Still Discovering Spain...

Speak to ten different Spanish food historians and you will likely be on the end of ten different views as to who we should credit for originating and developing Spanish food.

Who had the greatest influence on the culinary delights of the country? The Phoenicians? The Romans? The Visigoths? The Moors?

Few acknowledged experts agree on anything.

But there are significant times in history at which we can pin down those who played a role in the Spanish food we all enjoy today.

The Phoenicians were responsible for bringing us the olive – something we now take for granted when it comes to certain Spanish meals.

The Romans began exporting olive oil from Spain back home to Rome. They were also experts when it came to the still popular skill of preserving fish.

As long ago as the 8th century the Moors were cultivating apricots, quinces, almonds and pistachios. The word for orange (naranja) and carrot (zanahoria) have their roots in the language of the Moors.

And where would we be without the spices the Moors left behind? Where would Spanish cooking be without saffron (azafrán)?

The Moors and the Arabs can also take credit for certain herbs and fruits. The Arabs brought us the pomegranate (Granada), which itself gave its name to the great city of Granada in Andalucia.

The Arabs were busy trading with the Persians and that business led to rice and aubergines making their way to Spain from India, melons coming from Africa and the fantastic figs on offer in Spain today making the journey from Greece.

The Spanish today have a very sweet tooth but don’t blame them. They got that habit from the sweet foods introduced to Spain by the Moors. In cities such as Granada, where the Moorish influence remains prevalent, you can feast on lots of sweet pastries and desserts that have their origin in North Africa. Honey and almonds are often central ingredients to these tasty snacks.

In the 13th and 14th centuries it was the Spanish conquistadors who sailed home from the New World laden down with the likes of potatoes, beans, courgettes and peppers. To contemplate Spanish meals today without those ingredients is, frankly, inconceivable.

Spanish cookbooks can be traced back to the 14th century. They were written in Catalan. In 1324 the book Libre de Sent Sovi included recipes from Catalunya, and suggested cooking techniques.

Chocolate is often used in Spanish cooking and we have a gentleman called Hernán Cortés to thank for that. He brought chocolate to the country when he conquered Mexico, along with chillies, turkey, vanilla and tomatoes.

In the 19th-century olive oil took over from lard as a staple ingredient when it came to cooking Spanish food. Credit for that is often awarded to Angel Muro, whose 1894 cookbook El Practicón was much respected.

But it was the book called simply "1080 recipes" by Simone Ortega in 1972 that became one of the first must-have cookbooks in Spanish kitchens. It still sells well today. More than 3 million copies have sold worldwide in the past 35 years and the book was translated into English as recently as 2007. However, it has become the backbone of Spanish home cooking and has helped more than any other book to spread Spanish food around the globe.

Now a vast number of Spanish cookbooks are found in the kitchens of homes all over the world.

Spanish food has evolved over the centuries. It really doesn’t matter who takes the credit for the past.

Just so long as it keeps tasting better with every passing year.

Available here:

https://www.casadellibro.com/libro-1080-recetas-de-cocina/9788413621005/11757099

Barcelona's oldest treasure is also one of the most hidden. Located in the city’s Gothic quarter, four 2,000-year-old columns from the Roman Empire’s Imperial Period are hidden by the building that houses the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya (Hiking Club of Catalonia).

The temple was originally built to honor Emperor Augustus and once towered over the ancient Roman city of Barcino. It was constructed of sandstone from nearby Montjuïc Hill and at least partially plastered over. The building was built in the first century and measured 12 feet in length. It was surrounded by numerous 30-foot-tall columns, but now only four exist and lay testament to this wonderful building.

Most of the stones from the temple were reused for other buildings. Three of the columns remained intact, forming part of the inside of a new structure. They were found in the 15th century, but no one could figure out their origin until the 19th Century, when it was discovered they were, in fact,  the remains of a Roman temple.

The fourth column was rebuilt from the remains of the other columns and erected in the Plaça del Rei (King’s Square) in 1879, where it stayed until 1956 when it was moved to the spot where it stands now, next to the original three columns, which have never been moved. Though they rest on bits of plinth from the original structure, the ancient building is otherwise gone.

Made in the same method as Champagne, Cava is Spain's sparkling wine treasure. Originating from the Penedès region of northeast Catalonia (just west of Barcelona), cava is made with three local varieties: Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Parellada. Cava's claim to fame lies in its remarkable quality-to-price ratio. Top-quality cava is widely available for under €10 with many regional producers presenting their best bubbly in sophisticated bottles and leaning heavily on family-owned, tradition-inspired values. Here some to consider for the coming festive season! Take your pick, you can't go wrong with any of them...

Freixenet Sparkling Cordon Negro Brut Cava - €6,49
Freixenet

One of the best-selling Cavas on the market, Freixenet Sparkling Cordon Negro Brut Cava offers up exceptional citrus and toasted almond notes on the nose. Built on the region's three dominant cava grapes (Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Parellada), this medium-bodied sparkling wine carries a fresh factor, lively acidity, and unmistakable balance on the palate.

