7 ABSOLUTELY AMAZING TAPAS THAT YOU HAVE TO TRY IN SEVILLE

So you’re going to Seville? You will definitely enjoy its breathtaking monuments, its narrow streets and the hospitality of its people; it is a charming city without doubt. But Seville is, above all, the capital of amazing TAPAS and you will notice it as soon as you start walking around the city. In Seville, the world revolves around the food and you probably won’t have enough time to try it all. The city enjoys a great variety of food because of its geographical location (the mountains, the ocean and the influence of other cities in Andalusia and Extremadura).

Even though, you’ve probably heard about the most typical dishes like the cured Iberian ham (“jamón ibérico”), the “croquetas” or the Spanish omelet (“tortilla de patatas”). These are great tapas but today we want to talk about tapas that you haven’t heard of, tapas that local people enjoy so much, we want you to try these very local dishes that you won’t find in your guidebooks. Want to eat tasty local food? Here are a few tapas you need to try while you are in Seville.

1. Caracoles (snails)

Hey, the look on your face just changed 😉 You’re probably looking at your computer screen thinking “No way am I eating those things”, you actually don’t have to, we are not obliging you (only your mother can do that) but locals go crazy for these tiny creatures, why? Because it tastes great. However, there is a season to eat good snails and that season is from mid-April till the end of June.

Basically, there are very small snails cooked in a spicy sauce with pepper, coriander, cumin, cayenne and fennel. This sauce is pure magic and it is also very healthy so why not give it a try?

2. Migas del pastor (Shepherd’s breacrumbs)

The migas (in the way they are eaten in Seville) are originally from Extremadura which is a beautiful region between Andalucia and Portugal. We call this dish shepherd’s migas because it is made with ingredients that shepherds would take with them when leaving home with their sheep when they would go to the hills, some hard bread, garlic, olive oil and a little bit of meat or dry sausage. I like to imagine the shepherd under the shadow of an olive tree, slowly mixing all these ingredients and enjoying it in the middle of nowhere, it’s a very peaceful picture, isn’t it?

In other words, this is the typical humble dish and it probably is as old as Spain itself so go ahead, this is a little bit of culture.

3. Chicharrones (eat it first and read the description afterwards)

In the south of Spain we like pork, we like it so much that we cook every single part of it (pork is life!). The word chicharrones means anything that is made with the fat of the pork so if you are on diet…well just forget about diet, you are on holidays for Christ sake!

There are different types of chicharrones but today we are going to focus on the fried ones. It’s basically pork belly that is fried with garlic (yes, we love garlic here) and oregano. It’s not very sophisticated or complicated to prepare but the taste is just fantastic and why not get a paper cone filled with it to eat it while walking around the city, just ask in any butcher’s shop.

4. Mojama de atun (filleted salt-cured tuna)

Here is another simple dish that doesn’t disappoint. Mojama is filleted salt-cured tuna (yeah, just like the cured ham) the technique was developed by the Phoenicians who used it to preserve the tuna in order to be able to trade with it. It is served in very thin slices with olive oil and it can be described in three words: DELICIOUS, DELICIOUS and DELICIOUS.

Just like the cured ham there are different qualities of mojama and if you have the chance to taste the Almadraba red tuna mojama (from Cadiz) you may fall in love and stay in Spain forever.

5. Pescaito frito (deep-fried fish)

Literally fried fish, so now you may think “Hey this is not Spanish, we have fried fish in many countries around the world.” Yes, that is true but here in Seville they fry the fish with “Arte” which means they do it better than any other country and there is no arguing about it. Actually the famous “Fish and chips” which is the national dish of the UK was originally brought there by Spanish and Portuguese emigrants in the 16th Century. Once again we owe this monument of gastronomy to the Phoenicians from about 3,000 years ago.

If you’re about to order it you can find different types, the most common here are Pavía de Merluza (Fried hake), boquerones en adobo (Marinated and fried anchovies) or Choco frito (fried octopus). However, in many places you can order “Un frito variado” which is an assortment of fried fishes.

6. Carrillada iberica (braised pork cheek)

This dish can tell you a lot about the bar/restaurant where you are. Wondering why? Because this is the type of stew that requires experience and very slow cooking. In other words, if the carrillada is good the chances are good that the other tapas on the menu are as well. “Ok, great but what is the carrillada?” Here comes the explanation, “carrillada” is the cheek and “Iberica” means that it comes from the Iberian pig, which the locals call black pig (a celebrated local hero). This pork cheek is cooked with vegetables and wine till it becomes so tender that you won’t even need a knife to cut it, it’s a must.

7. Montadito de pringá

Here is another diet killer but life is a question of priorities and after you eat this tapa I can tell you will never be the same. “Montadito” is the word we use here for a small sandwich so you can find montaditos of many different things. “Pringá” is mix of different types of meat. Normally the pringá is made from chicken, pork, chorizo, morcilla (blood sausage) and a piece of bacon. Everything is mixed and then warmed up, yummy!!!