Spain’s food culture is a heady mixture of historical influences, from Arabia to America

The history and religion of Spain are visible on the plate. What we eat often says much about who we are and in no country is this more obvious than in Spain. Ingredients, cooking methods, and many of Spain’s most famous recipes all have an easy-to-trace and fascinating past.

The Moors invaded Spain in AD 711, and stayed for nearly 800 years. The Moorish influence is still evident today. From the Moors came new crops, including sugar, spinach, aubergines and mint, and new culinary methods such as cooking in sealed clay pots and the use of wood burning ovens. The meat skewer and kebabs arrived, and frying with olive oil and preserving in vinegar (escabeche) were both Arab practices, the latter eagerly adopted by the locals for preserving surplus fish.
The spices brought by the Moors included cinnamon, cumin and nutmeg and the magnificent golden saffron. They enjoyed sour-and-sweet (agridulce) mixtures and anise bread.

The Catholic monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand conquered Granada, the last Moorish stronghold, in 1492. They threw out the Moors and the Jews to make one united Catholic kingdom. The Jews, who had been in Spain for many centuries, left several imprints on Spanish cuisine, including cocido (meat and chickpea stew). The new foods enjoyed in this era were spectacularly different, favoured almost entirely for their religious orthodoxy. Bacalao (salt cod) was for Church fast days, of which there were some 200, when abstinence from meat was required. Pork, which neither Moors nor Jews would touch, became an integral part of Spanish religion and therefore everyday life. Eating sausages became a statement of loyalty and proof of conversion to the Catholic church.

The introduction of new foods from America after 1492 changed the Mediterranean diet forever. Spain was transformed from being a bean, grain, and meat-eating country into place where vegetables were widely enjoyed. Chocolate and chilli peppers quickly became firm favourites in the Spanish kitchen; tomatoes were adopted and used in sauces; beans became common.
From the opposite direction, the Portuguese, returning from China in the early 1500s, brought with them sweet oranges. The resulting orange trees, which now grow in such abundance all over Spain, have dramatically altered the landscape of the east and south coast.

Find this month's fantastic recipes including Mojete, Sopa de Mariscos and Pinchitos Morunos in our April 2008 issue.