COCIDO (STEWED MEAT AND VEGETABLES): Different regions of Spain put their own stamp on this staple by varying the included meats. The Catalan escudella y carn d’olla adds chicken and a type of meatball to the standard pigs’ trotters, ears, belly pork, blood sausages and beef, often served over two courses. It sounds unappealing but there are few better belly-busting dishes to get you through a cold winter’s day.
Photo: Salvatore G2/Flickr
If you thought Spanish food was all paella and pinchos then think again. Get ready as The Local takes you on a mouth-watering tour of some of the country’s lesser known but equally fabulous culinary highlights.Spanish cuisine is amazingly diverse, with every region — and sometimes every village — offering up its own specialties.
To save you some time and hassle, though, we’ve put together a list of ten dishes you should try before you die. From Catalan green onions to Galicia’s barnacles, there’s something for everyone,
Happy eating!
PERCEBES: Barnacle collectors in Galicia brave the crashing waves of the Atlantic in winter months and risk their lives to pick these alien-looking crustaceans from the rocks. They’re hard to harvest, outrageously expensive (sometimes almost €300 ($374) per kilo), incredibly ugly… and unbelievably delicious.
Photo: Andrea Ciambra/Flickr
CALÇOTS: Eating onions may not sound exotic but the Catalan calçotada feast is a unique food experience. The sweet onions are first grilled over flames, stripped of their charred outer layers and dipped into salbitxada, a rich variety of romesco sauce with nuts, peppers, garlic and tomatoes. You’ll need a plastic bib and a big appetite to get through this messy, unmissable meal.
Photo: Flickr/Joan Grífols
COQUES DE LLARDONS (PORK AND SUGAR FLATBREADS: Meat and sugar? This unlikely combination is a traditional favourite in Catalonia and once you try it you’ll be a believer too. Crispy flatbreads are topped with pine nuts and fried cubes of pork fat or crackling then sprinkled with sugar to make a high-calorie but mouth-watering combination.
Photo: Slastic/Wikimedia
COCHINILLO: The sight of dead baby pigs (from 2- to 6-weeks old) in market stalls or rotating on spits in Castille-Leon has turned more than one person to vegetarianism but the taste of the finished dish is a meaty treat of tender flesh and perfect, crispy skin flavoured with smoke from traditional wood-fired ovens.
Photo: LWYang/Flickr
To read full list: http://www.thelocal.es/galleries/Culture/top-ten-best-spanish-dishes-to-try-before-you-die