Tinto de verano, which translates to “red wine of summer,” is a surprising combination of red wine and lemon-lime soda. This cooling spritzer is a perfect refreshment for hot summer days. If a lightly sweetened lemon-lime soda like lemon Fanta or Spain’s La Casera (known locally as “gaseosa” or soda) can’t be found, you can substitute Squirt or 7Up cut with a splash of plain seltzer.

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Pan con tomate translates as bread with tomato, and that’s basically all it is. But what a combination! The dish originated in northern Spain, in the region of Catalonia. There, it’s known as pa amb tomaquet, and it’s usually eaten at lunch or dinner, as a light side dish. But down south in Andalusia, pan con tomate is more often eaten in the morning, and it’s a hearty and luscious food. Its simplicity belies the pleasure that comes whenever it is served. All you need is good-quality olive oil, bread, garlic, a ripe tomato, and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Use the largest holes on a box grater to get at the juicy meat of a beefsteak tomato, discarding most of its skin as you go. Next, rub pieces of toasted baguette with a clove of garlic, drizzle them with olive oil, and top with the sweet grated tomato and a sprinkle of sea salt.

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Centuries of Basque immigrant culture are distilled into a meal at Bakersfield, California’s Wool Growers restaurant, where lunch is a parade of rib-sticking French Basque dishes. First, vegetable soup chock-full of cabbage and leeks; stewed pinto beans; a tomatoey “hot sauce.” Then marinated tomatoes, mixed greens, and a creamy slab of blue cheese. Finally, meat: tender beef tongue in a parsley-packed vinaigrette, or this oxtail stew loaded with sweet carrots and thickened with beurre manié, a mixture of softened butter and flour. Solid, satisfying, lovable: it’s just how we want this old-world cuisine to be.

Featured in the January/February 2014 issue.

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I first encountered salmorejo—gazpacho‘s thicker, more decadent cousin—in Madrid. The cool and creamy tomato soup transcended seasonality. It was topped with egg and jamón ibérico, which wept fatty tears over its surface. Salmorejo demands that you act as a Spaniard and mop up every drop with bread. Then, like an American, you order another bowl. 

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Everybody loves tapas—those flavorful Spanish morsels that can be as simple as a handful of olives or as involved as gambas al ajillo (chile-garlic shrimp). But there’s far more to Spain’s culinary canon than sangría-soaked cocktail fare. From hearty mountain stews to crisp-bottomed rice to sleeper-hit soups like Andalusian salmorejo, these are the best Spanish recipes from our archive.

Smoky Pork Rib Stew with Potatoes and Pimentón

​​One of Spain’s great unsung comfort foods is patatas con costillas, the brick-red pork rib stew that marries pork ribs, potatoes, and smoky pimentón (Spanish paprika). Served with crusty bread, it makes a simple, hearty braise. Get the recipe >

Gazpacho Andaluz

Gazpacho andaluz, the popular chilled soup that hails from Andalusia, Spain, is a zesty blend of tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic, olive oil, and vinegar that takes on a velvety texture thanks to the addition of bread. In Spain, it’s generally puréed to a smoothie texture (this recipe falls in that camp), while in the United States, a chunkier version that came into vogue in the 1990s remains more common. Top the soup with minced hard-boiled egg and cured Spanish ham, or keep things vegan and sprinkle over an extra handful of crunchy chopped veggies. Get the recipe >

Catalan-Style Rabbit Stew with Sherry, Mushrooms, and Almonds

In Spanish cuisine, borracho (“drunken”) indicates that a dish contains alcohol. In this rabbit stew recipe, chunks of tender rabbit bubble away in a homestyle Catalan sauce made with sherry, mushrooms, and a “picada” of ground almonds. Get the recipe >

Torrijas (Spanish “French” Toast)

Though traditionally deep-fried in olive oil, torrijas—Spain’s quintessential Holy Week dessert that falls somewhere between French toast and bread pudding—are subtler and less greasy when baked, as this knockout recipe from Madrid’s Panem bakery goes to show. Get the recipe >

Salmorejo

Gazpacho’s more decadent cousin, salmorejo is heady with extra-virgin olive oil and velvety thanks to the addition of bread. Chopped hard-boiled egg and jamón are the traditional toppings.  Get the recipe >

Classic Gildas

Named after Rita Hayworth’s bold, spicy character in the eponymous 1946 film, the Gilda quickly became a classic Basque pintxo. Served on the counters of bars and taverns throughout the region, pintxos are finger foods often pierced with a skewer (pintxo means “spike” in Basque), with infinite combinations of flavors like chorizo and Manchego cheese, tuna-stuffed peppers, or garlicky mushrooms. Get the recipe >

