Valencian cuisine facts for kids
Valencian cuisine is the food style from the Valencian Community in Spain. It's part of the wider Mediterranean cuisine. The main ingredients are fresh vegetables, tasty seafood, and different kinds of meat. This region is famous worldwide for its amazing rice dishes, like paella, and its juicy citrus fruits. Food from nearby areas, like the Balearic Islands and Catalonia, has also influenced Valencian cooking.
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Popular Valencian Main Dishes
What is Paella?
Paella is the most famous Valencian dish. It's a rice dish cooked in a large, flat pan called a 'paella'. Many towns say they invented paella, but it's often thought to come from the Albufera area, south of Valencia city. You can find two main types: one with chicken and rabbit, and another with seafood. Paella is now enjoyed all over the world!
Other Amazing Rice Dishes
- Arròs negre: This is a rice dish cooked with squid and squid ink. It gives the rice a unique black color and a rich flavor.
- Arròs amb conill i caragols: A rice dish that includes rabbit and snails. It's popular in the southern parts of Valencia.
- Arròs al forn: This rice dish is baked in the oven. It often has sausages, chickpeas, and potatoes. People usually make it with leftovers from a local stew.
- Arròs a banda: A simple but tasty rice dish from the Valencian coast. It's made with rice, fish, and garlic.
Noodle and Stew Dishes
- Fideuà: This dish is similar to paella but uses noodles instead of rice. It's full of seafood and comes from the coastal town of Gandia.
- Arròs amb costra: This is a type of baked rice dish. It has an egg layer on top that bakes into a "crust." It's common in southern Valencia, especially in Elche.
- Gazpacho: A well-known Spanish cold soup. In Valencia, it's a popular summer dish, especially in the southern and inland areas.
- Suquet de peix: A hearty stew made with eel, potatoes, garlic, and fish. It's a bit like the French soup Bouillabaisse.
- All i pebre: A special dish from around Valencia city. It contains peppers, garlic, potatoes, and eels.
Other Savory Bites
- Embotits: These are different kinds of cured sausages.
- Sobrassada: A type of soft, spreadable sausage. It's originally from Majorca but also made in the Marina area of Valencia.
- Bollit: A simple and healthy vegetable stew.
- Esgarrat: Also called Pericana in the mountains of Alcoi. It's a mix of roasted peppers and salted cod strips. Pericana also adds garlic.
- Espencat: A dish of roasted vegetables, usually peppers and aubergine. Other vegetables can be added too.
- Coques: These are ancient local savory pastries. They are similar to Italian pizza.
Delicious Valencian Sauces
- Allioli: This is a thick sauce popular across the western Mediterranean. It's made by mixing garlic and olive oil. Sometimes, egg is added, and it usually has a yellow color.
- Mullador: A sauce that always includes tomatoes. Other ingredients change depending on the season and what vegetables are available. It's similar to sauces found in other Mediterranean countries, like French ratatouille.
- Picada: This sauce is made from crushed nuts, usually almonds, mixed with olive oil, parsley, and a little milk. It often goes well with fish dishes.
Sweet Treats and Drinks
- Pestinyos: Small, sweet, and dry pastries. They are folded into three and flavored with orange and aniseed.
- Pastissets: A sweet pastry with a filling of sweet almond or sweet potato. It likely has Arab origins and is common in Valencia.
- Arnadí: A special sweet treat from Xàtiva.
- Coca (pastry): A type of flat pastry that can be sweet or savory. It's like a pizza or pie.
* Coca de llanda: A sponge-cake often flavored with pumpkin, lemon, or apple. * Coca de mullador: A small pizza-like pastry with ratatouille on top. * Coca de xulla: A flat bread topped with bacon and sausages.
- Coques de dacsa: Flat pastry bases, similar to Mexican tortillas. They are topped with different ingredients like mullador.
- Arrop i tallaetes: A dessert where fruit pieces are soaked in a sweet syrup made from grape juice.
- Fartons: These are soft, finger-shaped pastries. They are perfect for dipping into orxata.
- Orxata (Horchata): A refreshing drink made by soaking rice or other ingredients in water.
* Orxata de Xufa: Made with tigernuts, this is the most famous Valencian orxata, produced near Valencia city. * Orxata d'Ametlla: Made with almonds, this type is enjoyed in Alicante and Xixona.
- Peladillas (Jordan almonds): Sugar-coated almonds, a traditional sweet from Casinos.
- Torró: A type of nougat candy. It's a strong tradition in Xixona and Alicante. You can find it in two styles: hard and soft.
- Figues albardaes: A type of fig fritter that is traditional during the Falles festival.
- Bunyols: These are fried dough-balls covered with sugar. The Valencian kind often includes pumpkin in the dough. They are also typical during Falles.
See also
In Spanish: Gastronomía de la Comunidad Valenciana para niños