Anna de Codorniu Cava Brut - €6,88
Codorniu Winery

        
Crafted from a 70/30 split of chardonnay and Parellada grapes, the Anna de Codorniu Cava Brut shows a lovely bouquet of ripe apple, plush tropical fruit, and the yeasty appeal of fresh-baked bread. The palate reveals a continuation of fresh-fruit themes, centred around green apple, pear, quince, and lemon-lime citrus. Crisp and clean.

Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava - €9,99
Segura Viudas

Bringing some serious value—not to mention bubbles—to the table, Spain's Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava showcases an engaging blend of nutty nuances and a dash of citrus on the nose.

The palate profile is fresh, with zippy acidity, bright lemon-lime fruit, and apple undertones. A remarkable sparkling wine for the price, this cava is made with a blend of regional grapes: Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo.

Perfect for parties, keep the Segura Viudas Brut Cava in mind for appetizers, shellfish themes, tapas, and a variety of poultry picks.

Juve y Camps Brut Rose - €13,25
Juve y Camps Winery

 
Vivid salmon colour (thanks to Pinot Noir) and bright berry fruit with engaging floral notes on the nose make up this cava's first impressions. The palate doesn't disappoint, carrying almond essence and strawberries with cream, bright acidity, and an underlying elegance from attack to a spicy finish. This Juve y Camps Rose Brut Cava is perfect for cured meat and smoked salmon crostini.

Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Heredad Cava - €22,90
Segura Viudas

                       
From the heart of Penedès, Spain's sparkling wine centre, this Reserve Cava is crafted from all estate-grown fruit (Macabeo and Parellada). Thirty months ageing on lees explains the toasted brioche and smoky aromatic apple on the nose and gives this cava a creamy elegance and fuller-body on the palate. The fruit is well integrated with apple, quince, and some citrus weighing in alongside a mineral-driven finish. Rich, expressive, and focused, the Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Heredad Cava is made for caviar, roasted poultry, or pork. 

Elyssia Pinot Noir Brut Cava - €9,95
Freixenet

               
A fantastic Cava pick, this lovely sparkling Rosado is brimming with the ripe aromas of raspberry and cherry fruit. On the palate, red fruit steals the limelight buffered by bubbles and balanced with optimized acidity. There is plenty of class in this glass and at only €9,95 a bottle, this Elyssia Pinot Noir Brut Cava is perfect for celebrations, picnics, appetizers, and tapas.

Rising out on a rocky crag above the confluence of two rivers near the Guadarrama mountains, it is one of the most distinctive castle-palaces in Spain. The alcázar was originally built to serve as a fortress but has served as a royal palace, a state prison, a Royal Artillery College, and a military academy since then. It is currently used as a museum and a military archives building.

Like many fortifications in Spain, started off as Roman but apart from the foundations, little of the original structure remains. A Muslim era fort, which was itself largely replaced by the present structure, was built by the Berber Almoravid dynasty. The first reference to this castle was in 1120, around 32 years after the city of Segovia was conquered by the Christians (during the time when King Alfonso VI reconquered lands to the south of the Duero river down to Toledo and beyond).

The shape and form of the Alcázar were not known until the reign of King Alfonso VIII (1155–1214), however early documentation mentioned a wooden stockade fence. It can be concluded that prior to Alfonso VIII's reign, the Muslim era structure was no more than a wooden fort built over the old Roman foundations. Alfonso VIII and his wife, Eleanor of England, made this alcázar their principal residence and much work was carried out to erect the beginnings of the stone fortification we see today.

The Alcázar of Segovia was one of the favourite residences of the monarchs of Castile in the Middle Ages and a key fortress in the defence of the kingdom. It was during this period that most of the current building was constructed by the Trastámara dynasty.

In 1258, parts of the Alcázar had to be rebuilt by King Alfonso X after a cave-in and the Hall of Kings was built to house Parliament soon after. However, the single largest contributor to the continuing construction of the Alcázar is King John II who built the "New Tower" (John II Tower as it is known today).

In 1474, the Alcázar played a major role in the rise of Queen Isabella I. On 12 December news of King Henry IV's death in Madrid reached Segovia and Isabella immediately took refuge within the walls of the Alcázar where she received the support of Andres Cabrera and Segovia's council. She was enthroned the next day as Queen of Castile and León.

The next major renovation at the Alcázar was conducted by King Philip II after his marriage to Anna of Austria. He added the sharp slate spires to reflect the castles of central Europe In 1587, architect Francisco de Morar completed the main garden and the School of Honor areas of the castle.

The Alcázar de Segovia has been used as filming locations in several films such as Orson Welles’s Chimes at Midnight (1965) and the Arthurian musical Camelot (1967), but its most distinctive significance in popular culture is noted for different reasons. In the 1937 Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Wicked Queen’s castle was modelled after the Alcázar de Segovia, its architectural designs and hilltop location reflecting the original. Later on, Disney used the Alcázar inspiration again to design the Cinderella Castle, the symbolic fairytale castle of Disneyland.