Albóndigas a la Jardinera (Stewed Spanish Meatballs with Vegetables)

Meatballs in Spain are often made with veal, gently browned, and finished in a light gravy, making for supremely tender and juicy morsels to enjoy with rice or bread. This recipe for “gardener’s meatballs” works well with ground veal, pork, or a combination. Get the recipe >

Ajoblanco

Pungent raw garlic shines in this bracing, no-cook Spanish soup of garlic, bread, and puréed almonds. The dish, one of Spain’s oldest cold soups (which include gazpacho and salmorejo), dates to the eighth century. Fresh grapes, a traditional garnish for the dish, add a touch of sweetness. Get the recipe >

Baked Spanish Rice with Chorizo, Chickpeas, and Raisins

Paella gets so much attention that it eclipses Spain’s other, equally worthy, rice dishes—like this one-pot arroz al horno, or baked rice with chickpeas. The dish is primo Valencian comfort food, and it has pleasing Moorish undertones (saffron! cinnamon! dried fruit!)—a reminder that Arabs brought rice to the Iberian Peninsula in the 7th century.  Get the recipe >

Atún con Tomate (Tuna and Tomato Stew)

Spain’s signature tuna dish starts with good “tomate frito,” the silky Spanish mother sauce of plum tomatoes, onions, and enough fruity olive oil to turn it bright red-orange. Into the puréed tomate go hunks of ocean-fresh tuna, which poach to flaky perfection in a matter of minutes. And as they say in Spain, ya está.  Get the recipe >

El Quijote Sangría

At El Quijote, one of America’s most legendary Spanish restaurants, A few drops of store-bought balsamic reduction and a splash of cinnamon syrup enhance the sweetness, body, and complexity of the classic iced cocktail. Get the recipe >

Spanish Almond Chicken with Saffron-Wine Sauce

Chicken in almond sauce is an Andalusian stew that, when done right, evokes the heady flavors of Moorish Spain: saffron, garlic, oregano, parsley. Our favorite version adds white wine for depth and sherry vinegar for tang—and is made in a single pot. Get the recipe >

Tortilla Española

Spaniards love getting into armchair debates over where to find the best tortilla, and what should go in it. Our staff favorite comes from Syklar restaurant in Madrid and produces a stunning, hubcap-sized omelet made of waxy potatoes fried until melty-soft in Andalusian olive oil.  Get the recipe >

Asturian-Style Veal Fillets with Cabrales Sauce, Fruit, and Chestnuts

Cabrales is a dry, crumbly, intense blue cheese from the northern Spanish region of Asturias. It melts into a pungent sauce for veal cutlets in this classic old-school recipe. Get the recipe >

Catalan Braised Pork Ribs with Chestnuts

Joan Roca, chef of the three-Michelin-star Celler de Can Roca in Girona and one of Spain’s most revered culinary figures, grew up on simple Catalan comfort food prepared by his mother, Montserrat. This saucy braise of pork ribs and chestnuts was one of his favorite childhood dishes. Get the recipe >

Venison Civet

Venison is the star stewing ingredient in the Pyrenees during deer hunting season, which runs from September to February. The abundance of red wine and the long marination time tame the lean meat’s faint gaminess. Ladle the stew over mashed potatoes enriched with olive oil or serve with roasted vegetables for a cozy cold-weather meal. Get the recipe >

Quail Civet

Mild, tender quail is a crowd-pleasing game bird. Available at specialty butcher stores, it cooks quickly and plays well with aromatics like garlic and herbs. The keys to this recipe’s deeply flavored sauce are the well-browned mirepoix at the start of cooking and the scant shards of dark chocolate whisked in for depth and sheen at the end. Get the recipe >

Sardines in Escabeche

Drape these sardines whole over a bed of salad greens, and let the sauce dribble through the leaves like dressing. You can also use your fingers to pull the fillets off the bones for an easy pasta or rice add-in or sandwich-stuffer. Spaniards often serve sardines in escabeche as a tapa alongside a pile of well-salted potato chips and a cold caña (half-pint). Get the recipe >

Menestra de Verduras

Menestra—Spain’s vegetable medley flavored with jamón, white wine, and abundant olive oil—will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about boiled vegetables, as this recipe goes to show. Get the recipe >

