Culinary specialty’s of the Costa Blanca is the content of this page.
It is not only excellent paella but a lot more.
The Costa Blanca is also the place where the most important ingredient is rice.
There are some many different recipes that you can make using rice.
We start of course with the paella.
Paella is typical Spanish. It is a rice dish with different combinations of vegetables, meat or seafood. It depends the region.
Even for the most popular” Paella” there are different methods to prepare. The Costa Blanca is the region between sea and land. So is reflected on the cuisine. Different types of rice dishes are prepared influenced by the area. In the town by the sea , the rice dishes are prepared with seafood and fresh fish. Further in land the rice is prepared with meat and vegetables.
At the Costa Blanca you find both paella. The reason is that the Costa Blanca is nearby the Mediterranean sea so it offers the cuisine lot of fish and seafood. But the inland of the Costa Blanca is famous for it good meat and sausages.
Now, the paella is seasoned with saffron, so it becomes its famous yellow color.
Depending on the recipe and the region the paella has other spices in it .
In the past, the paella was a union between Spain, more specifically the fish and meat and the Arabs with the rice. And became one of most liked culinary specialty’s.
Another rice dish is “Arroz al horno” or Rice in the oven.
This oven baked dish is made in a clay pot .
It has a basic ingredients : chick peas, pork ribs,black pudding or blood sausages, potatoes. Once again the ingredients and the recipe varies depending the area and season.
Culinary specialty’s “Arroz con conejo y caracoles”
It is a rice dish with rabbit and little snails.
It is also cooked in an open pan.
Of course the main ingredients are the rabbit , the snails, saffron, rice and tomatoes.
We give you some of the most popular.
“El Caldero”
In fact, it is a creamy rice dish , The dish is with fish.
To sum up, the Caldero is prepared with monk fish, conger eel and mullet or red scorpion fish. All fishes who live near the rocks of the Mediterranean sea.
“El Caldero” is prepared in a copper kettle and is typical in the south of the province.
Arroz a banda.
The rice is cooked in a pan. With strong flavored fish. But the rice is served without the pieces of the fish. It is vert typical and popular in the area of the Marina Alta , the north of the Alicante province.
Arroz con costra.
Also this rice dish is cooked in different ways. It depend son the area. The ingredients for the “Arroz con costra” are mostly from the land. So is is a rice dish with meat and sausage and vegetables. “Costra” means crust. So it gets is name from the crust on the top. The crust is lade by pouring beaten eggs over it. The rice is cooked in a clay pot.
Culinary specialty’s fish dishes .
The Mediterranean sea offers a wide range of ingredients to the Costa Blanca cuisine.
Indeed, the coastline is nearly 250 km long. You find excellent fresh seafood and all sort of fishes.
The most common are the red prawns (gamba ), the king prawns ( langostina) and the shrimps ( quisquilla).
The most popular and common fish are hake
( merluza ), red mullet (salmonete),
whiting ( bacadilla), monkfish ( rape).
But also red sea bream (besugo ),
sole ( lenguedo ), sardine( boqueron),
sardine ( sardinas), sea bream ( dorada ), sea bass ( lubina) and conger eel ( congrio ).
Futhermore the mackerel ( caballa ), bonito ( bonito ) ray ( raya), tuna ( atun) and swordfisch ( espadon).
But do not forget also the squid ( calamar) , the cuttlefish ( sepia) or octopus( pulpo) .They are also culinary specialty’s.
And with a little bit of luck the sea urchin ( el erizo del mar ) .
Along the coast , there are several markets and fish actions .They are wort the visit. See “San Pola
Of course, you can eat the fish and the sea food as tapas , but also as a superb main dish.
So, you can taste the excellent culinary specialty’s of the Mediterranean sea cuisine in all his different .
Besides, Denia is well-known for its red prawn and Guardamar del Segura is very popular for it king prawn.
Culinary specialty’s : Salted Fish
Indeed, salting is one of the most popular and old known methods of preserving fish.
In the past , the Romans fish was salted and lifted in the Mediterranean hot sun to dry.
Since then this process has been used. And the local people are still using it.
Among the popular salted fish , the salted or cured tuna is a best seller.
So, you can eat the salted fish as a tapas , but are also an ingredient in several dishes.
To sum up, the ” salozones” of cured fish are used in salads and many rice dishes and stews.
Besides, there are very popular in the region of the Costa Blanca called the “El Comtat” north of Benidorm.
Dishes with a spoon.
First, there is a long tradition of dishes eaten with spoon. The spoon meals are called ” platos de cuchara”. The spoon dishes are an important part of the Mediterranean cuisine.
Traditionally it is a one course stew type meal.
In the past, these dishes came about through necessity. The Spanish people where very poor and they made a dish from the left overs.
Then, they were put into a pot and boiled to make a stock a broth ( caldo o sopa) .
Over the years the spoon dishes has been turned into a fine art the cuisine.
You can find the spoon dish on menus throughout Spain. Search of ask the ” plato de cuchara” in the local restaurants.
Because it is made the day, many restaurants offers their spoon dish just for only a day.
This dishes are a beautiful example of the mix of the food and the flavors and culinary specialty’s.
For example : ” Caldo con pelota” and “Gaspacho” or “Sopa con albondigas”
