A Survey of Typical Cuisine in Madrid

GUST POST SUMMARY: When I was last in Spain, I was 14 and my pallet was still very afraid of most foreign foods. Now, I would love to go back and sample some of these tasty-sounding Spanish dishes that Maike has written about in this delicious guest post…

Everyone knows that the Mediterranean diet is probably the healthiest one. In Spain, most food is cooked this way but, if we go to Madrid, we’ll see that some of the most typical dishes there, aren’t exactly what you’d call healthy, which by default makes them absolutely delicious.

Spanish gastronomy is one of the richest in Europe and in the whole world. When we travel to Spain, one of its main attractions is its food, with typical dishes such as paella, tortilla and many other seafood and meat dishes that will leave us all with our belly full.

The Mediterranean diet, which is the use of plenty of vegetables, fruit and olive oil, is present in pretty much all of Spain’s gastronomy. But, if we stay in Madrid apartments, we can see that the typical dishes from the Spanish capital are not exactly light. However, they are some of the most popular in Spain and are so delicious that we will want more and more. If you’re on a diet, stop reading now. If not, read on…

Madrid’s most famous dish is the cocido madrileño. It’s a stew made with various vegetable and meat ingredients. The vegetables included are chickpeas, potatoes, turnips, carrots and cabbage, and the meat is usually pork belly, chicken, morcilla (black pudding), chorizo, cured Spanish ham and the bola, which is a big, spiced meatball. All the ingredients are served separately. First of all you serve the soup which all the ingredients have been in and then the previous ingredients are added to it. A dish or two of cocido and you won’t want to eat anything else for days.

Another of Madrid’s typical food dishes are the callos. Now this might sound a bit gross but, trust me, it’s absolutely delicious. The main ingredient in the callos is beef tripe. These are stewed with slices of chorizo, ham and morcilla and served in a clay dish. The tripes have to be previously ‘cleaned’ in a paprika broth and left for 24h. After that they are ready to it and have their typical reddish colour. You will find it in most bars and tapas restaurants and a very low price. If you like authentic food, don’t be afraid and try some callos.

Now here is my favourite, the bocadillo de calamares, which would translate as battered squid rings sandwich. Now if this doesn’t sound appealing to you, do yourself justice and try it. It’s basically as simple as it sounds but, trust me, it’s absolutely delicious. The best place to eat a bocadillo de calamares is at a place called La Ideal, which is a bar on Calle Botoneras, just off the Plaza Mayor. There, for just a few euros, you can have the best one in Madrid, as well as other tapas. Unmissable.

And for those of you with a sweet tooth, you have to try the torrijas. These are slices of crusty bread that are dipped in milk mixed with sugar and then deep fried in olive oil covered in egg and flour. When they come out you can sprinkle sugar on them, honey, or any sweet liqueur, such as aniseed. They are usually served as a dessert but could easily be a meal in itself. Take into account that it’s not the same as French toast. Absolutely delicious.

Rent apartments in Madrid and gain a few pounds of happiness by trying these wonderful dishes. Madrid is beautiful in spring, so go there and enjoy its cultural attractions and its gastronomy.

IMAGE CREDITS:
Cocido Madrileño
Bocadillo de Calamares

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Aleix Gwilliam is a 24 year old from Barcelona who looks English but thinks like a Catalan. He enjoys traveling, especially on old Czech trains, and trying to start conversations in Hungarian with people at Pecs station, even though his Hungarian is as good as his Bulgarian, in other words, not very good. He’s a trier.