Andalucia - Food Vocabulary - suggestions, corrections?
Hello all,
In preparation for a trip to Andalucia this fall, I have been collecting food words and terms from Fodor Forum trip reports and other sources. Some of these words have different meanings in the north of Spain. I am posting this because it might be helpful to others and also because I am welcoming additions and corrections. Gracias! * * * * * AjoBlanco Malagueno: cold almond garlic soup Alboronia: vegetable medley—eggplant, squash, tomatoes, green peppers Alcachofas con jamon: artichoke hearts with ham Alcaparras = capers Alinado = seasoned Almeja = clam Almejas Salteadas, tiny clams Almoja’bana: a Moorish cheesecake Alubias con cordoniz = hearty white bean stew with partridge Anchoa = anchovy Anguila = eel Angula = small eel Arroz caldoso: a soupy kind of paella Asado = roasted Aseos: toilets Avellana = hazelnut Bellota = acorn (as in Iberica Bellota ham and pork) Berberechos – heart clams Besugo voraz = like tilapia? bocadillo = sandwich; usually of Serrano ham & manchego cheese, or maybe calamari bogavanta = lobster bolo = muffin or a shellfish like a clam bomboncillo de pollo = nuggets of chicken boniato = sweet potato boquerones: fried fish or simply anchovies brandada = brandade, a kind of stack of sautéed or raw things brasa, a la brasa = grilled breua = chopped chicken, Moroccan spices, baked in puff pastry busanos = small conch caballa = mackerel cabracho = a kind of red fish; very good fried caldoso de bogavante = a soupy paella with lobster CALLOS = TRIPE Camarones = small shrimp cana (with tilde) = a small beer carabinero = shrimp, prawn caracol = snail carrillera = cheek Carrillada de Jabalí – cheek of boar Carrillada iberica = pork cheeks Carrillera = cheek Carrillera de ternera = veal cheek Cazon = dogfish, rock salmon centolla = crab cerdo = pork chipirones = small squid chirivia = parsnip chistorra = dry cured pork sausage, like chorizo but skinnier; from Navarra chocos con habas = cuttlefish cooked with beans, white wine, & bay leaves chopitos a la plancha = grilled baby squid, usually with a garlicky oil sauce choquitos = same as chopitoas = baby squid choto al ajillo: kid goat braised in white wine and garlic chuletas de cordero = lamb chops cigala = small lobster Cochinillo: baby suckling pig Cogollos de Tudela con ventresca = hearts of romaine lettuce with white fish meat Colitas de Rape – hake with sauce Conchas finas = raw shellfish with lemon juice Coquinas = small clam Cordera = lamb Corvine = a kind of fish Costillas ibericas = ribs Cremoso = mousse Crujiente = crunchy Cuchara del dia: “spoon” of the day, dish of the day Cuchifritos = fried pigs ears Embutidos = cured meats Encurtido = pickled Enebro = juniper Eneldo = dill Ensaladilla de la casa = a mayonnaise and potato based salad often with smoked fish Escabeche = pickle Flamenquin: = croquette-like ham and cheese item Gambas = large shrimp Gambas al pil pil = (Basque) sizzling shrimp with garlic, usually served at the table in a little pan Guisado – stew Gula = tiny baby eel Habas = lima beans Habitas con jamon: broad beans sautéed with a little ham Hierebabuena = mint Hojaldre = puff pastry Hortaliza = vegetables Huevos a la flamenco = eggs baked in casserole with ham and chorizo Jamon de Trevelez: ham from a region where they cure it in caves Jibia = cuttlefish Langostino = langoustine, very large shrimp Leche manchada = a little espresso with a lot of milk Lechon = pork Lenguado = sole Llama, a la llama = grilled, charred ***Lomo de bellota = dry cured pork loin ***Lomo embuchada = dry cured pork loin ***Lomo iberico = cured pork loin Magro = pork Manchada = coffee with a lot of milk Manitas Deshuesadas (Pigs' trotters deboned) Mejillones: mussels Membrillo = quince Merluza = hake Migas = crumbs of bread Montadito = small bite-size sandwiches, usually open-faced Morcilla = blood pudding Mosto = a light grape-based juice served in a tall