Gelatinous fish heads known as kokotxas are a key ingredient for this classic Basque dish. Kokotxas usually come from the flashy cheeks (lower part of chin) of hake or cod. The dish is sometimes served in a sauce consisting of white wine, garlic, flour, and olive oil.
A more traditional way of serving kokotxas is in salsa verde sauce, consisting of olive oil, flour, fish stock, garlic, and finely chopped parsley. The kokotxas are lightly fried in a clay casserole pot, then combined with the sauce. It's recommended to serve the dish with crusty bread on the side for mopping up the sauce.
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Cocido lebaniego is a traditional dish originating from the Liébana area in Cantabria. The stew consists of local chickpeas, potatoes, and cabbage with meat from the pig slaughter such as chorizo, bacon, and morcilla. Breadcrumbs, parsley, and cecina dried meat is often added to the stew as well.
Due to the fact that the stew is very hearty and nutritious, it's traditionally eaten as the main course. The consommé is enjoyed first, followed by the chickpeas and vegetables, while the meat is usually saved for last, although some like to eat the meat and the chickpeas together.
MOST ICONIC Cocido lebaniego
Rabo de toro is a traditional dish originating from the region of Andalusia, although it's eaten throughout the country. Each restaurant and region has their own recipe, but it's usually made with a combination of oxtail, olive oil, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, paprika, tomatoes, red wine, dry sherry, bay leaves, and parsley.
Once cooked, this slow-braised stew is typically served with fried potatoes on the side. It is believed that rabo de toro dates back to Roman times, when the bull would be killed at a bullfight, and its tail would be braised and enjoyed in celebration.
MOST ICONIC Rabo de toro
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This comforting stew known as fabada Asturiana is a signature dish of the famous Spanish region of Asturias. The stew consists of plump white beans, chorizo, morcilla blood sausages, and pork fat, flavored with smoked paprika and saffron.
Some recipes also use olive oil. Spicy and hearty, with robust and earthy flavors, this Spanish classic combines simple ingredients to create an extraordinary dish. It is believed that fabada appeared sometime between the 19th and the 20th century.
Due to its nutritious elements, it is usually enjoyed in the colder winter months.
MOST ICONIC Fabada Asturiana
View morePatatas a la riojana is a traditional dish that consists, at its simplest, of chunks of potatoes, garlic, sliced chorizo, onions, and pimentón paprika. The combination is sautéed, then cooked in water with bay leaves until the potatoes are fully cooked, and the stew develops a thick consistency.
The dish is typically served with crusty bread on the side for mopping up the juices. In the past, patatas a la riojana was eaten by field workers, but nowadays it's enjoyed by many and praised for its simplicity. It's recommended to pair the dish with local wines from the region.
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The essential ingredients in this hearty Cantabrian stew include white beans and collard greens (berza), but the dish is commonly enriched with chorizo (pork sausage) and morcilla (blood sausage), pork ribs, and bacon.
It is believed that the stew was invented in the 17th century, but it was given its current name in the 1960s. Unlike many other types of Spanish stews where the broth is served separately, cocido montañés is typically enjoyed as a one-course meal.
MOST ICONIC Cocido montañés
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Escudella i carn d'olla is a popular, traditional Catalan soup filled with pasta, meat such as chicken or lamb, prosciutto pieces, ground pork, and botiffara sausage, with the addition of vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, and Swiss chard.
The soup is traditionally flavored with garlic, parsley, thyme, saffron, salt, and pepper. It is often made during the colder months or around Christmas, as its bold, rustic flavors are known to warm up anyone who consumes it. Escudella is consumed in two stages – first comes the broth with pasta, then the meat and vegetables.
MOST ICONIC Escudella i carn d'olla
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Zarzuela de mariscos is a traditional Catalan seafood stew. Although the dish is similar to Marseille's bouillabaise, it's more rustic because it contains ground almonds, and the flavors are bolder due to ingredients such as cured pork, peppers, and tomatoes.
The foundation of zarzuela de mariscos, however, are mussels, clams, and shrimp, but some people like to add scallops and calamari as well. Other ingredients include saffron, white wine, olive oil, bay leaves, onions, garlic, rosemary, and thyme, with smoked paprika and parsley used as garnishes.
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Potaje de garbanzos con chorizo is a traditional stew that's enjoyed all over Spain. Although there are numerous variations on the dish, it's often made with a combination of chickpeas, potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, carrots, garlic, chorizo, olive oil, bay leaves, salt, and pepper.
The chorizo is sliced, fried in olive oil, then mixed with the garlic, onions, carrots, and peppers. Everything is cooked over low heat until soft, and the ingredients are then seasoned with salt and pepper and covered with water. Once boiling, the chickpeas are added to the stew with the potatoes, tomatoes, and bay leaves.
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Marmitako is an excellent representative of the Basque Country cuisine, a tuna stew made in a pot with various other ingredients such as potatoes, tomatoes, chili, and onions. The name of the dish is derived from the Basque word marmita, denoting a pot or a casserole.
When combined with the suffix –ko, it can be literally translated as from the pot. Originally, the stew was invented on fishing boats near the Spanish coast, and while tuna is the most authentic option, today there are numerous variations on the dish, depending on the type of fish used in the preparation of marmitako.
MOST ICONIC Marmitako
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