葡萄酒
西班牙葡萄酒无疑是老世界葡萄酒中性价比最高的，即使是顶级的Rioja Gran Reseva，价格也不会贵得离谱，算是务实之选。《泰晤士报 （The Times）》日前就推荐了由西班牙-里斯卡尔侯爵葡萄酒厂（Marqus de Riscal）出品的2009 Finca Montico 为最适合夏季饮用的白葡萄酒，15.7欧元的价格可谓物美价廉。
在西班牙，有广为大众接受的酒庄如位于里奥哈的里斯卡尔侯爵葡萄酒厂，也有品质和价钱都是顶级的贝加西西丽亚酒厂。里斯卡尔侯爵葡萄酒厂拥有里奥哈最古老的酒窖，早在1858年就已成为该地区首家采用波尔多方法酿造葡萄酒的厂家。
雪利酒
火腿 (Jamon Serrano)
海鲜饭
能和扬州炒饭、意大利烩饭并列世界三大名饭的西班牙海鲜饭自然就不是一般的饭，这种叫“Paella”的饭起源于瓦伦西亚。至于为什么叫Paella呢？那是因为Paella就是平底锅的意思，那在这个标志性的大平底锅里面煮的东西自然就以此为称呼了。
用产自瓦伦西亚的Bomba米来烹调，除了米自身有超强的吸汁力之外，在长煮之下却又可以保持米芯最后一点脆口，让海鲜饭拥有了它那独有的诱人特性。
Tapas
塞维利亚的伊比利亚火腿和八爪鱼、马德里的西班牙煎蛋和烩牛肚、巴塞罗那的碎番茄面包和煎小墨鱼，基本都会是当地十问十推荐的菜品。
橄榄油
在最忌讳掩盖食材本身味道的厨房里，橄榄油能最大引发出食材的本味，一直占据大厨们心中的位置。西班牙是橄榄油最大的生产国之一。安达卢西亚地区是公认的全球最适合橄榄树生长和产优质橄榄的地方。
最好的橄榄油是在橄榄采摘下来后，用最古老传统的花岗岩石磨工艺压榨，并且不加过滤，这种11公斤橄榄才能出1升的橄榄油，被称做油之花。
橄榄
西班牙腌制橄榄形形色色，最常见的是青色和黑色，也有暗玫瑰色、枣红色、渐变色和赭黄色的， 这完全是应橄榄本身成熟程度和功能性而作出相对的处理腌制。最年轻生涩的青黄色橄榄，口味上带有浓烈的苦柑和核桃的青涩，口感也是属于最有咬劲的一种，腌 制的时间相对会较长，可腌制材料也会以与它味道相搭的为主，如柠檬、百里香那些走清香路线的材料都会加强青橄榄的青涩的味道。
分子厨艺
Enjoying Spanish Food
Spain is known for its cuisine which is very varied because of the different regions in Spain. However, there are a few staple Spanish food that is common to all regions, and food that you probably heard of and tasted in your own country.
Jamon Serrano is a country ham that is Spanish in flavor through and through. Spaniards love this particular food so much that you will never have a difficult time finding some to taste. Jamon serrano is available in most stores, grocers, delicatessens, bars, and restaurants.
Tapas is Spain’s version of an appetizer sampler dish, that is putting it in layman’s terms. It is a bit more elaborate though because it will have dips, canapés, fish, eggs, vegetables, and cheese. These tapas are usually accompanied by a glass of wine, and can actually be a meal in itself.
Paella is a Spanish dish that is cooked and served in a paella dish. There are so many versions of paella, that it has become a chef’s option on toppings for his paella. The main ingredient and flavor of the paella comes from saffron.
If Italy has her pizza, and China has fried rice, then paella is Spain’s specialty.
When sampling Spanish food, you will find that there is usually a common thread of similar ingredients. These ingredients are: garlic and olive oil.
There are many kinds of olive oil now. There is even the extra virgin olive oil and the flavored olive oil which are both much more expensive than your regular vegetable oil.
Other ingredients that are used in Spanish dishes are ham, cheese, seafood, sausages, legumes, and meat. Spanish normally prefer veal, pig and lamb when choosing for meat in their meals. There is also special Spanish sausages like chorizo bilbao and sausages with paprika.
The typical Spanish family would make their own cheese, which can be smoked or aged, depending on the family’s preferences. As for eggs, Spaniards have their own version of the omelet called Spanish omelet which has cheese, eggs, ham and sweet peppers.
The Spanish love to eat vegetables and fruits. You will always find fruits in a typical Spanish household. The common vegetables of a Spanish household is zucchini and eggplant.
Spain is one of the highest producers of nuts like the hazelnut, almond and walnut. This would explain why nuts are commonly found in Spanish deserts.
The cooking methods of Spain is stewing. Many dishes are cooked this way, and when you hear the dishes called estofado or cocido, then you know the meat has been stewed.
Very common also in Spain is wine. Table wine is part of all meals. Spanish like to drink their wine and prefer it over water. For them a meal is not complete without a bottle of wine.
When the Spanish eat, they like to take their time. Meals can last as long as 3 to 4 hours. Then, after siesta (afternoon nap), there is the afternoon snack called merienda. Here, the food served is not as heavy as a full meal, so you will see pastries, sandwiches, arroz caldo, and the delicious churros with hot chocolate.
Enjoying Spanish Wine
When most people think about choosing a Spanish wine then Rioja would almost definately be the one on most occassions, however Spain has so much more to offer , wether you simply enjoy the odd quaf or are a dedicated lover of fine wines Spain will surely have a wine to suit you taste.
Spain has a long history of producing fine wines, 50 percent of all the EECs vineyards lie in Spain and offers an excellent and memorable selection of Reds, White and Rose wines, which thankfully, are still for the most part inexpensive for the quality on offer.
Rioja ( from the yards around Logroño ) is rightly Spain's best known wine and available in most shops and restaurants throughout Spain, Cune, Berberana, Marques de Caceres and La Rioja Alta are also brands well worth a try. Another top-drawer and currently fashionable region is Ribera del Duero in Castilla-León which makes Spain's most expensive wine, Vega Sicilia, other outstanding reds to look out for are Pesquera, Viña Pedrosa and Senorio de Nava.
There are also scores of local wines - some of the best are Navarra (Chivite, Palacio de la Vega) and Catalunya (Bach, Raimat, Caus Lubis and Alvaro Palacios), a region which also produces the champagne-like cava (Codorniu, Marques de Monistrol); Galicia too, in the temperate northwest is producing some notable white wines (Ribeiro, Fefiñanes and Albariño are prominent producers).
You will find many establishments in Spain offer excellent quality menus for around 6 to 10 Euros, some of which ( mostly those catering for the local clientele ) will even include a bottle of wine for two persons. For the most part the wine included is adequate in quality , most establishments serve Valdepeñas which is a reasonable mass produced wine from the central plains of El Castile , however not all Establishment owners offer the same integrity to their clients and the cheaper brew I have tried has been lets say been bad to horrible and mostly forgettable.
Most Restaurants will offer a thoughfull and varied Carta de Vino ( Wine List ), even the smaller establishments, and at very reasonable prices , it is not unusual to see good quality house wines for around 8 Euros. As you would imagine though the better wines are only normally found at the higher class establishments.
没有评论:
发表评论