If there is something that stands out the most in Castilla y León is its wonderful gastronomy. A diverse gastronomy, full of handmade and natural products.
Every province has a great variety of products that are typical of each province. This is one the reasons why some of the provinces are better known for their food than for their culture or architecture.
The most noteworthy dishes of each province are the following:
This desert made only with egg yolks and sugar is one of the most typical dishes in the Ávila. It is a clear example that “less is more” since it is one of the easiest deserts to elaborate with less ingredients.
What would Burgos be without its morcilla… It is a characteristic cold meat since it is elaborated with rice instead of meat.
But not only does it have rice, it also has pig clotted blood and fat, salt, onions and spices to taste.
Even though its form resembles a chorizo, Burgos’ morcilla is made cutting it in slices and fry it until getting a crunchy texture.
León’s cecina is made of beef meat, but there other types made of horse or ox meat. Not only is it the most typical cold meats of the province, but also one of the most characteristic dishes of León.
It is known that León is the best when it comes to tapas, so is there anything better than a tapa made of bread with oil and cecina?
There is a wide variety of typical Spanish dishes made with potatoes, but this dish from Palencia is so special that is made in a lot of places in Spain, especially Madrid.
Just potatoes cut in slices and a series of ingredients to give it some taste, like onion, garlic or white wine. You can get a true delicatessen.
Furthermore, some jamón serrano is usually placed between each slice to give it even a more delicious taste.
It is known that in Salamanca one eats very well, but the hornazo from Salamanca is on another level.
It consists of a kind of a pie filled with a wide variety of cold meats that are baked together, and that is where the name comes from.
It is a typical Spanish product, but each town elaborates it in a different way, making them typical from each place.
This dish is typical of Castilla y León, but in Segovia it is even more typical. In 2002, it was designated to be a dish with Marca de Garantía (thanks to which the costumer is informed of the characteristics of each product.)
Until it reaches the costumer, cochinillo has needed a lot of attention in their breeding as well as in their elaboration. They all have to fulfill a series of requirements in order to be commercialized (weight, internal and external color, the marking with a blue sign in their ears, etc.)
The traditional elaboration to cook this animal is to place it downwards, cutting its spine open and then bake it in a wood oven.
Torreznos is the most typical dish of Soria, the way of elaborating them (with both cold and hot oil) and its final result (crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside) has made this dash famous in Spain.
Strips of marinated and fried meat are the main protagonists of Soria.
Just like cochinillo, it is a typical product in Castilla y León even though it is more famous in Valladolid.
Lechazo asado is one of the easiest dishes to elaborate since you only need lechazo, water, salt and, of course, a good wood oven, the reason of its characteristic taste. After introducing lechazo in the wood oven, you only need to wait two hours to taste this Castilian delicatessen.
In Spain, there is a wide variety of elaborating rice, and undoubtedly the most international of all is the elaboration from Valencia. However, in Castilla y León, arroz a la zamorana is not that famous but it is just as good as paella.
What makes it so characteristic is the wide variety of ingredients it has, for instance, pig’s ear, tail and trotters, chorizo, onions, bacon, pimentón de la Vera and garlic.
