Gastronomy, Madrid

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I remember eating churros first in my home town when I was a kid. Those days they sold them with sugar on top. Nowadays there's a place called Soleil where you can buy them with vanilla cream, apple, nutella, etc. fillings.

You might be wondering, what is "churros"? A churro is a pastry made of fried dough. This dough has flour, oil, sugar and salt. The dough is then mixed and squeezed out of a churrera, a syringe with a star-shaped nozzle (much like those used when putting the frost on cakes). You can also find them with fillings like those above.

In Spain they're traditionally eaten at breakfast with hot cocoa but they can be enjoyed at any time of the day.

Another sweet I grew up seeing my dad eating is turrón. I never liked it and IMO it's an acquired taste. A turrón is best explained as hard nougat mixed with toasted almonds, sugar, egg white and honey. Turrón is a seasonal sweet and it's consumed during Christmas, but I managed to find some at the tax free shop at Barajas airport in June, which I sent to my dad as Father's day present.

Museo del Jamon (Museum of ham) is a shop, where you can buy a lot of types of meat, especially ham, dried meat and so on. I dont know even all these types of meat, but i tried one and it is delicious. For sure, it is a good experience to visit the museum, but be ready for the strong smell of the meat.

One of the attractions in Madrid are the famous squid sandwich, yeah ! seems weird because i guess that sort of sandwich just exists in the capital.. but its true.. its quite good, a little bit dry and tasteless but enjoyable.. and closer to Plaza Mayor will get it for 2 eur .. its just a deal !!

if u are coming in fall season to Madrid or other places in spain.. will find lots of street vendors selling chestnuts and sweet potato (tuber family) really good and healthy !!
this picture is an exemple located in Plaza de España

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Tapas is one of the dishes that people think of when they think of Spanish cuisine. Tapas are appetizers that are essentially served together with a drink.

Its name comes from the Spanish verb tapar which means to cover and there are some stories about how this dish became what it is today. One says that the King Alfonso X needed to take some wine sips as a prescription to a disease he had and that he had to eat small dishes together with the wine between hours, to "cover" the effects of alcohol. When he got better he ordered that wine was not to be served without a small ration of food. Another story says that tapas were "created" to prevent flies or other insects to get into the wine glasses between sips.

Nowadays tapas are enjoyed and the variations of tapas dishes are endless, being some of the most popular or traditional: olives, calamares (squid rings), gambas either al ajillo or with salsa negra (prawns with garlic or peppercorn sauce), meat balls, serrano ham, manchego cheese, chorizo, croquetas (made of fish or chicken), patatas bravas (potato dices served with spicy tomato sauce) and tortilla española (Spanish omelette).

A little plate of tapas is called porción. If you want to have a bigger plate or if you want to have a tapas dinner then ask for a ración (big tapas plate) or a media ración (half a big tapas plate) if you're not that hungry but want more than a porción.

The spanish eat unusually late compared to most of us. Eatting dinner between 17:00 and 21:00 most places will seem like touristy places as the locals only leave work at 19:00. Try waiting a bit longer and eat with the locals after 21:30. Teraces are expensive compared to sitting at the bar or inside as they do not own them........they rent them and need to recover the difference. Remember that for the Spanish, lunch is a 3 course meal and dinner is late or light.

Pan con tomate was something I saw many Spaniards eat for breakfast. It's toasted bread with crushed tomatoes and olive oil. I tried and it was yummy! Pan con tomate can also be an appetizer or part of a tapas dish.

It’s a small Spanish savoury dish, usually served with a beer or wine, normally appetizer but sometimes replacing the meal. This habit originates from the XIIIth century when King Alfonso X obliged innkeepers to serve a bite to eat to reduce the effect of alcohol.

Most common tapas are Patatas bravas (potatoes with spicy sauce), paella from Valencia, octopus from Galicia, patatas alioli (potatoes with garlic mayonnaise), olives and cured ham.