Almería: a reflection of the sea

Almería's cuisine is varied and natural, with quality products from both sea and land. A certain traditional isolation has resulted in a charismatic cuisine that preserves the most ancient influences, letting history seep into the present.

This city of is one of the best places in Andalusia for tapas. A myriad of bars offer you a variety of tapas to go along with your beer, or with the full-bodied wines produced in this region. In the neighbourhoods of Pescadería and El Alquián, both in Almería and in Cape Gata, fish tapas are very popular, while in the city centre it is more common to find hot tapas like different types of casseroles, patatas pobres or pauper's potatoes (sliced and fried with onions), fried breadcrumbs, etc.

In the province of Almería there is a varied spoon cuisine, which may seem more typical of Spanish inland areas than of a coastal city to the visitor. Soups and stews are typical, like the Almería-style soup (seafood soup), Almería-style garlic soup, fritada from Suflí (which is a kind of tomato sauce), Moorish soup, black soup and pimentón or red soup (a kind of fish casserole). Other great dishes are the fennel and wheat stew called olla de trigo and the renowned gurullos, a country dish that consists of small flour balls, fried in lard and flavoured with garlic, spicy sausage, bacon, game meat, etc.

Products from the sea

Almería could not be understood without first taking a close look at its varied selection of seafood. It is a true pleasure to eat some shrimp with a glass of wine from this region. The wines are varied and excellent, specially the small yields from the towns of Laujar, Ohanes, Fondón, Alboloduy and Berja, of great quality.

The red mullet al ajoblanco (with a garlic and breadcrumb sauce) is an incomparable pleasure. This province's great seafood includes other excellent products like anglerfish, mackerel, octopus and squid.

Desserts are also very appreciated, like for instance the ring-shaped pastries, cream buns, puff pastries, home-made marmalades, pasties, cakes and subtropical fruits. These delicacies are part of the wide selection of sweets and baked goods from this southern province of Spain, unknown to many, yet always generous, attentive and with a breathtaking natural environment.

Wines

This excellent food is best if it is had with a glass of good wine from this region, such as those from the wine-producing town of Láujar de Andarax, a rosé wine of high alcoholic content, or the ëzurraqueí, with low per cent alcohol, which is obtained from white grapes from Alpujarra that are not commercialised. Also excellent is the Ohanes, which is made from white grapes as well.

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