A brief history of Spanish food

Nowadays, Spanish gastronomy is considered one of the richest world’s gastronomies, in fact, usually, it is considered as the top gastronomy along with Japanese and Italian gastronomy.

Spain has a very varied gastronomy, from marine food such as shellfish to serrano ham or tortilla de patatas. This gastronomic wealth is due to the long Spanish history and its mix with different cultures and its multicultural society. In this article, we will talk about two of the most representative Spanish dishes (paella and tortilla de patatas) and Pamplona's culture of pintxos.

Firstly, the tortilla de patatas. This tasty and popular Spanish dish was created after the American discovery, because the potato, the main ingredient of the tortilla de patatas, was introduced to Spain and Europe from America. Gastronomic historians believe that the tortilla de patatas was created in Badajoz in the XVIII century and that this dish was the product of the necessity of the Spanish people of the era to feed themselves with the resources they had available at the moment.

Moving on to the history of the paella. Paella is a dish that has its origins in the Valencian region, located in the east of Spain. The first written records of paella date back to the XVIII century, although it is believed that its origin is much older. Historians argue about which society brought the rice (the main ingredient of paella) to Spain. While some historians claim that the rice was brought to Spain by Arabs, others state that rice was introduced by the Roman Empire.

In the case of Pamplona, the city where we're writing from, there is a curious culture of pintxos. These are small dishes that can be found in many bars or cafés of Navarra and are usually accompanied by a beer. They are cheap, and this is part of their success within the younger generation. Many types of pintxos can be found, from croquetas to little rations of tortilla de patatas, to bocadillo de chistorra or serrano ham.