Galician Food and Drink

Vigo, one of the main fishing ports in Europa, is on the south west coast of Galicia, the largest producers of muscles in the world are from the Galician estuaries. So,of course fish plays a big part in the Galician cuisine.

The following are used in typical Galician dishes: barnacles, bay prawns, spider crabs, small crabs, lobsters, octopus, muscles, cod and mackerel.
Apart from sea dishes there is also a wide variety of meat and veg on offer. Free range chicken known locally as Capón is also recommended.

Dishes

Lacón con grelos. This is a Galician stew which has as main ingredients : pork, potatoes, Spanish sausage, and turnip greens. It is usually eaten in winter when wthe weather is cold and a warm and energetic dish is more appropiate.

Pulpo a la Gallega. Galician Octopus is one of the most well-known dishes in Galicia. The ingredients are: octopus, onion, olive oil, salt and cayenne pepper. Its definetely worth a try. You´ll find it almost everywhere in Galicia.

Pimientos de Padrón. These are peppers from Padrón, near to Santiago de Compostela. They are small and spicy, although some varieties are sweet, they are eaten while green and fresh and are cooked in olive oil both eaten as a starter and as garnishing for meat and fish.

Desserts

Filloas Gallegas. These are pancakes made of flour, egg and water. However, there are different varieties regarding ingredients; stock, milk and congealed pig´s blood./ black pudding Sugar,honey, cream and even a few drops of liqueur are used to add taste.

Cheeses

Tetilla cheese is one of the most well-known regional cheeses and since 1992 has been classified with its own Denominación de Origen. It is made from the milk of the regional breed of cows (Frision,Pardo Alpina and Rubia Gallega) who are fed in the traditional way and are free to roam about remote mountain areas. It is a yellowy colour and has a mild, creamy and slightly salty taste.
A good white wine is recommended to have with this cheese for example Albariño or Ribeiro.

O Cebreiro. This cheese has the shape of a mushroom. The only ingredients being milk from the regional breed of cows. It has no additives or preservatives and can be eaten either fresh or matured.

Drinks

There are five wines that have their own Denominación de Origen, both white and red. As we know,The basis of all wine is the grape. Galicia grows its own grapes: “Albariño” is a small, white and very sweet grape that is used mainly in the wine-making process in the southern coast of Galicia.
“Treixadura” is another kind of grape which can be identified by its aromatic properities.

Ribeira Sacra wines
These classified white and red wines are found mainly in the Lugo and Orense provinces. The whole production is limited and sold only in Galicia. The most well-known wines are: Mencía, a red wine and Albariño and Godello both white wines.
More information on this web page: www.ribeirasacra.org

Ribeiro
This wine is best known for white rather than red wine. It is used in the preparation of many Galician dishes. The white wine is fresh, very aromatic and with an average alcohol content of about 10º .

Wine Cellars

On the southern coast of Galicia there are many wine cellars which offer routes around their bodegas where one can sample the wine produced and also see the interesting wine-making process.