Food in Galicia

Galicia is located in the extreme northwestern corner of Spain. Galicia’s west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean while the north coast is on the Cantabric Sea. It is a cold, wet climate, with rugged terrain and over 700 miles of rocky coastlines and historically one of the poorest areas of Spain. Small family farms of an acre or two exist growing vegetables, however many families live from fisherman’s catches.

The people of Galicia are descendents of Celtic people, whose myths, legends and belief in the mystic are strong even today.

Famous Dishes:

This area is known for sauces, although there are many fish dishes and popular stews, made with beans and vegetables. In this region, cuisine does vary from province to province, so we’ll discuss the famous dishes of each one.

• Galicians or Gallegos as they are called in Spanish are not rich people and because of the rugged landscape and rough weather, they use every bit of what they grow or catch, including using shells as fertilizer for the soil. All sorts of fish are caught and eaten in Galicia, including gooseneck barnacles, called percebes, oysters or ostras, scallops vieiras, mussels mejillones, clams almejas, razor shell clams navajas and heart clams berberechos to name a few. Learn about all different kinds in the article about Spanish Seafood.

• Vegetables
  The region of La Limia is known for its potatoes. Several varieties are grown there, but most people simply call them either la roja, red potato, or la blanca, white potato. La blanca is soft and mealy and is used to make the famous cocido gallego that we mentioned above, as well as other stews.

• Octopus
  Octopus is popular in Galicia. Prepared a feira, the octopus must be pounded well to make it tender. Then, it is cooked whole and cut into pieces and seasoned with olive oil, paprika and salt. It is traditionally served on rustic wooden plates. This tapa is popular all over Spain and outside of Galicia is called Pulpo Gallego - Galician Style Octopus.