Food and Drink in Valencia

Typical from the city of Valencia is the paella, a typical dish from Valencia made of rice, chicken or rabbit as well as vegetables such as peas and peppers. Paella has its own variations depending on the town where it is prepared due to rice mixing so well with lots of diverse ingredients. Nevertheless the best known varieties are the meat paella (with chicken or rabbit), the seafood paella and the mixed paella (also called paella mixta).

There is a variation of paella known as "arroz a banda", typical of Valencia fishermen"s gastronomy, where the rice and the fish are individually cooked for the flavor to be taken in; this dish is served with a garlic sauce made of garlic and oil called "all I olí" in the Valenciá language.

Another popular dish is rice together with cuttlefish, beet, spinach and cauliflower as well as other ingredients, which is made in an earthenware dish in the oven by Valencian families.

Another well known dish from Valencia is the "fideuá", which is made with noodles and seafood instead of the main rice staple; it is typical of the region of La Safor.

In the regions of Requena-Utiel, Valle de Ayora, Canal de Navarrés, La Costera and Los Serranos there is a characteristic dish of those regions that is similar to "gazpacho" (a cold soup made of tomatoes, salt, bread, garlic, oil and vinegar) but cooked over a fire and also made with wheat flour and served like a shepherd"s pie.

In Los Serranos visitors might also like to try the olla churra, a dish made from pieces of black pudding and pork, as well as the gachas (a form of porridge), so as to have a taste of the Valencian region"s abundant meat. Meat is something that Valencian people love to cook; they often cook lamb chops over the fire, together with varieties of sausage such as chorizo (spiced pork sausage), black pudding or morcilla and longaniza (long and thin sausage).

Traditional home cooking in Valencia also makes customary frying tomato sauce together with rabbit and chicken as well as a typical evening meal made with potatoes and green beans called hervido, a dish which is served with a dressing made of vinegar and oil.

Valencia is also a land of bakery and tasty sweetmeat products like all flavours and sizes of bread, Valencian doughtnuts, coconut cakes, turnovers, panquemados or toasted bread, almond rosegons, anisette rolls, Epiphany rings, egg-rings for Easter and so on. All these sweets are available at the city"s confectionery shops and bakeries.

Typical Valencian drinks also deserve a mention. For instance, the horchata (called orgeat in Valenciá), which is a cool refreshing drink made from earth almonds or tigernuts.

Another well know drink is the "agua de Valencia", which is made with natural orange juice mixed with cava (a type of sparkling wine typical from Catalonia and similar to champagne).

There is also a good range of wine production as it is shown by the existence of seventy-five thousand hectares of vineyards. The main wine cellars are found in Tuéjar, Llíria, Requena, Villar del Arzobispo and Utiel.

In Requena the cava mentioned two paragraphs above is also made; this is a good quality cava or sparkling wine.

And finally, if you would like to make the real paella from Valencia, this is your chance.