Spanish recipes
Spanish cuisine
Did you know?
• The name ‘avocado’ comes from ‘aguacate’, which is Spanish for testicles!
• The word for ‘paella’ actually means ‘frying pan’ in Catalan. However, the dish became so popular the word is almost exclusively used to describe the dish itself and not the cooking utensil.
• The olive tree arrived in Spain around 1000 BC with the Phoenicians. It was later cultivated by the Romans, but was not really central to Spanish cuisine until the Moors arrived. As the Moors resided in the south, so did the olive tree, hence northern Spanish dishes traditionally use lard or butter and southern dishes use olive oil.
• It’s thanks to the Spanish that Europe has the tomato plant. However, it had a cautious beginning in Britain where it was first cultivated as an ornamental climber. The Elizabethans believed the bright red colour of the fruit signalled them to be poisonous.
• If you spot a sign which reads ‘hay churros’ at breakfast time, don’t pass it by. Go in and ask for ‘chocolate y churros’ where you will be presented with a gloriously thick hot chocolate and a plate of fried fritters ready for dunking.
• Tapas were originally pieces of bread or cured meat used to cover your wine glass to keep flies out. Thankfully they are now usually sold in small individual ceramic dishes, still accompanied by the odd glass of vino!
By Michelle Robold
• The name ‘avocado’ comes from ‘aguacate’, which is Spanish for testicles!
• The word for ‘paella’ actually means ‘frying pan’ in Catalan. However, the dish became so popular the word is almost exclusively used to describe the dish itself and not the cooking utensil.
• The olive tree arrived in Spain around 1000 BC with the Phoenicians. It was later cultivated by the Romans, but was not really central to Spanish cuisine until the Moors arrived. As the Moors resided in the south, so did the olive tree, hence northern Spanish dishes traditionally use lard or butter and southern dishes use olive oil.
• It’s thanks to the Spanish that Europe has the tomato plant. However, it had a cautious beginning in Britain where it was first cultivated as an ornamental climber. The Elizabethans believed the bright red colour of the fruit signalled them to be poisonous.
• If you spot a sign which reads ‘hay churros’ at breakfast time, don’t pass it by. Go in and ask for ‘chocolate y churros’ where you will be presented with a gloriously thick hot chocolate and a plate of fried fritters ready for dunking.
• Tapas were originally pieces of bread or cured meat used to cover your wine glass to keep flies out. Thankfully they are now usually sold in small individual ceramic dishes, still accompanied by the odd glass of vino!
By Michelle Robold
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