Food, Conversations and More | Spanish: Elementary A2 Level - Class 6 PDF Download

Paella

Paella is one of Spain’s most famous dishes. It is a rice dish that is commonly cooked on a giant pan and uses all sorts of ingredients.

There are many ways you can cook paella, but the traditional Spanish paella is made using rice, vegetables, stock, chicken thighs, prawns, mussels and squid*.

Saffron is a famous Spanish spice which is used in paellas to give it that bright orange colour. Paella dates back hundreds of years and was eaten by farmers for lunch in the fields and was made using rice and other ingredients they could get their hands on such as tomatoes, snails, rabbit and beans.

*You should NEVER put chorizo in your paella!

Fideuà

This is the cousin to the paella. It's a seafood dish cooked with similar ingredients to the paella but includes thin noodles, instead of rice, and is cooked using a fish stock. This dish includes more fish as a paella and traditionally uses monkfish. It originates from the coast in Valencia.

Patatas bravas

Most cultures have their own take on a fried potato recipe, and the Spanish aren’t any different.

'Patatas bravas' translates as ‘spicy potatoes’ and is a dish made from fried, cubed potatoes which is usually covered in a spicy tomato sauce. The sauce is usually made using tomatoes and pimento, which is a sweet paprika.

This dish was first created in Madrid and is popular with Spaniards as it is a cheap and relatively healthy dish. The 'patatas' can also be served with aioli, which is a garlic and olive oil sauce.

Jamón

Jamón is Spanish ham which is salted and left to cure for around 12 months, or sometimes even longer! There are lots of different hams, but basically they can be condensed down to two varieties; jamón serrano and jamónIberico.

Jamon iberica is considered to be one of the finest and most expensive hams in the world, as it is made from Black Iberian pigs which are fed on a diet of mostly acorns, which are found in abundance in the area.

Croquetas

These are Spanish croquettes which are filled with a creamy béchamel sauce and fried. These are often served as a snack, and as a popular bar snack, and can also come filled with other ingredients such as mushrooms, ham, chicken or salt cod.

Gambas al ajillo

As we know, Spain loves its seafood, and the most popular dish is prawns. The dish consists of prawns cooked with olive oil, garlic and a pinch of chilli for an extra kick.

It is often served with bread to mop up that delicious garlic sauce. This is a dish that can be eaten on its own or as part of tapas. Speaking of tapas...

Tapas

And finally we end on the classic: Tapas. Tapas is lots of small dishes which are shared around a table, usually as a snack before lunch and dinner.Although, most people outside of Spain have tapas as a full meal.

The small dishes include all sorts of Spanish food such as tortilla, prawns, patatas bravas, meatballs, fresh bread, cheese, ham, roasted vegetables, and lots more!

Desserts

Spain has a variety of desserts which mainly consist of eggs, cream and lots of cinnamon. There are also some soft and cheesy desserts too. But what are the most popular?

Churros

Churros are long strips of light batter that are fried, covered in sugar and cinnamon and dipped in a chocolate sauce.
It’s the most famous Spanish desert, known all over the world, but, here’s the thing... in Spain, churros aren’t eaten as a dessert!
Churros are actually eaten as a breakfast or a snack! So if you were looking for an actual traditional Spanish dessert, you are better off asking for...

Flan

The name doesn’t sound too appetizing, but the flan is one of the most popular desserts in Spain. The flan is made from eggs, cream and sugar and is like a wobbly jelly. It's usually covered in a rich caramel sauce or syrup.

Crema Catalana

This is the most famous dessert in Catalonia. This is a creamy custard made from egg yolks, milk, sugar, cinnamon and orange. The top is then covered with sugar and cooked, which you then crack with a spoon. Delicious.

Arroz con leche

This translates as ‘rice with milk’ and is Spain’s version of a rice pudding. This is often served cold and uses the same rice as paella, so gives the dessert a little crunch. The rice is cooked with milk, sugar, cinnamon (of course) and lemon peel.

Fun Facts About Spanish Food

Here are some fun facts about Spanish food which you can share with your children to get some tummies rumbling:

• Around 75% of the world’s saffron is made in Spain. Saffron is a spice which is used in lots of dishes including paella, soups, risottos and also in fragrances, dyes and medicines.
• Spain is the world’s top provider of Olive oil, even over Greece and Italy!
• Instead of a bowl of a nice warm bowl of soup, Spaniards often enjoy cold soups such as el ajo blanco and el gazpacho.
• Eggs are used for lunches and dinners NOT for breakfast!
• Tapas originates from the word ‘tapa’ which means, ‘cover’, so tapas the dish derives from when Spaniards used to cover their glasses with a slice of ham or cheese!
• The Spanish don’t usually have their dinner until around 9pm, or in the summer months even later.

We hope you enjoy these fun facts about Spanish food! After you have told these to your children, you might find the below resources useful in your Spanish lessons.