. In autumn and
winter, the annual pig slaughter is followed by the preparation
of hams and cured meats, mushrooms proliferate on shady hills, Suquet de peix A Catalan
and gamey stews keep out the winter cold. Seafood remains a stew of fresh, firm-fleshed fish,
constant, whether in zarzuela de mariscos (a rich shellfish stew) flavoured with tomatoes,
or the Murcian favourite of sea bream baked in a salty crust.
garlic and toasted almonds.

204-205_EW_Spain.indd 204 26/09/17 11:01 am
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Date 7th January 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm