food from the east of spain

Paella Eastern Spain's cuisine is as varied as that of most Spanish regions, but it is a rice-growing land, and its paellas and other forms of rice are its most representative dishes. It is the Moors we can thank for introducing rice to Eastern Spain in the eight century. Its towns are full of history and, inland, the soil is fertile and a variety of crops abound - the area is particularly renowned for its oranges and rice.

The Region of Valencia is situated on the eastern side of the country and composed of the provinces of Castellon, Valencia and Alicante with Valencia City as its capital, producing its own rice - Valencian Rice (Arroz de Valencia). The best known of all its rice dishes is the paella mixta, rice cooked with both seafood and chicken or rabbit and then scented and coloured with saffron. A delicious variation is the paella negra (black paella) which is coloured by the ink from the squid.

Valencian Citric Fruits (Citricos Valencianos) The entire region of Valencia produces a wide variety of oranges, mandarins, and lemons. Valencia produces approx. 125 million kilograms of mandarins, between 80 and 100 million kilograms of oranges and between 30 and 40 million kilos of lemons every year. With so many varieties, each with their own characteristics, citric fruit lovers need look no further.

Valencia is the birthplace of the soft drink horchata, made from something called a chufa which translates as "tiger nut" (grown all over Eastern Spain). Horchata looks like an off-white milk, smells vaguely of toffee and is served cold.

In terms of wine, Valencia has three denominaciones de origen - Alicante, Utiel-Requena in the west of the province of Valencia, and Valencia, a scattered and varied area. Conoisseurs should try the fondillon from Alicante, a dark, treacly, red wine that is most suitable as a dessert accompaniment.

Valencia is the home of the most famous Spanish candy: turron. It is made with almonds and traditionally eaten at Christmas. Thought to have been introduced by the Moors, turron is made by roasting the almonds and slow cooking them with honey and egg white. There are two main varieties, hard Alicante turron and soft Jijona turron, which is produced by grinding the almond and honey mix into a glutinous smooth paste.

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Wine in spain

Let's not forget the wines! We think they speak for themselves. Visit our Spanish wine pages to find out more about them.

If you know of a typical dish or an excellent wine that we haven't mentioned here please share it with us by sending an e-mail to: info@spanish-living.com