Meatballs, 'peus de porc' and muffin at the Montferry WineryMònica Escudero
I landed in Spain almost 30 years ago and I perfectly remember my first breakfast in a Sevillian house. “Anna, do you want your toast with butter or oil?” From here I want to apologize to Pilar for having laughed in her face, but then having bread with olive oil for breakfast seemed like a joke to me. How am I going to have
bruschetta
for breakfast ? Ah, youth. Since then I have become a staunch defender of salty breakfasts, bread toast with olive oil and omelette skewers or mid-morning sandwiches.
It can be called breakfast,
esmorzar, berenar
or
hamakeitako
and each place defines it in its own way. We are going to travel through the breakfasts of Spain, examples of different ways of enjoying food in the morning of which we do not intend to make an exhaustive list. I am aware that the word lunch - and its co-official equivalents - is used differently depending on the area: in some places it is a mid-morning meal, in others it is a midday meal. In other places it is called breakfast but it is at 11 and includes beer and a sandwich. That's why it is so generic and talks about that meal that is eaten between waking up and the midday meal: what follows are some strokes of that large and wonderful picture that is the national breakfast.
Andalusia: breakfast on the street and toast
This is what an Andalusian breakfast looks likeAnna Mayer Mayer
Breakfast is so central in the life of Andalusians that for years, on the occasion of Andalusia Day, schools have organized an "Andalusian breakfast", which in some places they call "miller": the schools, together with the work of the AMPAS, distribute bread with olive oil and sugar to girls and boys gathered in the patios (as the Malacara humorous account reminds the world every year). Toast with olive oil – extra virgin, or we take it for granted – is probably the most common breakfast in Andalusian bars, a base to which almost any ingredient can be added, starting with the classic (and topical) Serrano ham or butter. will color.
There are local variants with the format of the bread – the best known is the mollete, my colleague Lakshmi Aguirre talked about it a few weeks ago, and in Seville I was a fan of the dark bread from La Algaba – but it is always toasted. José Berasaluce, director of the Master in Innovation in Gastronomic Culture, Másterñam, at the University of Cádiz, emphasizes this to me: “Toasted bread, be careful, not grilled bread: the grill is not used in Andalusia.” “Bread with extra virgin olive oil is a symbol of the identity of the Andalusian breakfast,” Berasaluce continues to tell me, “and although it is popular as a street breakfast, especially around food plazas and workplaces, it is a replica of what is consumed at home.” As a curiosity, the Tostadatown account dedicated an entire year to trying and reviewing 365 toasts in Seville. The country breakfasts of the province of Cádiz are not at all homemade: perhaps the closest thing to a Catalan
forquilla esmorzar
, they allow you to try stews mid-morning and are enjoyed especially at sales in the Cádiz countryside.
Recommended:
El Rincón de Lucía: c/ Arcángel San Miguel, 2. Seville. “Tostadatown's top one.” Map.
Bar Montana: c/ Cerón, 2. Jaén. “One of the few places that still offers croutons for breakfast.” Map.
Panaceite: c/ Bernabé Soriano, 1. Jaén. “An endless toast menu and always good olive oil available.” Map.
Sale Andrés: Los Barrios Jerez Highway, Exit 17. Medina-Sidonia (Cádiz). “Venison in sauce and more things for lunch.” Map.
Venta de Cartuja: CA-3108 km 5. Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz.) “Toast with Telera bread.” Map.
Extremadura, capital of toast (and crumbs)
To start the morning with energyAnna Mayer Mayer
“The Extremaduran toasts are a thousand times better than the Sevillian ones.” Isabel Sánchez Flores from La Dicha, from Emeritus and a connoisseur of local gastronomy, is off to a strong start (and I don't disagree with her because I'm always in favor of reaching new breakfast heights). Toast is such a serious matter there, that Badajoz proclaimed itself the breakfast capital. “There is a huge variety of toasts in the bars, and the city council organizes breakfast and toast competitions,” Sanchez Flores tells me. “The most typical toast here in Mérida is cachuela, we also have what has always been 'la catalana', which at some point changed its name to 'la extremadura' with bread, tomato, oil, garlic and Iberian ham. Another typical one is the Parisian one, with York ham and melted cheese (with butter or olive oil).”
