The cuisine of the province of Alicante has all the classic characteristics of cooking in the autonomous region of Valencia, in which seafood and rice are preferred, and the geographic location of the region reveals common features with the cuisine of Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia and the neighboring province of Valencia.
Fig - the basis of the kitchen Alicante
No doubt, the main ingredient of the cuisine of Alicante is rice. The people( Spanish, of course) say about this product: "Rice is grown in Valencia, but is cooked in Alicante".
Traditional paella has in the menu of the province several dozens of cooking options, in which various types of fish and seafood, poultry meat, game and snails, pork and all kinds of vegetables serve as additional components. It is noteworthy that in all dishes from rice saffron or dye, giving a yellow color, is added, sweet varieties of pepper are also often used.
Southern fruit and berries
In the province, agriculture and gardening became one of the important directions of economic activity. Sierra Mariola is famous for the cherry, the valley of the Vinalopo River - grapes, the municipality of Elche - lemons, oranges, pomegranates, pears and olives. In the Vega-Baja region vegetables such as peppers, eggplants, beans, artichokes, garlic, corn and greens are grown, which are indispensable in the preparation of salads, stew and some types of sauces.
Meat and fish in the kitchen Alicante
For the areas remote from the sea coast, it is typical to eat a wide variety of meat: pork and lamb, chicken and rabbit, quail and partridges. The most common dishes here are rice with stewed meat, several varieties of gazpacho, pies with rabbit meat, pork blood sausage.
Fishing centers in Denia, Santa Pola and Torrevieja supply codgers of the coastal area with cod and sea buckthorn, sardine and mullet, sea urchins, shrimp, squid and mussels.
The best dishes
Signs menu items Alicante:
- Paella( paella) is a culinary excellence. For its preparation, various types of rice are used, from traditional hard white varieties to black. In the coastal areas paella is often cooked with fish or seafood, for example, in Benidorm, a variant with fried anchovies and spinach is common. Away from the coast is more popular paella with chorizo pieces.
- Arroz a banda( rice a-gang) is traditionally prepared in the coastal zone of the province. As part of the ingredients of this dish, rice, garlic, onions, tomato paste, pepper, saffron, bay leaf, olive oil and, of course, fish.
- Arros amb crosta( rice with a crust) is a typical dish of the districts of Elche, Vega-Baja, Marina-Alta. According to the set of ingredients used, it resembles paella: rice, saffron, tomatoes, garlic, several varieties of sausages, and for some variants it is possible to add rabbit meat and turkey peas. The peculiarity of the dish is that it is cooked in clay ware, and to obtain a crispy crust during cooking rice is combined with a mixture of beaten eggs, lemon zest and grated nutmeg.
- Fideu( noodles with seafood) is prepared in much the same way as paella, but in this dish, rice is replaced with vermicelli. Additional ingredients are the meat of any white fish and crustaceans, peppers, garlic, tomatoes, olive oil and fish broth. The dish is typical of the municipality of Gandia.
- Salsa All i oli( sauce "aioli") is a popular sauce for the whole of Spain. Its name reflects the basic composition - garlic and olive oil. This sauce is well combined with fish, vegetables, grilled meat.
- Pericana or pipes i carasses( fish snack) is a delicious dish from the Alcoi area. The main components of the dish: cod, dried tomatoes, olive oil, paprika, green onions, garlic, parsley, green beans.
- Blanquet( white sausage), consisting of lean pork, eggs and nuts. It is used in both raw and fried form as accompaniment of various side dishes.
- Gazpacho( gazpacho) from Alicante is usually cooked with rabbit meat, but may also contain chicken and snails as part of its ingredients.
- Pelotas de panizo( meat meatballs) - a very tasty stew of stewed vegetables with meatballs from pork.
- Turrin de Jijona( nougat) is a typical dessert of the province, which is made from ground almonds, honey and egg whites. The origin of this sweetness has Arabian roots, in Alicante, and more precisely, in Gijón, it appeared in the XV century.