Smoky Spanish Green Beans with Garlic and Jamón

You won’t find this homestyle Spanish dish on trendy tapas menus, but there’s a reason it’s a generations-old favorite. Caramelized garlic and crisped niblets of jamón are tossed with boiled beans to make a vegetable side that’s anything but boring. Get the recipe >

One-Pot Manchego Mac and Cheese with Pimentón Breadcrumbs

It doesn’t get more satisfying than a bowl of this creamy mac and cheese made with sharp manchego and smoky Spanish paprika. Get the recipe >

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Riffs on caldeirada, a fish stew beloved in Portugal, are perennially popular across seafood-loving New England. This hearty Portuguese seafood stew recipe is adapted from one in Brooke Dojny’s The New England Cookbook (Harvard Common Press, 1999), which tours the region in 350 dishes.

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Food and travel writer Alexander Lobrano serves this classic Andalusian seafood dish with lots of crusty bread to soak up the piquant broth. For him it captured the enticements of the port city of Cadiz and the treasures to be found in its central ​​Mercado Central de Abastos. This recipe first appeared in our December 2012 issue along with Alexander Lobrano’s story My Spanish Sanctuary.

Our Best Clam Recipes to Get You Chowdering Down

There are so many ways to enjoy clams: steamed, fried, cooked into chowder or pasta, you name it >

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This sweet-tart wine punch was enjoyed by members of the Junior League of Houston book club in the 1970s. It then ran in our 2009 Texas issue. Find more of our favorite pitcher-perfect sangria recipes to sip through summer here.

The Best Plastic Wine Glasses for Stress-Free Sipping

Before you break out your finest glass stemware—or worse, the red Solo cups—consider this: Even the pros rely on plastic glasses for every kind of outdoor situation. “For me, plastic glasses are an example of form following function,” says Matt Crafton, winemaker at Chateau Montelena in Napa Valley. “I use them for picnics, camping, or large events where I don’t want to clean dozens of glasses carefully by hand.” That’s because the best plastic wine glasses look a lot like the real thing, are more durable (and, therefore, sustainable) than the tumblers of yesteryear, and are more practical than their fragile tableware cousins.

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This Catalan salsa vinagreta, based on one from Claudia Roden’s cookbook The Food of Spain, is a deceptively simple mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, chopped parsley, and crushed tomato. When poured over blanched asparagus, it transforms the green and subtle vegetable into a sumptuous dish.

Equipment

• Large Pot
• Serving Platter
• Medium Bowl

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Long before the pandemic walloped fine-dining restaurants the world over, the writing was on the wall in Spain: molecular gastronomy was out. The foamed, centrifuged, and spherified wonders that put Catalonia and the Basque region at the culinary forefront in the aughts had all but lost their novelty. The pendulum had swung back toward minimalist, terroir-driven dishes: a fermented baby beet dribbled with single-source olive oil, perhaps, or claw-on roast squab splashed with blood-giblet jus. 

The question many were asking then—and are still asking now—is, what is next for Spanish fine dining? And will the chefs that defined Spanish alta cocina (haute cuisine) for so long, like Ferran Adrià, Martín Berasategui, Elena Arzak, and Joan Roca, fade into the past or evolve to meet, and potentially define, the zeitgeist? 

Joan Roca is culinary royalty. His restaurant, El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, has three Michelin stars and bagged the number-one spot of the (controversial) World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards in 2013 and 2015, dethroning René Redezepi’s Noma in Copenhagen. Diners’ glowing reviews landed El Celler among TripAdvisor’s 2019 top 10 restaurants. The perennial buzz keeps the waitlist at a cool one-year long, on average. 

Today, the three Roca brothers—Joan (chef), Jordi (pastry chef), and Josep (sommelier)—are making inroads in the U.S. building on the momentum created by the Netflix Chef’s Table episode that spotlighted Jordi and his sci-fi desserts. The Rocas will soon open a gelateria in Houston called Rocambolesc as their first American venture. Rocambolesc, with its popsicles shaped like human noses and gelato encased in hot brioche, already has a cult following in Spain.   

With the Rocas gaining more and more traction, it seemed timely to take stock with Joan—to get a refresher on Catalan cooking and to hear what he believes is in store for the future of fine dining.

What foods did you eat growing up? 

I remember lots of slow-cooked stews, which are the bedrock of Catalan cooking. Stews like beef and wild mushroom or braised pork ribs with chestnuts. You always start with a sofrito made with fried onion, garlic, and tomato, to which you might add meat or seafood or both, plus vegetables and stock. Before serving, you stir in a picada, which is akin to a Mexican mole in that it often contains ground nuts as well as saffron, dried bread, garlic—whatever the cook has lying around the pantry. A picada really brings a dish together.  