In addition to toast and churros, in Extremadura it is possible to have migas for breakfast. “I associate the province of Cáceres with churros and the province of Badajoz with migas: when they are made at home they are more for eating at midday, with eggs, but in bars they do have them for breakfast.” Perhaps one of the most beautiful memories I have of my time in Extremadura's Siberia: the breakfast crumbs that they gave us at the Las Tres Peñas rural house, with its fried peppers and its arrope.
Recommended:
Café Bar Venero (migas): Av. Santa Marina, 49B, Badajoz. Map.
Bar Salas (migas): Pl. Santo Domingo. Merida (Badajoz). “They serve them very simply, only accompanied by fried peppers and garlic, but with their good bacon taste and perfect humidity.” Map.
La Corchuela (toasted) - c/ Melendez Valdéz, 12. Badajoz. “The ham is cut instantly and the muffin arrives sealed.” Map.
Castilla La Mancha: gacha here, gacha there
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If in Extremadura they are crumbs, in La Mancha they are porridge: another dish that has its origins in the countryside and that we associate more with a copious midday meal. “The porridge lunch is very typical here. Although it has its origins in field workers, it is very common to see bars full at mid-morning having pea porridge with bacon “tajás” for lunch,” Teresa Gutiérrez from the Azafrán restaurant in Villarrobledo (Albacete) tells me. There they also do not disdain the lunch of sandwiches with orza products (chorizos, blood sausages...) "but the porridge is the most typical, and many groups of friends meet up to eat it every weekend."
Recommended:
El Terrero - c/. del Corredero del Agua, 86, Villarrobledo (Albacete). “They make them especially good and it is usually packed any weekend with porridge lunch lovers.” Map.
Valencia,
effort
and
spending
This is from figatellsAdri Alcaide
Has anyone ever said “snacks” and “lunch” in the same sentence? Because this takes us right to the
Valencian
esmorzaret
. I can't think of anyone better than Adri Alcaide and Javi Cirujeda from La Picaeta to delve into the topic. “First of all: lunch is the best meal ever,” says Alcaide, who clearly is from Valencia (and be careful not to contradict him). Esmorzaret
is
made in the morning, usually between nine and eleven, and yet it is almost a complete menu. “Lunch is usually made up of the
expense
, that small appetizer of
collaret cocoas
(peanuts), olives and some pickles. Then you have the sandwich, and then the coffee.”
The
expense
, Cirujeda tells me, “is the money you pay for the typical olives, lupins, and peanuts that they put with your lunch. In some places it is used in case you bring your own sandwich: in the most popular bars, where workers go to lunch, it is normal to take the sandwich from home and ask the bar for the drink.” The expense is a small plus for the use of the table, a custom that also occurs in the Teruel area, where Cirujeda is from.
Esmorzaret
is a phenomenon that has been growing in recent years: “Now it is increasingly common to see XXL lunches, which offer you a sandwich from a whole loaf of bread,” Alcaide tells me, a little nostalgically
.
And after inventing the concept of tumbao, the Valencians have added another neologism: the
comboi
. “The expression 'let's make
comboi
' is used a lot, which is like getting together with several friends to do something we like: 'let's make
exciting comboi
'.”
Recommended:
Taberna el Carrer: Pl. de l'Església, 16. Campanar (Valencia). “In a very traditional area of the neighborhood, their oxtail stew sandwich with egg yolks.” Map.
Mesón Canela: c/ de Conchita Piquer, 9. Campanar (Valencia). “They have classic combinations with a little reinvented touch.” Map.
Bar Nuevo Oslo: c/ Del Doctor Sanchis Sivera, 7. Valencia. “A more classic place, with a lot of ingredients in the display cases where you can choose.” Map.
