To judge how much the Spanish love food one needs to take a look at their holiday season menus. This is the time when the Spanish go all out on preparing the best of foods for the happy moods.
Although the Spanish cuisine is evergreen, holiday seasons in Spain are even more special when it comes to food. Be it Christmas, mother’s day or the day of independence all festive seasons and holidays are just an excuse to eat more and eat well for the Spaniards. It seems as no one really cares about what the festival means or why the holiday is there in the first place. All that the Spanish care about is what to cook, how much to cook and then when to dig in.
Spring holiday Food in Spain
The seasonal May dinner that coincides with the celebration of Mother’s day is one of the times of the year that is an ideal excuse to indulge in something exquisite. The spring season brings its own seasonal ingredients out of which meals are prepared for brunches, lunches and dinners.
Spanish Winter Holiday Foods
Winter season is also another time of the year where food is given overdue importance. The time period that comes after the holiday season of heavy eating is marked by light and simple dishes. Although the menu of the winter seasons may well be served during ordinary days it is specifically known to flourish during these times. Tuna with red peppers is one of the most popular tapa delights of the season. Then you have the grilled eggplant in Tomato Vinaigrette and the Roja style chicken with the fried potatoes that are characteristic of the season.
The Christmas season which came back into action after the decline of the Moors is by far the time of the year when the Spanish go crazy over food. Cava, bacalao, turron, omelets and mantecados are some of the most popular brunch items for the season. The catholic country that Spain has become has a forty day grace period of lent before they celebrate Easter. This is a meatless season for the Christians so all the tapa delights are meat free for the season of Lent.
Spring time is the season for brunches. A typical spring time brunch would have the tortilla Espanola, eggplant vinaigrette, asparagus and shrimp in garlic. The meal is winded up with Macedonia de fruta tropical.
The Easter menu has everything from fresh mixed salads and appetizers to roasted lamb with potatoes and the wonderful Catalan cream dessert. The Christmas season is the time of the year when the Spanish produce sweet dishes to tantalize their taste buds. It is during this time that one can clearly see the influence of the different cultures that have had their stay in Spain. The list of sweet treats produced during this time is exhaustive. Basically the culture of Spain is such that no one holiday goes by without the Spaniards indulging in a wide range of tapas, lamb roasts and other lunch items, special snacks and the tastiest of sweet treats. By looking at the holiday food traditions of Spain we can clearly see the love that the Spaniards have for food.
