Andalucía

If you caught our recent post on the sherries of Spain, you may well be dreaming of visiting the Sherry Triangle, situated between the three towns of El Puerto de Santa Maria, Jerez de la Frontera and Sanlucar de Barrameda. But there’s more to this region than just sherry. In fact, the whole Andalucían area is full of flavors and delicacies as varied as its terrain. Today we’ll be taking you on a guided tour of the very best food and drink Andalucía has to offer.

“Localización de Andalucía” by Mutxamel, subido por Rastrojo (D•ES) - File:EspañaLoc.svg, de HansenBCN. Modificada por User:Mutxamel.. Licensed under GFDL via Wikipedia

Where is Andalucía?

But first, a little geography. The province of Andalucía is located at the far South tip of the Iberian peninsular, to the immediate East of Portugal. It’s the second largest autonomous province in Spain and encompassed many hundreds of miles of Spanish coastline, mountain ranges including the Sierra Monera and the Baetic System, along with the great Southern valley of Guadalquivir.

It’s an astonishingly rich area of culture, history and identity, with successive invaders bringing their cultures to this Southern Spanish state; the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Byzantines, the Vandals, the Visigoths the Romans, the Moors, Christians from the North of Spain, Sephardic Jews from the South…

Despite such a diverse melting pot, it is perhaps surprising that Andalucía is home to many of the traditions the outside world characterize as stereotypically Spanish: bullfighting, flamenco and Moorish-influenced architecture. The region is also home to that world-renowned Spanish dish: Gazpacho!

Andalucían cuisine

Gazpacho

This dish may be enjoyed right across Spain, but it started its life in Andalucía, where it is believed to stem from an Arabic dish, bought across to Spain during the invasion of the Moors. It is a cold soup, traditionally served in a glass and made from stale bread, tomato, olive oil, garlic, onion, cucumber, bell pepper, water, white wine vinegar and salt.

Gambas al Ajillo

You couldn’t visit Andalucia and not take advantage of the marvellous seafood available right along Spain’s Southern coast. Fresh caught prawns in garlic olive oil with a chilli kick (best served with fresh pan de puebo- rustic local bread - to mop up all that scrummy juice) is the perfect way to make the most of the region’s seafood. We also highly recommend trying the local fried fish (pescaíto frito),clams (coquinas) and fried squid (calamares a la plancha).

“Jamon Serrano” by Jardoz - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikipedia

Jamon Serrano

For a real treat, you absolutely must enjoy the Serrano ham of Andalucía. This is the home of the very best Jamon Serrano and is famed across Spain for it’s fabulous flavor and the effects of dry curing at altitude in the Andalucían mountains. Granada and Huelva are the very best areas to enjoy this classic ham.

Cordoban Salmorejo

Famously home to Spain’s most beautiful women, Cordoba is Andalucía’s second city with a big influence over the surrounding regions. This regional salmorejo bears similarities to gazpacho but, unlike it’s more famous soupy cousin, this cold soup make of bread, tomato and olive oil is served from a bowl, not drunk from a glass. Salmorejo in the region is often topped with Andalucía’s exalted Serrano ham and slices of boiled egg.

Rabo de toro

In the former land of the bullfighter, you can’t overlook this regional speciality; Bull’s tail marinated and served in a tomato based sauce which varies from restaurant to restaurant and village to village. Order a portion of rabo de toro to give your tapa a truly Andalucían flavor.

The Andulucian region of Southern Spain

Jerez

Sherry (Jerez) is absolutely central to Andalucían cuisine. We heartily recommend spending some time exploring the sherries of the Sherry Triangle to discover the flavors of the region. You can learn more in our post all about Spanish sherry.

Are you inspired by Spanish cuisine? Drop into Ataula, the best Spanish restaurant in Portland, to enjoy real Spanish flavor from across the Iberian peninsular. Reserve your table at Portland’s best Spanish restaurant today on 503-894-8904 or right here online.