Written by Kathy Hills

Due to the fabulous climate and year round sunshine enjoyed in Andalucia, local farmers are able to grow fruit and vegetables continuously, even in winter.  Locally grown food strongly influences the diversity of the cuisine and Andalucia has many different dishes which have been passed down over the centuries.  As in the rest of Spain, food is an important part of the culture of Andalucia, eating is very much a large part of both family and social life, in Andalucia friends and family sitting down to each together is more than just a meal.

The coastal area of the Costa Tropical in Andalucia is, of course, abound with locally caught fish, which is reflected in the dishes that are served.  The many chiringuitos {beach bars} to be found all along the coast line of the Costa Tropical normally serve a huge variety of fish and seafood in their beach-front restaurants. The chiringuitos are usually quite informal and are an excellant way of sampling fresh, home-cooked produce at a very reasonable price.  Many have a Menu Del Dia on offer, which is a set meal for a fixed price, this is a very traditional way to eat in a restaurant throughout the whole of Andalucia and  often consists of 3 courses for approximately 9 or 10 euros per person. These delicious dishes can consist of fried fish {pescaito frito}, fried anchovies{ boquerones}, prawns in garlic {pil-pil}, fresh sardines {usually barbequed}, Monkfish {rape}, hake {Merluza} Sea Bream {Dorada} , Red mullet {Salmonete} and of course Tuna {Atun}, to name but a few.

Andalucian cuisine is probably synonymous with the most famous Spanish dish of all- Paella.  A delicious combination of golden saffron flavoured rice cooked slowly with any amount of fish, shellfish, meat and vegetables, with garlic and olive oil to produce a meal often served on fiesta days or Sundays when all the family get together. The dish is actually named after the shallow, 2-handled pan that it is cooked in - a paella - and originated in the eastern area of Valencia before spreading south to both inland and coastal regions. The first paellas probably used beans, wild rabbit or pork, duck and even frogs plus any available local vegetables before fish and shellfish were used on the coastal regions.

Inland from the coastal towns of Andalucia and the Costa Tropical you will often find the fish cuisine is changed for locally produced pork and the famous Jamon Serrano (cured ham) which is made from a local breed of pig known as The Iberico and also the Pata Negra {black foot}. This smallish pig is locally bred in Andalucia and produces some of the finest cured ham in the world.  In the Granada region of Andalucia, the area known as Las Alpujarras is also very well known for its Jamon which mainly comes from  the village of Trevelez,  since the 18th century, farmers have produced their hams from a white pig and cured in the dry mountain air.

As well as Jamon, pork is much used in the making of traditional Andalucian sausages of which there are many delicious and varied flavours. The most well known is the red Chorizo which is made with paprika, thus giving it it’s distinctive colour and taste, and is now available in many countries outside of Andalucia and Spain. There is also an Andalucian version of the English black pudding, the best being Morcilla, made from pig’s blood, lard and spices and Chorizo en Manteca Colora which is made with lard and coloured with paprika.  White sausages from Jaen, smoked sausages, salami (salchichon) and cana de lomo (smoked and filled with tripe) are just a few of the many different flavours of Andalucian sausage.

Summer cuisine in Andalucian,  to a lot of people is represented by gazpacho - a cold soup - which, it is believed, can be traced back, to the Roman times.  It is thought to derive from the Latin word caspa, meaning fragments or little pieces, referring to the chunks of bread or breadcrumbs which were mashed with olive oil and garlic to produce a thick and nutritious cold soup.  The Moors added their own special ingredient of ground almonds and called it ajo blanco.  After the discovery of the Americas and the import of tomatoes, gazpacho changed again to more closely resemble todays version of Andalucian gazpacho.

Andalucian cuisine would not be complete without olive oil,  Andalucia being the worlds top producer of the finest olive oil in both quality and flavour. The olives are harvested in December when they are beaten off the trees onto nets that are stretched over the surrounding ground. They are treated with great care as they are a delicate fruit and if damaged it can affect the oil’s flavour. Olives come in many different colours and after washing they are drained before being crushed into a paste then the oil is extracted using a spinning process before being filtered.  Extra virgin olive oil is the first press of the olives and has the finest taste and texture, the paste however is normally pressed again producing oil of varying quality which is usually used in cooking.