Cantabrian Food and Drink

The Cantabrian kitchen is traditional and is based on the excellent quality of its raw materials.
The cold waters of the Cantabrian sea offer a great variety of fish and shellfish the most well known are: anchovies from Santoña – the best in Spain - . Clams from Pedreña, hake, tuna, sardines, sea bream, and turbot.
Regarding meat, Cantabría has its own breed of cattle (la vaca Tudanca) which is used mainly for meat although the milk being creamy is used also in dairy products.

As for garden produce, it is not a particularly horticultural region, but there are areas where certain vegetables are grown for example: peppers from Isla, lemons from Novales and chickpeas from Liébana.
Cheeses and desserts are highly recommended.

Traditional Dishes

Three of the most notable Cantabrían dishes are:

Cocido Montañes. The basic ingredients are cabbage and white beans and then pork, Spanish sausage, black pudding and salted pork are added. It is a “heavy” dish thus, it is often served in two courses, first the beans and second the pork.

Cocido Lebaniego. This is similar to the “Cocido Montañes” except chickpeas from Liébana are used instead of the white beans and cured meat is added.
“Sorropotum o Marmita”. A tuna fish and potato stew.This dish is prepared all along the coast but depending on the place it has a different name.

Desserts

Sobaos pasiegos. A kind of fairy cakes,muffins, typical from the Vega del Pas area. Ingredients are: flour,yeast,sugar,eggs and butter
Quesadas. Cheese cakes.
Hojaldres. Cakes made from puff pastry.

Cheeses

There are three cheeses which have been classified as being an excellent product.
Queso de Cantabría . A mild cheese made from Frisian cow’s milk.
Queso Picón Bejes-Tresviso. This is made from cow’s, goat’s and sheep’s milk.All these animals have grazed in Picos de Europe.The cheese is matured in natural caves in the mountains.
Quesucos de Liébana. These are soft, creamy and mild.They are small and can be made from cow’s, goat’s or sheep’s milk or a combination of all three. There are also some delicious and highly reccommended smoked cheeses, the most important being Áliva, Brez, and Lomeña.

Drinks

Orujo de Potes is a liquor distilled from grape remains from the Liébana area. You will find many shops around Potes area that offer a huge variety of different types of orujos and other loaclly produced liquors. There is a popular regional fiesta held in Potes every year in November to celebrate this drink.

For those who prefer to stay of alcohol there is a herbal drink called Té del Puerto, brewed from a wild plant can be found in the high lands of the Liébana area. The drink is yellow in colour and resembles camomile, it has a pleasant smell and a mild taste.