Spain has very strong gastronomic tradition and culture. Each region has its own staples and dishes thanks to the country’s diverse resources: seafood from the costal areas, rice from Valencia’s flat lands, ham from the inland regions, and fresh fruits and vegetables. The Spanish enjoy a light breakfast at 8-10 a.m., a heavy lunch around 2-3 in the afternoon, and a light dinner around 10 p.m.
My first experience with Spanish food with breakfast was at El Museo de Jamón (“The Museum of Ham”, a name I found summarized Spanish food rather well). Breakfast consisted of a buffet of meats, cheese, bread, and pastries, accompanied by coffee and orange, pineapple, or apricot juice. Spanish breakfast foods tend to cater to the sweet and savory (a donut and black coffee, cured meats and toast with tomatoes), whereas Americans view breakfast as “the most important meal of the day” and typically start off with something filling and loaded with carbohydrates to provide energy to start the day, such as pancakes or French toast. Spanish breakfast, I find, is more wholesome and healthy, and frankly a better start to the day than a breakfast full of sugar.
Lunch in Spain is much closer to breakfast in the US. There are many dishes with potatoes, eggs, and sausage, substantial enough to get you through the day with a single meal. My first experience with this was in Madrid. I went to a restaurant that sold lunch and tapas. I chose the best of both worlds: a lunch portion of a tortilla española, essentially a potato pancake served with sour cream. What I didn’t consider was that a “lunch portion” would be approximately the size of my head and an inch and a half thick. It was far too much to eat in one sitting, but delicious nonetheless.
Dinner is typically a healthy serving of meat (typically fish or ham), potatoes, and grilled vegetables. Nothing too flashy, and not too different from dinner back home.
Finally, any conversation about Spanish food would be incomplete without tapas. Tapas (or “pintxos” in Pays Vasco) are a unique part of Spanish cuisine, consumed as an appetizer or mid-day snack. Everywhere we went, city streets were riddled with tapas bars, quaint diner-like settings with a bar full of tortillas, gambas, croquetas, patatas, pulpo, chorizo, etc.. We had to go off the beaten path a bit to get away from the tourist-diluted tapas bars, but the genuine article was definitely worth it.
All in all, I didn’t miss American food in the slightest. Spanish food was healthier, more natural, and more substantial. The diversity of flavors and ingredients made for a new experience with every meal.