Enjoy the delicious Mediterranean cuisine

It is varied, tasty and good for your health. It’s much more than a healthy diet, it’s a way of life. Try the wide variety of virgin olive oils, one of its key ingredients. The Mediterranean coast offers a host of incredible flavours to delight your palate. Here are just some of the essential dishes.

Calçot are sweet, white, flame-grilled spring onions. This is one of the traditional products you won’t be able to resist on a visit to Catalonia, especially the Tarragona area.

Be prepared to get your hands dirty for a calçotada, a gastronomic ritual with these as the main ingredient from November to April. The traditional menu for this event includes salad, tomato bread and cold meats, calçots with romesco (a hazelnut, almond and red pepper-based sauce) and locally produced meat. All accompanied by good wine and finished off with a homemade crema catalana for dessert (egg custard topped with caramelised sugar).

And you really must try paella, one of the icons of Spanish cuisine. It originated in the Valencia Region, where you’ll be able to enjoy some of the best versions. This delicious rice dish is cooked in a paella, a special shallow pan with two handles, and there are a number of varieties depending on the ingredients used.

The most traditional recipe uses chicken, rabbit and vegetables and the rice
should be nice and loose and full of flavour. There are other popular versions
like paella mixta (with meat and seafood) and paella marinera, made with fish and seafood. It’s really best if you eat it straight out of the pan, accompanied by a young red or rosé wine.

Another of the great gastronomic attractions in the south of Spain is what they call “fish from the bay”. It can be cooked in many different ways and is an essential part of coastal cuisine, prepared right by the beach with simple ingredients. On the Costa del Sol, skewered sardines are the star of the show. This is a speciality in Málaga and consists of fish skewered on a cane and grilled over the embers. You can skewer other types of fish or meat, the result is just as delicious.