Córdoba Gastronomy
Because of its geographical position, Córdoba brings together the produce of the sierra and of the countryside: the cuisine of Sierra Morena and of the valleys of the Guadalquivir and the Genil.
The sierra provides the natural produce of hunting and livestock farming. The Guadalquivir valley provides oil, the wine of Montilla-Moriles and Doña Mencía, and a variety of vegetables and cereals. Córdoba's position, equidistant from the two seas, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, means that fresh fish arrives in Córdoba promptly. Because of its history, the various culinary traditions are balanced in Córdoba.
Owing to the Roman conquest and civilisation, Córdoba's cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine, that is, a cuisine of oil and of aromas. The Arab influence in Córdoba, as in other parts of Andalusia, means that vegetables are stewed and form a dish in their own right rather than an accompaniment to other foods. The preference for sweet-and-sour combinations and the use of almonds, pine nuts and raisins in meat and vegetable stews also come from Arab cooking. The Jews left some specific dishes, such as the stew of dried broad beans with aubergines and the white gazpacho made with broad-bean flour, and above all some characteristic habits in the kitchen.
The Christian conquest brought its influence in the use of meat and its various ways of preparation.
This blend of culinary cultures is best seen in the confectionery. On the one hand there is the whole group of mantecados, perrunas, etc., which are of Christian and Castilian origin. On the other, all the alfajores and almond and sugar sweets of Arab origin.
Tapas
By 1721 there were already more than 143 tabernas in the city. At the end of the last century people used to sing:
Córdoba, wild city, which between old and new has three hundred taverns and just one bookshop.
Today the bookshop situation has improved, but the places to eat and drink well are still going strong.
Córdoba is one of the best cities for going out for tapas. You will find good tapas in the simplest bars and at the most sumptuous counters. The variety of tapas is enormous, but don't forget that here, better than anywhere else, you can enjoy flamenquines, salmorejo, rabo de toro, berenjenas a la miel (aubergines with honey), etc.
Among the many places not to be missed we can mention, for example, the tabernas Salinas, San Miguel el Pisto, Pepe el de la Judería and La Viuda, as well as the Círculo de Plateros.
Meat in Córdoba
The breed of lamb raised in Córdoba should be eaten very young and is better stewed than roasted. You can also find an excellent artisan sheep's cheese, similar to Manchego.
The same valley produces the best pigs, raised in the open and fed on acorns, which give excellent ham. Weaned piglets are fried in small crispy pieces and are called cochifrito. A combination of pork and beef is the speciality of the flamenquín: a long fillet of veal or pork wrapped around ham, rolled up, coated in breadcrumbs and fried.
Also typical of Córdoba is rabo de toro, an oxtail stew in which the tail adds its gelatine, thickening the sauce.
Cured sausages are made in two ways, depending on whether they come from the Sierra or the Campiña (countryside).
In the Sierra, chorizo and morcilla (black pudding) are smoke-cured. In the Campiña, morcilla made with blood and onion is boiled, the one from Baena standing out. Chorizo is eaten fresh, not cured, either fried or boiled in wine with thyme.