The main Spanish dishes contain potatoes, rice, fish, meat, beans, chickpeas and a large variety of fruits and vegetables. Olive oil is one of the main ingredients in the Spanish cuisine. Garlic, paprika (called pimentón) and bread are used in most savoury dishes.

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Here are some typical Spanish dishes:  

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· Paella: Paella is an original rice dish from the Spanish city of Valencia, which is cooked in a wide but shallow pan known as paella. Many ingredients are added to the rice, including vegetables, fish, seafood, and meat, leading to a myriad of different recipes that vary according to the proportions of the ingredients. Originally, paella was a humble dish that used whatever ingredients were available depending on the season (either vegetables, game, snails, hard-to-sell seafood, etc.), and sometimes even chicken.A good paella should always have fresh vegetables in it (if possible, garrofó beans, artichokes, and peppers), plus any of the above-mentioned ingredients. The best paella is not the one that has the most ingredients, but the one that combines them in the most coherent way.

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· La tortilla Española: Also called la tortilla de patatas is a potato omelette. When you are preparing it, you have to toss the omelette so that it can be cooked on the other side. The omelette is thick and round. It is normally served in triangular slices, rather like a cake. La tortilla is also used in sandwiches. This sandwich is called el bocadillo de tortilla de patatas.

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· Gazpacho: is a soup prepared with skinned tomatoes (tomates), olive oil (el aceite de oliva), raw vegetables such as cucumber (el pepino), green pepper (el pimiento verde) and garlic (el ajo). The raw ingredients are all blended together into a purée then chilled. It is served cold. In the hot Spanish weather, el gazpacho is very cool and refreshing AND it is healthy! A similar dish is called el salmorejo. It is thicker than el gazpacho because pieces of bread are blended into the mixture.

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· Coca: A sweet bread

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· Empanada: Stuffed bread or pie

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· Turrón: Nougat sweet cake made with Honey and Nuts.

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· Chorizo: Pork sausage which contains garlic and the spice el pimentón (paprika). The paprika gives the sausage an orange/red colour. El chorizo can be sliced for sandwiches or used in stews, omelette or served on a small plate as a snack called una tapa.

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· Chocolate con Churros: Hot and very thick chocolate drink with sweet fried pastry. A popular weekend breakfasts!

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· Ham is the pig’s hind leg, treated and cured to achieve its characteristic aromas and flavours: There are many kinds of ham. The best one is the ham that is obtained from acorn-fed Iberian pigs, which is cured for at least eighteen months in very specific temperature and humidity levels. Ham is also produced from mixed-breed Iberian pigs, early breeds, pigs raised with fodder, etc., and sometimes the legs are cured in a sped-up process; these hams are known as: Pata Negra, Recebo, Ibéricos de pienso, serrano,bodega, etc. These are all of great quality, sometimes even excellent, but will never match the genuine, pure-acorn-fed Iberian ham. This kind of ham is protected by four Designations of Origin – Dehesa de Extremadura, Sierra de Huelva, Guijuelo (Salamanca) and Los Pedroches –, which guarantee its quality.

 

· A Tapa is a very small portion. If you are hungry or you are sharing your meal with more people, you may want to order a media ración (half portion) or even a ración (whole portion). There is some regional variation in the type of tapas offered. For instance, in the north of Spain people have pinchos, which is a bite of food on a toothpick. The traditional pincho is very simple, for example a small portion of Spanish omelette skewered onto a piece of bread with a toothpick, although in some up-market bars pinchos can be extremely sophisticated. The tradition is to take them directly from the counter and, when you have finished, let the waiter know how many you have had. This custom is changing, however, and in some new establishments you have to keep the toothpicks in order to be charged accordingly. Typical tapas in Galicia are octopus (boiled and served with oil and paprika) and fried green peppers (pimientos de Padrón). In central Spain, all types of cheese and cured meats, together with cooked food, from meatballs to fried vegetables, are served as tapas. In Andalusia, the main tapas are fried fish, chorizo, and different types of cheese. In Central America, bocas are the equivalent of tapas. In Argentina they are called picadas, and they consist mostly of olives, ham, or cheese.

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· Traditional Spanish desserts are creamy and made with milk such as: el flan - crème caramel, el arroz con leche - rice pudding and las natillas - custard cream. Often these creamy desserts are flavoured with canela (cinnamon)