Caldeirada: Cooking, the Galician Way

To the untrained palate, Galicia probably doesn’t hold the culinary appeal that make other parts of Spain so tempting. The Basque Country revels in Michelin-starred pintxos, Catalunha is famed for molecular gastronomy and tomato wars, Extremadura has the best ham in the world, Valencia has the paella, and Andalucía has tapas and sherry, but Galicia doesn’t really feature among the country’s best-known culinary offerings.

Galician cooking is home cooking. Being predominantly rural, it won’t surprise you to learn that the food here is based around simple, rustic farm recipes. You’ll be hard pressed to find a restaurant serving food neatly piled in stacks, there’ll be none of this jus and balsamic reduction business, and the only foam you’ll see is likely to come from your own mouth as you salivate over another delicious plate of seafood. For what Galician food lacks in presentation, it more than makes up for in the quality of produce, of which Galicians are extremely proud.

Pulpo con cachelos

Calamari

Line-caught hake

Pescado en caldeira

Razor clams

Pulpo a la plancha

Prawns

Porco celta

Cocido gallego

Empanada de bacalao

Scallops

Galicia benefits from an abundance of fish and seafood, beef and pork, a wide variety of vegetables, particularly pulses and legumes and, of course, the world-famous pimiento de Padrón, grown exclusively in this region of Spain. Padrón peppers are small, green peppers that are served chargrilled with olive oil and a sprinkling of rock salt. The fun part is that one in every fifteen or so is super-spicy, so eating them is a kind of culinary Russian roulette. A festival to celebrate the illustrious pepper is held in the town of Padrón every August. Indeed, the summer is replete with festivals, each dedicated to the particular culinary specialty of a given town. There are festivals for runner beans, broad beans, butter beans, razor clams, lobsters, you name it.

I contend that you haven’t really tasted a boiled potato until you eat one in Galicia. I say this as someone who isn’t particularly fond of the boiled esculent, despite having eaten it with German sausages, Irish stew, Norwegian herring and Czech pork. A Galician potato is, however, like no other: delicate, chalky and floury, it is absolutely delicious. This is a good thing, as boiled potatoes are served with nearly everything. Octopus, for example, is served sliced on a wooden board over a generous helping of cachelos, sliced, boiled potatoes, sprinkled with olive oil and paprika. Potatoes also form the basis of the caldeirada, the preferred way of serving fish, in a stew with boiled potatoes and a sprinkling of olive oil and paprika. And potatoes feature in the regional dish, cocido gallego, a stew with beef, pork, chorizo, boiled potatoes, and a sprinkling of olive oil and paprika.

You might be beginning to discern a pattern here:

Galician cooking = X + boiled potatoes + olive oil + paprika

where X = fish/seafood/meat.

Yes, if you’re not a fan of boiled potatoes, olive oil and paprika, then perhaps Galician food is not for you.

Galicia is also known for artisan bread (of which you might imagine we had a lot), and the porco celta, an indigenous breed of pig seen only in this region and characterized by slow growth, long limbs and slim body, and long ears that cover the eyes. It was in decline in the 20th century, but has since been designated a protected species and its stocks are gradually being restored.

Finally, we couldn’t leave out a small tribute to the empanada. Although many versions are now seen across Spain, Portugal and Latin America, the original empanada comes from Galicia and Portugal. Traditionally, this was a pastry stuffed with meat or seafood that could be taken by workers as a portable meal. Empanadas are now made at home and in many bakeries as large, round flat pies, served in slices and sold by weight. The pastry is usually made of wheat flour (or a mixture of wheat and corn flour), egg, butter, milk, salt and yeast, and the stuffing can be tuna, salt cod, cockles, chorizo or pork in a sofrito of garlic, onions, red pepper and tomato. Delicious!

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