An Ode to Spain story in the July 2010 Issue of Explore TACA

An Ode to Spain

By Manuel Cadenas Mujica

Spain's cuisine sets a worldwide trend with its unique style, combining time-honored regional traditions with the most sophisticated, eclectic modernity.

Spanish speakers refer to it as the Mother Country, because in some way Spain gave birth to us, just the way we are. In Freudian speak, we could say that a large part of our collective consciousness, customs, ways, virtues and defects (like that ugly word, idiosyncrasy) were directly inherited from colonial times as much as pre-Columbian influences. And if, like Asians say, we are what we eat, then—viva Spanish cuisine!

As Varied as Its Regions
It's widely known that Spain isn't a monolithic nation. It shares with its Latin American children the fact of national divisiveness, which is the reason for all its pains and the cause of all its riches. The regional variety built during more than 2,000 years of history in 17 distinct autonomous communities has favored a rich culinary tradition.

To avoid spelling out details for each city, we can basically divide Spanish cuisine into four areas: north, Mediterranean, plateau and south. Each one of these is widely influenced by the climate and regional products.

The northern region, which is humid and rainy, is usually associated with fish but also with meats. This is the location of the Basque Country and its seasonal and homemade food, with stews like marmitako (potatoes with bonito) and txangurro (clams and crab). Other areas include Asturias, featuring fabada (pork and bean stew); Cantabria with its seafood and mountain food (this area also produces anchovies and dairy products); and Galicia, serving pote (pork, bean, potato and cabbage stew), caldeirada (fish stew), octopus and desserts.

Strictly speaking, the Mediterranean area includes Catalonia, featuring dishes from the ocean and the mountains; Valencia, where fish dishes compete against game stews for the title of ancestral specialty, and where you can also find rice dishes like paella, in addition to the sacred desserts reminiscent of Arab pastries; Murcia, which specializes in seafood; and the Balearic Islands, the cradle of mayonnaise. The famous Mediterranean diet is based on a mythical triad: wheat, olive and grape.

In the plateau, the best chef has been the extreme weather, which has challenged men and hearths. Castile and León stand out because of their legumes and the quality of their pork products, as well as sweets made from egg yolks and puff pastries, a refined expression of the Arab tradition. Artisan cheeses are famous in Extremadura, while gazpachos, marzipan and Manchego cheese have been produced in La Mancha since the times of Don Quixote. Madrid in turn brings to the party its renowned cocido (meat, potato and chickpea stew), bacalao and callos (tripe).

In the south, particularly in Andalusia, an intense transculturalization gave way to an enriched culinary patrimony, as much in its vegetable cuisine as in winter stews and Mediterranean cuisine in the coastline. Standouts include decadent desserts inherited from the Arabs and dishes involving pork. Finally, this region also includes the Canary Islands and their gofios (toasted cereal flours), legumes, tropical products and mojos (sauces).

Flavors Unite the Peninsula
Is there an element that integrates this scattering of flavors—that provides more unity than Cervantes' language? Experts say that this backbone does exist, thanks mainly to irreplaceable ingredients in many regional dishes and common techniques for most recipes.

Olive oil is the best example of one of those ubiquitous ingredients. It's said that when Spaniards came to the Americas, no matter where they came from, they all sought to plant two species in the New World: olive trees and vines. Although in the mid-20th century the quality of Spanish olive oils decreased overwhelmingly, today they once again enjoy an excellence that matches the avant-garde character of Spanish cuisine. Straight from the bottle or in fried foods, it's always been the main ingredient of Iberian cuisine.

Along with this oil, few regional dishes stray away from the main technique: a sofrito, a sauce with garlic, onion and tomato as the main ingredients. Mushrooms are also widely used in a variety of preparations. It's also impossible when serving a meal to leave out salads, especially during the summer and made with seasonal vegetables, as well as fresh and dried fruits in desserts.

Tasty Tapas
If we were to define the word "tapa," we would have to say that it's a wonder of Spanish ingenuity that helps us ward off hunger until it's time for lunch or dinner. Their origin is attributed to King Alfonso X, the Wise—who became ill and was under medical orders to eat small bites between meals. The good results for his health led him to order that every time wine was served in Castile's taverns, it had to be accompanied by these tasty bites.

But it's more likely that tapas originated as an old custom of farm workers, so they could withstand their tasks and not get drowsy because of heavy meals. This snack—called alifara in the north, poteo in Basque Country and l'apéritif beyond Catalonia—also required wine or gazpacho, depending on the region, a custom that spread when taverns became commonplace. A pitcher or glass of house wine was covered with a slice of ham or cheese, as a way of protecting the drink from insects—and diners could conveniently dunk the "tapa," Spanish for lid. A lively social gathering complemented the experience.

Later, other products were added to this light feast: olives, dried fruit, chorizos, stuffed loins, eggs, sausages, squid, croquettes, potatoes, pickled foods and other cold cuts that work well with it, even small portions of stew. Today, you can even find vegetarian tapas in some of the thousands of tapas bars throughout Spain—not to speak of the myriad vacuum-sealed tapas sold in supermarkets around the world, where the very Spanish sport of eating tapas has become popular.

New Winds, Better Horizons
Last April, The S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants 2009, a list put together by Restaurant magazine, placed four Spanish restaurants (from Chefs AdriÃ , Aduriz, Roca and Arzak) among the top 10. El Bulli was declared the best restaurant in the world for the fifth time—above its rival The Fat Duck, owned by British Chef Heston Blumenthal.

The awards are a thumbs up for the daring effort to highlight tradition and combine it with modernity. This rings especially true if we take into account the fact that the centenarian Michelin Guide has begrudged Spanish cuisine its recognition stars for many years.

Like all great international cuisines, Spanish cuisine was born in regular homes within its diverse regions, and that's where its strength, creativity, capacity for innovation and diversity come from. But at the same time we must also recognize that its great chefs—today's unquestionable global stars of the culinary world—have been the ones who've carried on their shoulders the work of popularizing it, conquering international palates along the way. Besides AdriÃ , other Spanish chefs can be considered the parents of the new Spanish cuisine: Juan Mari Arzak, Santiago Santamaría, Martín Berasategui, Carme Ruscalleda, Karlos Arguiñano, José Andrés, Andoni Luis Aduriz and Sergi Arola, among others. Thanks to them, the entire world savors Spanish cuisine today. As Spain's Latin American children, we feel a certain pride that's almost our own for the Mother Country that gave birth to us. Olé.

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