Spanish “jamón” is known all over the world, and Spain´s seafood is legendary. There is no question that Spain is one of the most fascinating culinary destinations in the world. But often vegetarians worry if Spain also offers enough non meat/fish options for them to have enough interesting and tasty options while touring. The answer is: you have to look for them and do your research, but yes, yes, yes!
Some sample veggie dishes you can find in Spain, particularly in the Atlantic and Mediterranean north include:
* Sautéed Boletus mushrooms
* Mushrooms (champiñones) served “al ajillo” (panfried with olive oil and loads of garlic)
* Marinated and often smoked spicy piquillo red peppers
* Risotto style “arroz” rice dishes featuring Idiazabal cheese (from Basque Country), or wild mushrooms or asparagus
* White asparagus from Tudela
* Pimientos de Padrón- delicious little green Galician peppers roast with sea salt and olive oil. 1 in 10 is seriously spicy!
* Marinated artichoke hearts from Navarre
* Lightly breaded and expertly fried eggplant (a Spanish recipe with Moorish origins)
* Endives with a Cabrales (blue cheese from Asturias) sauce
* Swiss chard in a delicate cheese sauce
* Caneloni stuffed with spinach (Catalan recipe)
*Escalivada- roast eggplant, peppers, onion, tomato dish with tons of olive oil and course salt. fabulous…
* Pisto Manchego- similar to Ratatouille. Warning: sometimes come with tuna, so do ask.
* Gazpacho- that quintessential summer dish is a healthy and delicious cold soup made of tomatoes, bread, garlic, and plenty of variations
* Ajoblanco- another great summer soup made of almonds, garlic, grapes
* Goat´s cheese salad with walnuts and apples (ensalada de cabra)
* Manchego cheese with pinenuts and honey
* all manor of scrambled eggs (”revuelto”) with asparagus, queso, setas (wild mushrooms), etc
* Catalan style spinach (”espinacas catalanas”), sautéed with raisins, pinenuts, breadcrumbs and onion
* Fruit brochettes (pineapple especially)
And of course tapas like marinated olives, pan fried almonds with chili (”guindilla”) and patatas bravas (potatoes with a spicy sauce).
Here is a terrific list of vegetarian restaurants in Spain
And info on Spain´s gastronomy and A-Z Food Glossary.
When ordering in restaurants, a word of advice is to tell the wait staff that you are medically and seriously “allergic” to meat/seafood as often bits of chorizo/jamón, even fish are thrown into veggie dishes without letting you know.
Happy travels!
