Shannon Auletta is an ISA Sevilla alumna and current ISA/TEAN Global Ambassador at the University of Florida. In the following blog, Shannon shares her deep appreciation of Spanish culture through her unique and varied gastronomic experiences throughout the beautiful country.
Salmorejo versus gazpacho. Did someone say free tapas? Pass the octopus and lots of olive oil please. Paella is delicious but which one should I choose? Let’s dive in and find out more about Spanish cuisine!
One of the most enjoyable ways to experience a culture, in my opinion, and I’m sure you can agree, is by trying the unique and delicious foods! This past summer with ISA, I not only got to make amazing new friends and see incredible sights, but I also was able to try some of the coolest dishes! Now you can gain insight on what to expect when it comes to Spanish food, especially if you choose to study abroad there like I did. Which I definitely recommend of course!
First, we can start with Spanish breakfast, which is usually light and consists of a café con leche and a tostada. This is definitely a more savory breakfast than you might be used to, however I found it very tasty and satisfying. The classic and most traditional tostada is fresh bread, toasted, with olive oil and tomato paste (or puree) spread across it. Cured Iberian ham is often included as well, but traditionally an optional ingredient. Jamón, or ham, is popular across all of Spain and is critical in the Spanish diet. The café con leche is rich and really gets your morning started.
One can’t think of Spain without the paella coming to mind. This is a dish I truly enjoyed, especially la paella de mariscos that I shared with my roommate when we went to Cádiz one weekend on the program’s excursion. Cádiz is a beach town and we wanted to enjoy the fresh seafood, so that was the paella we chose. It came out on a large, hot pan and the flavors were so delicious. However, there are other types of paella to try as well! For example, paella originated in Valencia so you could get the paella Valenciana, which includes rice, chicken, pork, green beans and more! Also, there is paella negra, which gets its color from squid ink. I didn’t get to try this one, but definitely next time!
One evening in Sevilla, my study abroad friends and I decided to walk to the center of town and go to a popular tapas bar that our ISA Resident Director recommended. It was also right in front of La Catedral de Sevilla, a major site to see! My friend Luke ordered caracoles, which were tiny snails that he scooped out of the shell with a tiny fork to eat! Kelly ordered a popular tapa of espinacas con garbanzos, or cooked spinach and chickpeas. This is a great dish for vegetarians to order. Ashley ordered some octopus, which had lots of olive oil, a staple in the Mediterranean diet! Finally, I ordered a tapa that seemed more original and unique to that specific bar because I hadn’t seen it on other menus. It had queso de cabra, or goat cheese, with eggplant in the middle. Also, strawberry jam and caramelized onions were on top. All this was baked and came out warm and melty. It was such a unique combination of flavors that surprised me when I first read the menu description. It was one of the best and coolest tapas I tried while abroad! What a great time we had that night at dinner.
Another weekend, our ISA program led an excursion to Córdoba and Granada. First, I’ll mention the special foods we tried in Córdoba. In this city, salmorejo has its origin, so we had to try it! It’s a cold soup with blended tomato, garlic, bread, and olive oil. Oh, and you can’t forget to throw some Iberian ham on top! It’s similar to gazpacho, which you may have heard of before. Gazpacho is something you drink, while you eat salmorejo with a spoon as soup because it’s thicker than gazpacho. This is due to the bread that’s blended in it. Both are great but I prefer salmorejo and it was amazing that I got to try it right from where it originated. You can even see how popular it is in this city because I found a recipe, or “receta” for it, right on a street wall!
As I mentioned earlier, we also got to visit Granada, which is a mountainous city that I absolutely adored. One of the special things about Granada is that if you order a drink in a tapas bar there, they will bring out free tapas for you! This tapas tradition is unique to this city, so we had to go experience it. And I mean, who doesn’t love free food! My friends Hanna, Sarah and I walked into town after checking into our awesome hotel room and found a cute, traditional tapas bar. We ordered sangria, which is very popular during the Spanish summers, and soon afterwards our waiter brought us the free food! It was so exciting that we didn’t know what tapas they were bringing for us to share. We ended up eating paella and some pork with French fries. What a unique and surprising dining experience!
Overall, I loved getting to experience the Spanish culture by trying some of their tasty and original dishes. Still, I learned a lot more about how important it is for Spaniards to gather together with those they love to enjoy these foods. It’s easy to observe this when you walk into the city and see a bustle of people standing in crowded tapas bars, catching up with friends and family. Enjoying the food is equal to enjoying the company of those around you. What I would give to be back in Spain with some tapas in front of me and my best friends on my side.
Curious to hear more from ISA/TEAN alumni? Read more blogs from Spain alumni or explore other posts about food and culture.
Inspired by Shannon’s food adventures and want to explore on your own while immersing yourself in a study abroad program? Fill out your details below to let our team know and we’ll help you find your adventure today!
