Spanish cooking can initially be described as a cuisine relying strongly on olive oil and garlic. It is Mediterranean cooking and easily identified by the presence of these two elements in the recipes and flavours. These basic and unmistakable ingredients which Spain shares with other Mediterranean countries are found in a wide variety of dishes.

Spanish cooking has basically popular roots. Although a well-served table is habitual, without, however, making any fuss about it - except in the Basque Country and Catalonia - any refined palate without prejudices will no doubt live through some unforgettable experiences.

In this country the traveler will also discover that customs and dining habits vary considerably from one region to the next. What a difference there is between the attention, ceremony and eating capacity displayed by a tripasai (the term used to describe a gourmet in the Basque Country) at lunch time and the Andalusians' - great fans of "pescaíto" (fried fish) - rather informal attitude to cooking.

We can divide the peninsula into six areas with special food characteristics. In accordance with this division, the area of the sauces is the North. In the direction of the Pyrenees, there is the area of the chilindrones (a pepper and tomato accompaniment), which are served with many typical dishes of the region. The area of the cazuelas (stews) covers the the greater part of Catalonia. Then the rice dishes are found along the East Coast. Fried dishes are typical of Andalusia, while the central area is famous for its roasts.

A national dish

Some dishes from the Spanish recipe book have become internationally famous, eg, the paella or the fabada. Others, in a more modest way, have also become popular, eg, the gazpacho or the tortilla or potato omelette. However, many really typical and popular recipes have gone unnoticed. Often overlooked is what we might call the national dish par excellence, the only one which can be considered characteristic of the entire map of the art of cooking because it is found in every corner of our peninsula, though each area has its own particular version. We mean the cocido, olla, pote or escudella --in one word, the stew-- which has all these different names.

The cocido español, or Spanish stew, has an almost universal formula consisting of three basic ingredients, meat, pulses and vegetables --whatever is typical of the area-- which are cooked slowly under a watchful eye. When it is ready, the dish is served in several courses, usually three, which are called vuelcos. First comes the soup, ie, the broth in which everything was boiled, then the vegetables and pulses, and finally the meat.

The common factor of all the Spanish cocidos is the chickpea, the pea-like seed which the Carthaginians brought to Spain and which gives the Madrid and Andalusian stews, among others, their truly characteristic flavour. The alubias or white beans of the North give their stews a flavour which is just as tasty.