Xavi's racò: c/ Río Besos, 4. Valencia. “In the Malilla area, they have good sandwiches, and they work very well with figatell.” Map.
Ca Rakel: c/ Dr. Lluch, 9. Valencia. “At Cabañal, you can find horse meat, which is very typical of those lunches.” Map.
Ruzafa's cantina: c/ del Literat Azorín, 13-A. Valencia. “They make the sandwiches with pataquetas, a typical Valencian bread, I really like the figatell one.” Map.
Canary Islands: don't miss out
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In Tenerife, a mid-morning breakfast sandwich is also popular. I asked Yanet Acosta, director of the Master of Communication and Gastronomic Journalism at The Foodie Studies, if there was anything she missed about the Canarian breakfast. “The half sandwich of leg with white cheese” she writes to me (the white cheese is fresh goat). “If you want it with salad and cheese, you have to order it 'with everything': the potato omelette with yellow cheese and salad, shredded meat or chicken and white cheese are other options that I love.” To drink, “a cut milk and milk, that is, with natural milk and condensed milk. It would be better for us to order milk with gofio, but that breakfast is always eaten at home, and less and less.”
Recommended:
La Tropical: c/ Heraclio Sánchez, 27. La Laguna (Santa Cruz de Tenerife). “In every town there is always a key place to have a sandwich, but I am especially fond of Tropical in La Laguna, which has homemade roast pata.” Map.
Catalonia:
having a fork
A fork breakfast with cap i pota and views of the Rossinyol mountain range, at the Cal Ros viewpoint. Caterina Barjau
“What I perceive as
having a forkful of lunch
is not a lunch, it is a pure and simple breakfast. The difference between
esmorzaret
is a confusion of terms: in Valencian
esmorzar
is lunch, and in Catalan it is breakfast. In Valencian, breakfast is “
dejuni
”. Alberto García Moyano, lawyer and pro winemaker, seemed philological to me, but we soon reached a consensus: whatever it is called, it is “that almost always salty food between waking up and midday.” Are sandwiches included in Catalan breakfasts? I ask him. “Yes, the sandwich is a great breakfast item, at Montferry it is our emblem. But
fork esmorzar
is something else: for me it is the first meal of the day in which you already eat. I have the feeling that you eat it for breakfast, you could have it for lunch: a fricandó, some pig's feet with fried potatoes, with fried eggs, wine and carajillo. In my opinion, the Catalan forquilla esmorzar is more copious than many others, almost in the league of Cádiz country breakfasts.” To start searching for the
nearest
forquilla esmorzar , there are different and complementary initiatives on the internet such as Esmorzars de forquilla.cat and Esmorzars de forquilla.net.
Recommended:
Montferry Winery: Passatge de Serra i Arola, 13. Barcelona. “Any stew or sandwich of the day are mandatory.” Map.
Granja Elena: Pg. de la Zona Franca, 228. Barcelona. “Stews, legumes and breakfasts from 10 euros as far as the tribute goes.” Map.
Stadium Bar: Travessera de les Corts, 140. Barcelona. “Meatballs with fries or spicy octopus.” Map.
Balearic Islands,
Berenar
and
Variat
Llonguet filled with variatCa Sa Miss
All these breakfast-lunches have in common their origin in work in the fields: the breakfast of coffee and pastries is something more recent and bourgeois, while the copious and filling mid-morning meal was what was eaten after having already worked a few hours. . The Mallorcan
berenar
has a certain resemblance to the
esmorzar de forquilla
and the
esmorzaret
, especially in its collective enjoyment, with groups of friends who go out to
berenar
. I spoke with María Solivellas, cook at the Ca na Toneta restaurant: “There is something quite peculiar in Mallorca, the
variat
(varied), a real nonsense: do you know all these dishes that are in traditional bars? A cuttlefish stew, the fried slaughterhouse, a salad, the Roman-style squid, the croquette, the tripe... well, suddenly they put a little of all this on a tiny plate. It sounds very crazy, but it is delicious.” Of course, there is a profile on Instagram dedicated to the
Mallorcan Variat
.
