Galician cuisine refers to the typical dishes and ingredients found in the

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...

of the

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. These include

shellfish Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environ ...

, ''

empanada An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling, common in Spanish, other Southern European, Latin American, and Iberian-influenced cultures around the world. The name comes from the Spanish (to bread, i ...

s, polbo á feira'' (a dish made of

octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, ...

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During productio ...

''queixo de tetilla'', '' ribeiro'' and ''

albariño Alvarinho () or Albariño () is a variety of white wine grape grown in Northwest Portugal (Monção and Melgaço) and Galicia (northwest Spain) where it is also used to make varietal white wines. In Portugal it is known as Alvarinho, and som ...

'' wines, and '' orujo'' liquor. Similarly, to

Asturian cuisine Asturian cuisine refers to the typical dishes and ingredients found in the cuisine of the Asturias region of Spain. Foods Asturias is especially known for its seafood, such as fresh squid, crab, shrimp and sea bass. Salmon are caught in Asturia ...

, Galician dishes have maintained several Celtic links, namely with different stews. The

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...

is a staple food in the region, first arriving in Spain from the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

in the 16th century, and then grown first and foremost on the coasts of the '' Ría de Noia''. In Galician cuisine, neither the cook nor the recipe really matters; what is being served is the central part of the cuisine. In Galicia, a wide variety of sea produce can be found in traditional dishes, due to the province's long shoreline and traditional fishing economy. Agriculture products such as potatoes,

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American English, North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous ...

, and

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

are also staples in the Galician diet, along with dairy and meat products from

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...

, and

pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

; Galicia's grasses are green year-round and are excellent for

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and ot ...

. Due to the history of a weak economy, little industry, and overall a less-than-prominent position in Spanish politics and culture, the development of a Galician ''

haute cuisine ''Haute cuisine'' (; ) or ''grande cuisine'' is the cuisine of "high-level" establishments, gourmet restaurants, and luxury hotels. ''Haute cuisine'' is characterized by the meticulous preparation and careful presentation of food at a high pric ...

'' has been slowed until recently, with chefs such as Toñi Vicente gaining national attention only since the 1980s.

Galician bread Galician bread (''pan galego'' in Galician, ''pan gallego'' in Spanish) is the bread that is traditionally produced in the autonomous community of Galicia, in northern Spain, recognized as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) since December ...

(''pan galego'') is appreciated in the autonomous community and throughout Spain for its unique quality. It is a high hydration bread, whose flour is a mixture of indigenous and foreign wheats. So much so, that in 2019 Galician bread was protected with the

Protected Geographical Indication Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG), promote and protect nam ...

(PGI) certificate of the European Union.

Typical dishes

*'' Polbo á feira'' (octopus) *'' Empanada galega'' *'' Caldo gallego'' (soup) *'' Lacón con grelos'' (meat and potatoes) *'' Carne ó caldeiro'' (meat and potatoes) *''

Androlla An androlla () is a Galician embutido made from pork. It is similar to the botillo sausages of León. It is prepared from the "cueras" (the end of a slab of bacon). Cueras are well cleaned, without the skin; rib meat is added with portions of ...

'' (

pork sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

) *'' Botelo'' or '' butelo'' (pork sausage) *'' Filloas'' (Galician '' crêpes'') *'' Bica'' ( sponge cake) *''

Tarta de Santiago Torta de Santiago (in Galician) or Tarta de Santiago (in Spanish), literally meaning ''cake of St. James'', is an almond cake or pie from Galicia with origin in the Middle Ages and the Camino de Santiago. The filling principally consists of gr ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galician Cuisine Spanish cuisine

Typical dishes

See also

References

External links