As we saw in our previous article, in Spain the festive season stretches over several days. Every occasion is therefore a good one to enjoy a delicious meal with family or friends.
But what, then, are the traditional recipes that grace the table at this time of year? Of course, even though turrón and mazapán generally win everyone over, what you eat differs from one region and one family to the next.
So we wanted to introduce you to Spanish cuisine. Follow us for recipe ideas for a festive dinner worthy of the name!
Starters
La sopa de mariscos
Seafood soup is served as a starter in many families.
It contains prawns, clams and mussels, but also fish such as hake or monkfish.
La ensalada navideña
One of these Christmas salads is a recipe made with tuna, avocado and blood orange.
It is a festive-season staple and brings a touch of lightness to the table. Simply dressed with vinegar and olive oil, it delights everyone.
Main courses
El cocido con pava y pelotas
This dish has its origins in the Murcia region. It is a stew of turkey meatballs, pork, bacon, vegetables, chickpeas and potatoes.
It is a fairly filling dish, but a very good one!
La dorada al horno
When the festive meal takes place in the evening, people tend to eat fish instead.
In this recipe, the sea bream is baked whole in the oven with lemon and herbs. The result is juicy and beautifully tender.
El cochinillo
Suckling pig is eaten all over Spain, even though this recipe is typical of Navarra, Castilla León and Aragón. It is roasted whole in the oven.
Not for the faint of heart …
Los calamares rellenos
That is to say: stuffed squid.
This dish, which is eaten in just about every corner of Spain, is a good compromise between the fruits of the sea and of the land. The squid are in fact stuffed with meat, eggs and vegetables.
It is an emblematic Christmas dish in Spain.
El pavo relleno
Stuffed turkey is not among the most typical dishes, since it is an Anglo-Saxon recipe. Nonetheless, it is widely eaten in Spain.
La merluza a la koskera
Basque-style hake comes, as its name suggests, from the Basque Country, but it has been taken up more or less everywhere in Spain.
It is prepared with egg, clams, garlic, asparagus and, of course, hake.
It is a very refined dish, light and full of flavour.
Desserts
El turrón
Spanish nougat is the leading product of its kind in the world. It is exported to every corner of the globe and is greatly appreciated.
The most famous is turrón de Jijona, exported as far as Japan!
Los polvorones y mantecados
A polvorón is like a mantecado, with a few differences.
First of all, a mantecado does not always contain almonds, whereas a polvorón does, whether in the form of flour, crushed, in pieces or whole.
Also, a mantecado is made with wheat flour and almonds which, when both are present, are not toasted, whereas those in a polvorón always are. Finally, the sugar is granulated and eggs or egg whites are used in the preparation.
El cortadillo de cidra
Traditionally this recipe was made in Seville, in Andalusia, but it can also be found in Cádiz.
It is a cake filled with "angel's hair" (“cabello de ángel”), a preparation made from squash.
So there are plenty of Spanish recipes for enjoying a festive dinner worthy of the name.
We were of course unable to present them all here, but it gives you a foretaste of all the wonderful recipes you could savour if you had a home in Spain.
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