Recommended:
Bar Casa Miss: Pl. de la Constitució, 3. Sa Pobla (Mallorca). “
Llonguets
stuffed with
variat
, and their pork liver banderillas with olives.” Map.
Euskadi and the
hamaiketako
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We add the Basque hamaiketako
to the list of words that define this food
. “That's what lunch or second breakfast is called in the Basque Country,” Marta Miranda, a photographer and food stylist, who once served as Chef's Advocate, tells me. “In Euskadi we may have more than a second breakfast or lunch, because any time is good to eat something, even more so if we are accompanied. We don't need many excuses. If someone comes home at noon, they are offered a snack: bread, chorizo, cheese or some Sarriegui potatoes if there is nothing else.” At home or on the street? Both: “I remember
hamaiketakos
from when I was a child. I went out on Saturday with my father, we put my godfather in the car and we went up to Buenavista, in Igeldo, to have a freshly cooked chorizo skewered with a toothpick on a slice of bread. “The tortilla pincho is a classic that is served daily in all San Sebastian bars in the morning.”
Recommended:
Kaioa Tavern: Mandasko Dukearen Pasealekua, 40. Donostia. Map.
Galicia, between the tortilla skewer and the homemade cake
The mid-morning pincho in PontejosAnna Mayer Mayer
I finish this tour in the place where I live now, Galicia. Despite the abundance and quality of bread, and the reputation of gluttons, I don't find anything comparable to lunch in my daily life. Perhaps it is my experience that fails, so I ask Jorge Guitián, my Galician of reference, if it is different in other areas. “In Galicia there was a tradition of lunch: the parva, which was what field workers ate around mid-morning after having had a short breakfast at home (sometimes little more than a coffee, or a chicory, with hardly any accompaniment).” It was a communal lunch: the laborers got together and made a fire in which they prepared coffee and grilled bacon, bacon, chorizo or whatever they had besides bread. “It was often accompanied by a drink of brandy. In the world of the sea something similar happened: people who had gone out fishing at dawn had a drink in the taverns of the port when they returned; sometimes a simple portion, sometimes a sandwich,” Guitián concludes.
This was before, and now? “There are some specific vestiges left” he continues: “In A Coruña, for example, it is quite common to have a tortilla skewer mid-morning and, in fact, there are dozens of bars around the city that offer it. On the other hand, there is the complimentary tapa in its sweet variant, which is common especially in smaller towns and which can often be a portion of a homemade cake.” A light bulb goes on: there are indeed bars where I go just for their complimentary cake; and those tapas, which in Galicia are more related to appetizers or vermouth, may be related to all this.
“I defend that the complimentary tapa of Santiago de Compostela was born, in some way, as a type of lunch. Here it spread at the beginning of the 20th century as something characteristic of Thursdays, the day of the livestock fair: the fairmen arrived and, from mid-morning, when they went to have a wine at the taverns, they found that they They offered a sample of the characteristic stews of that house: broth, tripe, a bean stew.” That way, they could decide whether to stay for lunch, attracted by that attraction, but if they didn't have money, with a wine or two and the corresponding tapa, they would go on until nightfall. “The custom was so popular that it remained alive until the beginning of this century. For example, Casa Vilas, a historic restaurant in the city, maintained until its closure the option of ordering a media e media on Thursdays at noon at its bar: a dish in which half a portion of tripe and half of rice were served. with meat. And even today, Thursdays are, in the city, tripe day.” A plated breakfast as good as any other.
Recommended:
Pontejos: Rúa Pío XII, 3. A Coruña. “Their tortilla skewer is one of the city's legendary ones.” Map.
O Cotón: Rúa da Cachurra, 9. Negreira (A Coruña). “His cake made me happy many breakfasts.” Map.
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