Made in Spain: 15 authentic Spanish dishes you must try

A classic and unassuming tapas choice, croquetas are made of a thick béchamel sauce mixed with ground meat, fish or vegetables, then breaded and deep-fried to crispy perfection. Originating from France where they use creamy potatoes, croquetas developed across the border as a tasty way to ensure no meat goes to waste, often using off-cuts of jamón Iberico, chicken or oxtail. Fancy restaurants might even tempt you with their own vegetarian versions, such as wild mushroom and truffle or spinach and manchego.

Spaniards know how to prep a good shrimp and gambas al ajillo is a prime example of this. Spain tapas at its best, gambas al ajillo is served in a clay pot, fried up with garlic, spices and oil to complement the tender texture of the shrimp. As well as unpeeling the most succulent of Spanish seafood, be sure to soak up the tangy oil leftover in the dish with a side of crusty bread.

A colder weather dish warming travellers with the aroma of stewing meat is cocido madrileño, served up in the capital across two to three courses or in bitesize form as some of the best tapas in Madrid. A traditional stew combining local Spanish meats of chorizo and pork with a broth of vegetables and chickpeas, the cocido madrileño is a comfort food elevated through its day-long simmer time and step-by-step dining method. To serve, the soup is usually served first, while the veggies come second place followed by the meat as the finale.

The main feature in any self-respecting Spanish delicatessen is the jamón ibérico which usually hangs above the counter in cured repose, waiting to be sliced and added in sandwiches, on eggs, or simply eaten alone as a salty snack. The marbled ibérico ham typically comes from black pigs raised in western Spain among holm oak woods, earning the meat a nutty flavour thanks to the pigs’ acorn diet. One of the best dishes to try the ham is in pan tumaca (or pan con tomate) – especially while in Catalonia – for a humble yet delicious breakfast or lunch.

Rock up on any section of Spain’s vast coastline and you’re likely to be in store for some great seafood. Though good grilled, roasted or buttered, ‘pescadito frito’ embraces indulgence by deep frying the best seasonal catch. An umbrella term for all fried fish, there’s a number of different names you’ll also want to look out for, particularly calamares a la Andaluza (fried squid), boquerones fritos (fried anchovies), tortillitas de camarones (fried shrimp fritters), puntillitas or chopitos (fried baby squid) and chocos fritos (fried cuttlefish).

Pulpo a la gallega (Galician octopus) is one such dish putting Galician food on the map, directing visitors to the region north of Portugal on the Atlantic coast. Galician food is a mix of two high-yielding local harvests; seafood and potatoes. Simple and authentic, the pulpo a la gallega or “á feira” combines octopus, olive oil, paprika and salt, cooked to perfection in a copper cauldron for over an hour and served on wooden plates with bread, potatoes and, of course, wine.

The cuisine in Segovia is centred around roast meats, notably suckling pig or lamb cooked on a spit over huge wood-fired ovens for that fall-off-the-bone effect. The cochinillo asado is a favourite in Segovia and across the Castile region, made legendary by the skilful chefs who take their roasting very seriously. The dish is most often served on special occasions and festivals, and – to brag about how tender their meat is – they’ll cut it with a plate instead of a knife!

Die-hard foodies or not, you can’t escape the omnipresence of paella while in Spain and nor should you! This is real-deal Spanish cuisine, originally from Valencia and a Mallorca food staple which has spread out across the world as one of the peoples’ most loved rice dishes. The Valencian classic comes with rabbit and chicken while the seafood version is equally worthy, tinted with saffron and socarrat (the fancy name for the delectable crispy bits). For the more adventurous among us, arroz negro paella is a darker one (courtesy of squid ink) while fideuà comes instead with pasta-like ‘fideos’ instead of rice.

If you don’t yet know what are tapas, pinchos and montaditos, then Spain has a lot to teach you, no doubt. In fact, there’s no one definition and the presentation differs throughout the country. In the south, within cities like Granada, tapas often comes free with your drink – from olives and other snacks to stews – while up north instead of tapas to graze on, you’ll likely be served pinchos (or pintxos), which are rather more elaborate (and not always free), featuring a bread base and topped like a canapé. As well as tapas and pinchos, one more snack to get your mouth around is the montadito; ostensibly a tapas-sized baguette sliced and topped with any of the flavours listed above, from jamón ibérico to gambas al ajillo.

For more world cuisine try the best Panama foods.