Eat Paella and Tapas in Spain

Probably hard to argue that the food that is the most synonymous with Spain is paella. In fact, this rice dish that originated from the Valencia region has been named Spain's national dish.

The original Valencian recipe consists of round-grain white rice, meat (chicken/rabbit/duck/sometimes snails), vegetables (green beans, lima beans, artichoke, tomato), and seasoned with rosemary and saffron. These days you can find other variations, such as seafood paella, vegetarian paella, and black-rice paella.

When I was in Spain, initially I thought I'd have to give paella a miss, because I was traveling solo, and at most restaurants, you'd have to be at least two persons to order paella, because they charge you per head. However, I was lucky to have met up with someone from Couchsurfing who agreed to share the dish with me.

He took me to one of his favorite restaurants where the owner himself prepared the paella for us. Paella takes some time to prepare, so in the meantime, we ordered some croquetas, and a bottle of Spanish wine. Just as soon as we were done with the appetizer, the paella arrived, steaming hot.

In general, I approve of South European food more than the bland fare up north, and paella is no exception. I liked the taste and texture of the rice--it was sticky and slightly greasy, unlike what I was used to eating in Asia, but I found it not as overwhelming as biryani, which tends to make me break into sweat and tears.

 

Apart from paella, I also tried some tapas during my stay in Spain. A tapa is an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine that comes in small portions, and can be served hot or cold. Two or more tapas can be combined to make a full meal, like how we do it in Asia where we'd each have a plate of rice and share several small dishes (maybe one with meat, one with vegetables, and one that is soupy). except that in Spain, we have the tapas with bread, instead of rice.

While doing my camino, I met another solo peregrina from Germany and we went out for dinner together. That was literally my first day in Spain, as I had just crossed the border from Portugal earlier in the afternoon. We ordered a bottle of red wine, paired with a platter of cheese, zorza (a traditional Galician dish of pork lean cuts cooked with paprika, garlic and oregano), patatas bravas (fried potato wedges) and gambas al ajillo (sauteed prawns with garlic). It brought back memories of working in La Bodega in Kuala Lumpur.

With Antje

We ordered too much and had to pack some home.
I had them for lunch the next day.

After completing my camino, right after reaching Santiago de Compostela, I celebrated by ordering yet another glass of wine and a plate of calamares fritos (you can probably guess what they are). It was a little disappointing though. The calamari was expensive yet tasteless.

The best tapa I had in Spain had to be the pulpo (octopus), on the recommendation of my host in Santiago. It was cooked with prawns, garlic and paprika. The octopus practically melted in my mouth.