Spanish Cuisine
Paella, tortilla, gazpacho, cocido. The most iconic dishes from Spain.
Catalan Cream
A creamy custard made with egg yolks and whole milk, topped with a layer of caramelized sugar using a blowtorch or iron. This quintessential Catalan dessert is lighter than French crème brûlée and delicately flavored with lemon and cinnamon.
Galician Santiago Cake
Tarta de Santiago is Galicia's emblematic dessert and one of Spain's oldest, with documented recipes dating to the sixteenth century. Its base is ground almond, sugar, and egg — no flour, no added fat — which gives it a dense, moist texture close to a baked marzipan. It is dusted with icing sugar and the cut-out Cross of Saint James before serving. Simple, direct, and perfectly balanced.
Homemade Ham Croquettes
Ham croquettes are one of the most popular bites in Spanish tavern cooking: dense, creamy béchamel with finely chopped Iberian ham, chilled until firm, shaped into small ovals and breadcrumbed before frying. The béchamel is everything: it has to be very thick, almost elastic, so that frying leaves the inside creamy rather than runny. Take your time with it and they come out perfect; rush it and they fall apart.
Madrid-Style Stew
Madrid-style cocido is the most hearty stew in the capital's culinary tradition: chickpeas soaked overnight, then slow-cooked for hours with beef morcillo, Iberian bacon, chorizo, blood sausage, marrow bone, potatoes, carrot, and cabbage. It is served in three courses — first the noodle broth, then the chickpeas with vegetables, and finally the meats. The quintessential winter dish of central Spain.
Authentic Asturian Fabada
Asturian beans with ham, blood sausage, and smoked chorizo. The heartiest and most flavorful dish from Asturias, slowly simmered until the beans are tender but intact and the broth turns creamy.
Traditional Manchego Pisto
Manchegan garden vegetables: tomato, zucchini, bell pepper, and eggplant slowly cooked in olive oil. The most authentic La Mancha pisto, perfect served with fried eggs, meats, or enjoyed on its own with bread.
Lentejas con verduras de la abuela
Imagina un plato reconfortante y lleno de sabor, donde las lentejas tiernas se mezclan con verduras frescas y especias, creando un aroma que te transporta a la cocina de tu abuela. Cada bocado es una explosión de texturas y sabores que te dejan con ganas de más.
Potato and Onion Omelette
Tortilla de patatas with onion is the most universally Spanish dish. Potatoes are poached slowly in olive oil with onion until soft but not browned, drained, and mixed with beaten eggs, then the whole thing sets in the pan over medium heat with a single flip. The debate between runny and fully set is eternal; the runny version, with a slightly trembling center, is the one people feel most strongly about.
Creamy Ham Croquettes
These creamy ham croquettes push the classic ratio to the extreme: more butter, more milk, béchamel cooked long and slow over low heat to develop flavour and reach that elastic consistency that turns molten when fried. The Iberian ham is chopped very fine so it blends into the béchamel without clumping. The mixture rests in the fridge for hours before shaping — a non-negotiable step that gives the croquettes enough structure to survive the fryer intact.
Cordoban Salmorejo
Salmorejo is the creamier, more concentrated cousin of gazpacho. Without cucumber or pepper, and made with more bread and tomato, it achieves a uniquely velvety texture. Córdoba proudly claims it as its own culinary heritage.
Valencian Paella
Valencian paella is the iconic dish of the Spanish Levant. Cooked in a wide iron pan over open fire, it combines bomba rice with chicken, rabbit, flat green beans, garrofón, and saffron threads that turn the rice a deep golden hue. The finishing touch is the socarrat — a lightly toasted crust that forms on the pan's base and is considered the mark of a perfect paella.
Asturian Rice Pudding
The secret to Asturian rice pudding lies in its very slow cooking and the use of whole milk freshly drawn from northern cows. Lemon zest and cinnamon are the essential aromas.
