Lunch in Barcelona

During my stay in Spain I made sure to try all traditional foods including tapas, tortilla, paella, gazpacho (cold tomato soup), jamon (large slabs of cured pork found hanging from the ceilings of bars and restaurants), grilled fish and rongto.

Jamon hanging from a bar in Seville

My favourite dish was the paella which I ate at the famous restaurant in Barcelona called Sant Pau.  The smell as I walked in was amazing.   The paella is a rice dish prepared with seafood. Of all the foods in Spain, this is the most popular. In this dish, savory yellow rice is combined with tomatoes, onions, peas, shellfish, squid, clams and chicken drumsticks. These ingredients are cooked in a large saucepan over an open fire with olive oil and salt.

My Paella lunch dish

Spanish foods are much different than Australian foods.  The foods here are more traditional and there are some foods that we Australians would think is disgusting, like land snails. Most meals are covered in different sauces and spices like chilli and tomato sauces, syrup and seasoning.  Spanish food is heavily influenced by seafood available fresh from the waters that surround the country.

Mealtimes also differ to those I am used to in Australia and I normally had about 5 meals a day.  A light breakfast of coffee and a pastry is served at 7am.   A mid morning snack of half a sandwich or small tapas is served at 10.30am.  Lunch is the biggest meal of the day consisting of a hot meal which is usually served at 1pm.   Everything typically closes in spain between 2pm and 4pm to allow time for a siesta (sleep!).   Meal number 4 is served at 6.30pm and is a light meal or snack.  The final meal of the day is served as late as 10pm which is a ridiculous time to eat but I had trouble finding a restaurant that would serve me prior to 9pm.

I will certainly miss the flavorsome tastes of Spain when I return to Australia.