What dishes and flavors define Catalan cuisine? 

It’s hard to know where to start! Catalonia stretches from the Pyrenees on the French border down to the Mediterranean on the Costa Brava, and each area cooked with what was available. One dish that unites the region is escudella, a boiled one-pot dinner. You throw everything you have on hand into a pot—maybe a ham bone, some fatback, chickpeas, root vegetables—and boil it all together for hours. In my house, there was always a “pilota” added to the broth, a huge meatball made with ground pork, moistened bread, and milk.

So, Catalonia’s regional differences in food are mostly due to climate and geography?  

Yes, but our cuisine is also diverse because of cultural waves. Through the centuries we’ve absorbed knowledge from Arabs, Jews, Greeks… Take pa amb tomaquet, for instance. It’s an emblematic Catalan dish, but we didn’t have access to tomatoes until they were brought back from the Americas. That’s pretty recent in the grand scheme of things, which goes to show that we’ve always been open-minded—adept at incorporating new ingredients and techniques into our food traditions.  

Do you incorporate Catalan ingredients and techniques into dishes at El Celler de Can Roca?

I like applying innovative technology to familiar dishes. For example, I’ll flavor an oyster with a distillate that we make from soil from a nearby forest. This sounds thoroughly modern, but in reality it’s a wink to the very Catalan tradition of mixing surf and turf—chicken with lobster, rabbit with prawns. In this way, we create something novel, something that no one has ever made before, that is simultaneously deep-rooted.

El Bulli closed a decade ago, and with it, much of the hype around molecular gastronomy. Where do you think fine dining is headed? What’s the next big thing?

Spanish cuisine went public, in a sense, thanks to those technological advances in the kitchen, but it’s undeniable that we’re in a new phase now. We absorbed all of the creative freedom from that era, kept some of the techniques, and discarded others. The lines are open! Chefs in Spain today are increasingly focused on respecting ingredients as opposed to manipulating them. The future is going to be less interventionist with fewer additives and subtler cooking techniques. And it will be more sustainable: we’re moving away from sous vide in plastic, for instance. Fire cooking is on the rise, and so are preserved and fermented foods, both of which are a return to the forgotten ways of our ancestors. Lots happening with seaweed right now as well. It’s all on the move. And it’s extremely interesting.   

With inequality on the rise, an argument could be made that restaurants like El Celler de Can Roca are exclusionary by design, playgrounds for the super-rich. What would you say to that critique? 

I get why it’s difficult to understand the relationship between haute cuisine and society as a whole, especially given the circumstances you just mentioned. My feeling is, most everyone can afford one expensive meal every now and again, if that’s what they choose to save their money for. Furthermore, restaurants like El Celler de Can Roca are net wealth generators, providing a good living for people in the community. Like any chef, I’d love to solve world hunger and house all the homeless—and indeed, chefs are often at the forefront of solidarity efforts to help the needy. Sustainability needs to be social as well as environmental. This is what we should be focusing on. 

How have you made El Celler de Can Roca more socially sustainable? 

During the pandemic, it meant preventing layoffs by starting new initiatives. For example, we converted our event space, Mas Marroch, into a restaurant serving our most iconic dishes of all time. But more broadly, we have been reflecting on a simple question: How can we improve our employees’ lives? The most important thing has been cutting shifts from 14 to 8 hours—we wanted people to lead full, stable lives outside of work. That meant reorganizing our staff into two full brigades. It also meant adding a psychologist to our team to resolve conflicts and keep excitement at a maximum. Excitement begets excellence, which in turn provides guests with the best possible experience.

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Joan Roca, chef of the three-Michelin-star Celler de Can Roca in Girona and one of Spain’s most revered culinary figures, grew up on simple Catalan comfort food prepared by his mother, Montserrat. This saucy braise of pork ribs and chestnuts was one of his favorite childhood dishes. Adapted from Roca’s cookbook Cocina Madre, this recipe calls for the classic Catalan blend called a picada—a nutty, garlicky paste bashed up in a mortar and pestle—which you’ll whisk in just before serving for a pop of flavor and texture. Buy peeled chestnuts in specialty stores or online, or peel your own: Cut an “x” into the tip of each chestnut, then boil for 20 minutes; when cool enough to handle, use your fingers to remove the woody exterior and brown papery layer.

Featured in: “Joan Roca on Catalan Comfort Food, Kitchen Culture, and the Future of Fine Dining.”

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