glass, often with an orange slice. Mostrador = counter Navajas: razor clams Necora = small crab Ostra = oyster Palomita = popped corn kernel, or toasted hominy kernel Pato a la Sevillana = duck cooked slowly with onions, leeks, carrots, bay leaves and sherry Pepinillo = gherkin Percebes = goose barnacles Perdices: baked potatoes Seville-style; also the word for partridges Peregrina al pil pil = shark served sizzling with garlic, usually served at the table in a little pan Pescaito frito: fried little fish Pijotilla = small hake Pil pil = served sizzling with garlic, served at the table in a little pan Pinchito moruno: little skewers of chicken or beef usually Pinchos morunos: lamb or beef skewers Piononos: dessert of sponge cake, cream, cinnamon, burnt sugar Pipirrana de gambas = cold salad of tomato and onion and pepper with shrimp Pisto = vegetable stew Planta superior – top floor Pluma iberica = part of pork loin Pochas con hongos: small white beans with mushrooms Porra: a dip Porra antequerana = sort of a thick gazpacho but with a base of oil-soaked bread crumbs, with chopped hard boiled eggs, ham, and tuna placed on top (separately, not all mixed together) Presa de iberico = finest cut of pork, part of the loin Puchero = stew Puerro = leek Puntillita = small squid, usually fried Quisquillas: small shrimp Rabano = radish Rabo de toro: bull tail stew Raciones (around €6–12) are simply bigger plates of tapas, perfect for sharing or enough for a meal – you’re sometimes asked if you want a tapa or a ración of whatever it is you’ve chosen. Rape = monkfish, anglerfish Rebozado = battered Rehogado = sauteed Remojon: salad of cod, oranges, black olives, onions & tomatoes Remolacha = beet Repollo = cabbage Revuelto de gambas y ajetes = a plate of sautéed (?) shrimp and garlic Roteña = Rota style = cooked with tomatoes, green peppers, garlic, parsley, potatoes, sherry, olive oil Rubio = a kind of red fish? Very good fried Salchichas = sausages Salmonetes: red mullet with white flesh Salmorejo = thick kind of gazpacho with bread crumbs, chopped hard boiled eggs, ham Salpicon de mariscos: cold seafood salad Salteado de arroz con hongos: rice with mushrooms Sarten = pan; potato balls Secreto iberico = excellent cut of meat from Iberian pigs Sepionet = cuttlefish SESOS = BRAINS Setas – mushrooms Solomillo de buey = beef or pork filet (or ox)…grilled or smoked or air cured Solomillo de ternera = beef or pork tenderloin…grilled or smoked or air cured Surtido (in Cordoba, elsewhere?) : an assortment; a platter of different types of jamon and chorizo Surtido de pan = bread basket Tinto de la casa: house wine Tocino de cielo = like flan Torta de Santiago, an almond cake layered with berry jam Torta de camarones = fritter filled with tiny whole shrimp Tortilla de Sacromonte: STAY AWAY! Original version has brains and testicles Trigo = wheat Trigueros = as in esparragos trigueros: white-ish thin asparagus with delicate taste Uvas pasas = raisins Vermu de grifo = vermouth on tap Vieiras = scallops |
Gazpacho: cold, smooth vegetable soup of tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, etc. originated in Andalusia
Paella: kind of a stew with meats, seafood, rice and spices, originated in Valencia |
We are planning to be in Andalucia in the fall as well, and are 90% vegetarian (recovering from decades of 100%).
So we'll pass on the Carrillada de Jabalí, Cuchifritos, Gula, Morcilla, Rabo de toro, Sesos, and testicles, leaving more for you. But the Alboronia, boniato, Pisto, Roteña, and Tocino de cielo all sound great! No doubt someone can cobble up vegetarian paella. And we can live on Gazpacho, good bread and Tinto de la casa. We'll be careful ordering Perdices. Finally, if cãna is small, then where is the large? Thanks for posting, that was fun and useful. |
Nelson, you can live on gazpacho! When we were in Andalusia, I ate gazpacho every single day. Wonderful how slight differences keep it interesting.
