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Spain is one of the best countries for good food around the world. Its strong and concentrated flavours give life to regional delights and make of them a wonderful polychromy of aromas that reflect its history and the addition of cultures in its different colonization processes. Its Mediterranean cuisine integrates the exotic flavours from northern Africa and many others from America, that are mixed majestically, giving it that unique taste of Spanish cuisine.
In order for you to enjoy your stay in Madrid, we´ll give you five pieces of advice on the best dishes that you must try.
If you want to try a wonderful mix that gathers Mediterranean flavours and those of other regions of Spain, you should try the famous paella, a dish that comes from Valencia but that has transformed into one of the stalwarts of good Spanish cuisine. It´s prepared in a pan suitable so that the rice, its basic ingredient, is cooked without burning. It also has pork, seafood, vegetables and spices, to which olive oil is added, something that´s essential in any Spanish cooking preparation.
´Cocido Madrileño´ (Madrid stew) is a dish that you have to try. It´s a stew made with different vegetables, chick peas, meats, chicken and beef. The preparation isn´t difficult but it takes time. You cook the meat, then you add the chicken and the chick peas and finally the meats and the vegetables. When everything is cooking, you prepare the ´pelota´, a ball of moist bread, garlic and parsley that´s coated in flour and then deep fried. Then the small ´pelotas´ are added to the stew.
´Tapas´ or ´Pintxos´, as the Basques call them, are a trademark in Spanish cuisine. These frugal preparations are basically vegetables, seafood, meats, caviar or any other ingredient on a piece of bread, to which they add sauces that give it a nice presentation and colour, transforming this simple snack into an irresistible starter. Despite many tapas being abundant, they´re just for the beginning of the evening and not the main meal.
Gazpacho is one of those dishes that give Spain that gourmet spot in the world for its soft flavour, unique freshness and luxurious presentation. It´s a cold soup from Andalucía that´s prepared with tomato, cucumber, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, all of them blended and mixed.
The ´tortilla de patatas´ or ´tortilla española´, also known as Spanish omelette, is a popular dish in all Spanish tables, that´s prepared with potatoes, olive oil, eggs and salt. There are regions that also add other ingredients as well as the potatoes, such as onion.
When it comes to typical desserts, you have the classic ´arroz con leche´ (cold rice pudding), turrones, crema catalana (cold custard with crystalized sugar on top), ´natillas´ (cold custard) or ´buñuelos´ with apple or pumpkin, among other hundreds of regional preparations that you can find in specialized restaurants in Madrid.