Wrinkled Potatoes with Red and Green Mojo
The secret to wrinkled potatoes lies in the salt concentration of the cooking water: so salty that it barely boils. As the water evaporates, the salt crystallizes on the skin, creating the characteristic wrinkled and slightly crunchy texture.
White Beans with Clams, Basque Style
Alubias con almejas is one of the Basque Country's most celebrated stews. Creamy Tolosa black beans are slow-cooked until tender, then finished with fresh clams steamed open in txakoli wine and garlic. The broth ends up rich and subtly briny — a beautiful meeting of land and sea in a single pot.
Lemon and Yogurt Cake
Lemon and yogurt cake is the most reliable homemade baking recipe there is: no scale needed, because everything is measured using the yogurt pot. Greek yogurt keeps the crumb moist and airy, lemon zest perfumes every bite, and the texture stays tender even the next day. It is the afternoon snack cake, the Sunday treat, and the one you bring to someone else's house.
Original Catalan Cream
Catalan cream is distinguished from crème brûlée in that it is thickened with cornstarch instead of just egg yolks, and flavored with cinnamon and citrus zest. The caramelized sugar crust made with a blowtorch is its hallmark.
Perfect Spanish Omelette
The Spanish omelette — tortilla española — is one of Spain's most beloved dishes: potato slices slow-cooked in olive oil until tender, then bound with egg in a pan to produce a custardy, just-set interior. Whether to include onion is a debate without a right answer, but here it goes in, gently sweated until sweet. Simple in ingredients, demanding in technique.
Chickpea Vegan Burger
A vegan burger built on chickpeas, tahini, and smoked spices — more satisfying than most meatless patties. The chickpeas bring protein and texture, smoked paprika adds depth, and cumin gives it warmth. Comes together in 30 minutes and holds up well on the grill or in a pan.
Valencian Chicken and Rabbit Paella
Valencian paella is the most iconic dish of Valencia, made with bomba rice, chicken, rabbit, flat green beans, garrofón and saffron. The key is the socarrat — that slightly crispy caramelised layer that forms on the bottom of the pan. Traditionally cooked over wood fire, it is the definitive Spanish rice dish.
Mussels in White Wine Sauce
Galician mussels in white wine sauce feature a tomato and onion sauce cooked with white wine that's perfect for dipping bread. The quality of the Galician mussel, which is the best in the world, does 90% of the work.
Traditional Andalusian Gazpacho
Andalusian gazpacho is the quintessential cold soup of southern Spain: a blended emulsion of ripe tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil, served well chilled. Born in the fields of Andalusia as sustenance for farm workers, it is now the most refreshing and nutritious summer staple of Mediterranean cooking. A splash of sherry vinegar gives it the sharp tang that sets it apart from any imitation.
Medieval Santiago Cake
With a protected designation of origin, the Santiago cake is naturally gluten-free as it only contains ground almonds, eggs, and sugar. Its hallmark is the Cross of the Order of Santiago drawn with powdered sugar on the surface.
Basque-Style Baked Cheesecake
This cheesecake has the unique feature of being baked at a very high temperature until it's deliberately burnt on the outside. The contrast between the almost black, caramelized surface and the melted, creamy interior makes it absolutely irresistible.
Baked Salmon with Lemon and Dill
Baked salmon with lemon and dill has its roots in northern European cooking, where fresh salmon and dill are a natural pairing. Fillets are rubbed with garlic, doused in lemon juice, and roasted gently until the flesh flakes apart in tender, juicy layers. It comes together in twenty minutes and needs little more than a green salad alongside.
Spanish Cuisine: cooking guide
Spanish cuisine is one of the richest and most varied in the world, with a privileged pantry: olive oil, jamón, paprika, saffron, seafood and wines. Authentic Valencian paella, tortilla de patatas (with the cebolla debate settled), Andalusian gazpacho and Madrid cocido. The Spanish recipe book in your kitchen.