Extremaduran cuisine
The preferred spices in Extremaduran cuisine are
Wine is produced mainly in the territory of the Ribera del Guadiana denominación de origen. The region is also known for its vino de pitarra tradition, home-made wine made in small earthenware vessels.[5]
The Jerte Valley is known for its cherry production, especially in the local picota del Jerte variety, highly regarded all over Spain and with a denominación de origen.[6]
Representative dishes
Among the pork or mutton-based dishes, some well-known ones are the callos con manos de cerdo (
The chanfaina in Extremadura has nothing to do with similarly named dishes in the Iberian Peninsula, like the Catalan Xanfaina, which is a Spanish version of the Occitan Ratatouille, and which would be considered a kind of pisto in Extremadura. The Extremaduran chanfaina is a rich stew of mutton liver, brain, heart, and kidneys cooked with a mixture of bay leaves, garlic, bread crumbs and boiled eggs.
Traditional Extremaduran gastronomy includes other meats, like
Concerning fish, some cod preparations are known, and tench is among the most traditional freshwater fish, including fish and vegetable dishes such as moje de peces or escarapuche.
Among the basic popular dishes the ones based on
Soups often have a stale bread base and include a variety of both hot and cold ones, such as
Though rice is not as common as in some other Spanish regions, rice dishes with rabbit meat or pork are common,[20][21] including arroz a la cacereña from Cáceres, which, after being cooked, is then covered in a crust of egg and cheese and then baked, in a way similar to Valencian arroz con costra.[22]
Vegetables are found in many dishes, even if there is very little in the way of actual vegetarian dishes in the traditional cuisine. Still, apart from gazpachos, salads similar to Andalusian pipirrana (with a variety of local names such as picadillo, cojondongo or rinrán [23][24][25][26]) are popular, as well as zorongollo, a salad made with tomato and roast peppers reminiscent of Catalan escalivada. As in La Mancha and Murcia, pisto is a traditional dish. Local tomato sauce is often known as tomatá or entomatá and it can be an accompaniment to many dishes.[27][28][29]
Desert truffles, locally named criadillas or criadillas de tierra, are eaten with scrambled eggs (revuelto de criadillas [30]), fried with other ingredients [31] or as an accompaniment in other dishes. Even if many other mushroom species grow in Extremadura and they have some culinary use nowadays, only a few other mushroom species apart from desert truffles were actually traditionally consumed, such as Amanita ponderosa (called gurumelo, especially popular in Southern Extremadura), or Macrolepiota procera.
Some of the ancestral dishes of Extremadura are today less commonly eaten, like migas (such as migas con torreznos) and gachas.[32] Vegetables like cardoon and borage were traditionally widely used in soups.
Certain dishes of the Extremaduran cuisine show the influence of neighboring Portugal, like lentejas estofadas (stewed lentils) and sopa de perdices (partridge soup).
Embutidos and pork products
Extremadura's Black Iberian pigs are usually left to roam in relative freedom and their main diet are the acorns falling from the local oak trees. This breed of pig is found exclusively in Southwestern Iberia, both in Spain and Portugal. Their meat is highly valued throughout Spain, especially their ham.
Extremaduran cuisine is abundant in pork; it is said that the region is one of the best for breeding pigs in Spain, thanks to the acorns that grow in its dehesas.
Some Extremaduran
Cachuela (sometimes also known as caldillo) is a fatty pork liver pâté seasoned with paprika, garlic and other spices.[33][34][35]
Buche is a kind of embutido similar to Leonese botillo made from different pieces left over from the butchering of a pig, including the ribs, tail, and bones with a little meat left on them, which are chopped, seasoned and then stuffed into the cecum of the pig. Once cured, it's usually boiled and then it is opened to extract its content in order to eat it, usually as coles con buche, accompanied by other pork products and separate dishes of rice and cabbage cooked in the same broth produced by boiling the buche.[36][37][38]
Cheeses
The region is home to a variety of cheeses, those most well known being Torta del Casar, produced in Casar de Cáceres and surrounding area, and Torta de la Serena, produced in the comarca of la Serena. Both have a denominación de origen and both are sheep milk cheeses that are curdled using a coagulant found in the pistils of cardoon (Cynara cardunculus), which gives a creamy consistency and a rich taste with a light bitterness. These cheeses are traditionally eaten by slicing off the top and scooping out the inside with a spoon, then spreading it on bread. They're somewhat similar to Serra da Estrela cheese in Portugal.
Queso de los Ibores is another cheese with a denominación de origen, made in the comarcas of los Ibores, Villuercas, La Jara and Trujillo in the southeast of the Province of Cáceres. It is a fatty goat milk cheese made exclusively from the milk of Serrana, Verata, Retinta breeds and crosses between them and only from farms registered with the regulatory council.
A variety of goat milk cheeses found along the border with Portugal are similar to goat milk cheeses found in neighboring Portuguese areas and have a compact consistency and a strong taste and smell, such as Quesaílla cheese,[39][unreliable source?] [40] as well as queso de Acehúche [41] and queso de Gata-Hurdes.[42][unreliable source?] [43]
Desserts and sweets
Extremaduran
References
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- ^ "RINRAN de La Vera | Pimentón de la Vera Caballo de Oros". caballodeoros.com. Archived from the original on 2019-03-01.
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- ^ "Wiki information and photos of Quesaíllas cheese". Cookipedia.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
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- ^ "Descubre los quesos de Extremadura". 21 April 2022.
- ^ Gastronomia de Extremadura, Revista Alcántara. nº 56 Archived 2009-01-06 at the Wayback Machine