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bacalao-dried cod fish
Paella is not really a stew as things are not floating around. It is a rice based dish with different ingredients dependent on the town and chef but usually has chicken, chorizo, and mariscos varios (mixed seafood). Tasca-a tapas bar Patatas bravas-a common tapa of fried potatoes with a spicy sauce Tortilla Española-an egg omelet, it is the most common tapa and often served cold |
Here's the answer to the caña question (with corrected tilde on my part).
http://www.spanishintour.com/blog/le...por-favor.html |
Take a look at the menu guide from Maribel's Guide: www.maribelsguides.com/menu-guide/
It should cover most of what you encounter. |
Thanks to all. I had not seen Maribel's list--it's encyclopedic. Now I will certainly know what I'm eating. :)
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<i>No doubt someone can cobble up vegetarian paella.</i>
If you're ok with seafood, this should not be a problem. If you aren't eating sea critters then why bother with paella? |
****Some of these words have different meanings in the north of Spain.***
Do they? news to me. On line resources on this subject are plenty. I wonder why some take to linking to their family's website to answer this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_cuisine http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres...andalucia.html http://www.andalucia.com/top10s/foods.htm http://www.andalucia.org/en/recipes/ |
@ ribeirasacra: "linking to their family's website..."
What does this mean? Thanks for the other links |
<i>> If you aren't eating sea critters then why bother with paella?</i>
Because vegetarian paella can taste really good! No doubt we can be gently arm twisted to have seafood paella on our trip, but the testicle line-in-the-sand shall not fall. http://maribelsguides.com/mg_vegetarianSpain.pdf |
<i>Because vegetarian paella can taste really good! </i>
I just don't get how a paella can really be a paella without the meat/seafood stock. Throwing a few saffron threads into a pot full of rice and vegetables does not a paella make. |
Awesome thread. I'm also thinking of going to Andalusia in the fall and this is really helpful.
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Hi Taltul,
If I could wander away from the food topic a bit, since you also are doing homework to prepare for your Andalusia trip...how are you approaching The Alhambra Puzzle? What's your strategy for visiting? Morning segment, afternoon segment, main entrance, Puerta de Justicia entrance, skip Carlos V, see Carlos V, etc etc etc. |
Besugo is not at all like tilapia. I know it as sea bream and it is excellent, white-fleshed fish. Lamb is cordero. Carabineros are red prawns that are very highly prized and expensive. Gambas al ajillo are garlic shrimp which you will see a lot on menus in the south, and elsewhere. Migas may refer to the crumbs, but it more commonly used to describe a dish of bread crumbs mixed with sausage (often blood sausage) and other pork meat.
Look for a dessert called pastel moruno (acent on n). And yes, any almond cake along the lines of torta de Santiago will be excellent! If I have more time, I will try to help you out a bit on this. Many of these will not show up much on menus in Andalucia. Here is some information on eating in the region, from my last trip; there is a lot of food information. http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...and-malaga.cfm |
Paella, for the most part, is a family meal prepared outdoors. Rarely do you see Spaniards eating paella in a restaurant. But that will probably change.
As for the veggie version, people do use water, not stock and there are many ingredients for a veggie version-peas and peppers, (traditional ingredients), onions, artichokes, tomatoes, string beans, etc. Sangria at one time was also only drunk in bars and restaurants by tourists. The fruit was a way disguise the taste of poor quality wine but now Spaniards are drinking it as the quality has improved. |
More golden nuggets!
ekscrunchy: I have practically memorized your TRs of Andalucia, and thanks for the additional info. |
Just noticed this thread. We are moderate foodies and got by in Andalucía without knowing most of the menu items on this list, but because we speak Spanish we were able to ask if we couldn't figure something out.
Mr. Crosscheck is a vegan and we did have extraordinary vegetarian paella twice on the trip - in Ronda and in Madrid. I ended up sharing with Mr. C and the stock seemed rich with spices, so I didn't miss the meat/seafood and did not feel deprived. Agree that previously in Spain we usually saw paella only at private outdoor events, but I think it might be different in the regions where we were traveling. Lots of Spanish locals at both places: Puerta Grande in Ronda and La Barraca in Madrid. And a final plug for the best tapas I've had in the US - We're visiting Portland at the moment and just had an amazing meal at the newish Ataula. Chef is from Barcelona and the place is just heavenly. Get your fix before or after your trip: http://ataulapdx.com/ |
Walking the streets of Valencia we have seen lots of very nice looking vegertarian paellas. They usulla have the great white Alubia beans, pea pods and other very appealing vegetables. I would not miss the meat if I chose one of these.
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