Spain's Greatest Hits: the Recipes to Make Now (2024)

Lusty platters of paella, coral-pink gazpacho, luscious empanadas, silky tortillas: These are the elemental dishes we crave the moment we touch down in Spain. This collection of quintessential Spanish recipes is here to take you on the culinary tour, guiding you in the kitchen to bring these classics home.

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Vegetable Tortilla

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What would happen if tortilla de patatas, Spain's adored potato omelet, were to suddenly vanish? The entire nation would grieve the loss of its ultimate comfort food. The key to a Spanish tortilla is technique: frying the potatoes in plenty of oil until they're silky; a high ratio of filling to egg; and the all-important vuelta — the dramatic flip — which results in a thick disk that's perfectly golden on both sides.

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Cherry Gazpacho

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Along with corridas (bullfights) and the wail of flamenco, thirst-quenching coral-pink gazpacho is the defining image of Andalusia, Spain's sultry southernmost region. The definitive postmodern version was created by Andalusian whiz-kid chef Dani García: Hot pink and cherry-based, it has a funky accent of anchovies, a bright note of basil oil, pistachios for texture, and a flourish of tangy cheese "snow."

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Gambas al Ajillo

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This three-ingredient miracle of shrimp simmered in garlicky olive oil is one of Spain's most castizo (rootsy) tapas, made to order at countless rustic taverns countrywide but most appreciated in Madrid and the south. The shrimp is tender and flavorful, and mopping up the garlicky, herby oil with bread is a must.

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Romesco Sauce

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Pungent with fried garlic and vinegar, ruddy red from dried chiles, and textured with toasted nuts and pulverized bread, romesco is a Catalan treasure in sauce form. A good romesco tastes awesome with anything, from boiled potatoes to grilled seafood to pristine stalks of asparagus — or on its own, with a spoon.

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Pork Belly, Shrimp, and Pickled Tomato Pintxos

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Pintxos are the Basque region's answer to tapas. These simple, one-bite snacks are quick to assemble and grill just as your guests arrive. Sticky-sweet pork belly, tender, meaty shrimp, and bright, quick-pickled tomato variations offer something for everyone.

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Chicken and Pork Paella

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Before it became a kitschy-yellow symbol of Spain and the world's most celebrated — and misunderstood — rice dish, paella was a strictly regional masterpiece deeply rooted in the Mediterranean province of Valencia. The term "paella" describes both the flat steel pan and dish of rice layered thin in that pan with well-browned chunks of rabbit (or duck), chicken, snails, and a small handful of vegetables, all cooked in a broth bolstered with a tomato sofrito.

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Fabada (Spanish Bean Stew with Chorizo and Blood Sausage)

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One can construct an informative map of Spain from all its regional bean stews, but it's the Asturian fabada that's enshrined in the legume hall of fame. For that, give thanks to fabes, the region's large, amazingly creamy white beans, and also to the fact that Asturias is home to Spain's best embutidos (cured and smoked porkstuffs), which form the fabada's meaty base. More elegant and a lot easier to prepare than French cassoulet, a good fabada exemplifies the simple beauty of Spanish cuisine.

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Albóndigas with Mushrooms

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Devoured at tapas bars, passed around at co*cktail parties, enjoyed for Sunday supper, albóndigas are the embodiment of Spain's carnivorous vigor — especially as served at bullfighting taverns — and at the same time a nostalgic tribute to mamá (whose meatballs are, obviously, always the best). The classic pan-Spanish recipe? It usually features albóndigas in a salsa Española: a sauce of pan drippings, carrots, flour, a bit of tomato, and a splash of white wine.

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Empanadillas Gallegas

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The empanada Gallega is a beauty: a golden pastry, in a rectangle or round, often decorated with elaborate dough designs and cradling a moist, glossy filling — chicken, pork, or that beautiful Galician seafood, depending on the cook's preferences. The one constant is a sofrito of onions and peppers cooked in olive oil until sweet and nearly jam-like, which gives empanada fillings their luscious texture. This recipe makes smaller, crescent-shaped empanadillas.

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Burnt Caramel Flan

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Of all the rich, eggy sweets perfected by nuns in medieval Spanish convents and then exported to the New World, flan became the most popular by far. Related to crema Catalana, with its brittle caramelized sugar on top, a good flan is all about the primal pleasure of spooning the dark, bittersweet caramel sauce over the milky, jiggly custard.

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Pulpo a la Gallega (Grilled Octopus with Potatoes)

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For hundreds of years, merchants from the province of Léon traded between the maritime villages of Galicia and inland Spain. On feast days, they'd cook ingredients from their travels, and in the town of Melide, on a route where pimentón, olive oil, and octopus all came together, this celebratory dish was born.

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