Cantabria

Sponge cake made with wheat flour, butter, sugar and eggs, from Cantabria, Spain

Crepes, sprinkled with powdered sugar, topped or filled with a variety of fillings

Quesada pasiega is a dessert typical of the region of Cantabria, Spain. It is one of the best-known dishes of Cantabrian cuisine. It has the consistency of a dense pudding, and is made from milk, sugar, butter, wheat flour, and egg, and flavored with lemon zest and cinnamon. The batter is typically mixed until smooth and then baked to perfection, resulting in a soft and creamy interior with a slightly firm outer layer. The dessert is known for its delicate sweetness, subtle hints of lemon or cinnamon. It can be served hot or cold. Quesada Pasiega is a beloved dessert in Cantabria, enjoyed on various occasions, from family gatherings to special celebrations. Its rich history and traditional preparation methods have made it a culinary gem, showcasing the region's culinary heritage and providing a delightful taste of Spanish gastronomy. Also known as the "Spanish Cantabrian Cheesecake," Quesada pasiega is a heavenly treat renowned for its velvety texture and mouthwatering taste. This delightful sweet treat is often referred to as the "Spanish Cantabrian Cheesecake" due to its similar texture and appearance to a cheesecake. The dessert boasts a rustic allure, adorned with a perfectly golden-brown crust that forms during baking.

Sponge cake made with wheat flour, butter, sugar and eggs, from Cantabria, Spain

The calimocho or kalimotxo is a drink consisting of equal parts red wine and a cola-based soft drink. Red wine and cola were combined in Spain as early as the 1920s, but Coca-Cola was not widely available. That changed in 1953, when the first Coca-Cola factory opened in Spain. The combination was given various names, until 1972 when its mass usage at a festival in Algorta led to it being christened the kalimotxo, a playful combination of the two creators' nicknames, Kalimero and Motxongo. It has since become a classic of the Basque Country region and in the rest of Spain in large part due to its simple mixture, accessibility of ingredients, and low cost.

Orujo is a pomace brandy from northern Spain. It is a transparent spirit with an alcohol content over 50% (100°US ; 87.6ºBritain and Commonwealth proof). Its name comes from the expression "aguardiente de orujo" (pomace spirit). It is popular in northern Spain, particularly in Galicia, but also in Asturias, Castile and León and Cantabria (principally in the valley of Liébana). It is also called augardente or aguardiente ("firewater"), and caña. Orujo has become an artisanal craft for some families who after making wine for themselves distill the pomace in a little pot still. Many high-quality distilled spirits have appeared in the last twenty years, including some origin appellations (in Spanish, D.O.). These are obtained from quality grapes and produced according to the highest standards and are replacing the traditional homemade liquor, nowadays only available in small villages. Orujo's basic ingredient is the residue from wine production. Once the grapes are crushed, the orujos or residue of the grapes can be used to produce the liqueur of the same name. The grape skins, seeds and stalks are fermented in closed vats and then distilled. Stills, called alambiques, alquitaras or potas are traditionally large copper kettles that are heated over an open fire, while a poteiro (orujo distiller) watches over his brew. The distilling process in the alambiques takes six hours or more. The copper stills used by Galicians for centuries are thought to have been brought to the Iberian peninsula by the Arabs, which in fact, never was.[citation needed]

An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 16 genera; they are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, and in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Anchovies are usually classified as oily fish.

Barnacles are arthropods of the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea. They are related to crabs and lobsters, with similar nauplius larvae. Barnacles are exclusively marine invertebrates; many species live in shallow and tidal waters. Some 2,100 species have been described. Barnacle adults are sessile; most are suspension feeders with hard calcareous shells, but the Rhizocephala are specialized parasites of other crustaceans, with reduced bodies. Barnacles have existed since at least the mid-Carboniferous, some 325 million years ago.

Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle . Beef can be prepared in various ways; cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often ground or minced, as found in most hamburgers. Beef contains protein, iron, and vitamin B12. Along with other kinds of red meat, high consumption is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer and coronary heart disease, especially when processed. Beef has a high environmental impact, being a primary driver of deforestation with the highest greenhouse gas emissions of any agricultural product. In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity of their meat. Today, beef is the third most widely consumed meat in the world, after pork and poultry. As of 2018, the United States, Brazil, and China were the largest producers of beef.

The wild boar , also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is now one of the widest-ranging mammals in the world, as well as the most widespread suiform. It has been assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List due to its wide range, high numbers, and adaptability to a diversity of habitats. It has become an invasive species in part of its introduced range. Wild boars probably originated in Southeast Asia during the Early Pleistocene and outcompeted other suid species as they spread throughout the Old World. As of 2005[update], up to 16 subspecies are recognized, which are divided into four regional groupings based on skull height and lacrimal bone length. The species lives in matriarchal societies consisting of interrelated females and their young (both male and female). Fully grown males are usually solitary outside the breeding season. The wolf is the wild boar's main predator in most of its natural range except in the Far East and the Lesser Sunda Islands, where it is replaced by the tiger and Komodo dragon respectively. The wild boar has a long history of association with humans, having been the ancestor of most domestic pig breeds and a big-game animal for millennia. Boars have also re-hybridized in recent decades with feral pigs; these boar–pig hybrids have become a serious pest wild animal in the Americas and Australia.

Cachopo is a dish characteristic of Asturian cuisine. It consists of two large veal fillets and includes ham and cheese, and typically has a side of french fries . The dish is eaten fried and hot after being breaded in eggs and breadcrumbs, and it is usually served garnished with potatoes, peppers, or mushrooms. The first evidence of the cachopo dish is from doctor Gaspar Casal, in the early eighteenth century. There are multiple variations of this dish, including fish cachopos, chicken or pork cachopos stuffed with seafood, meat, mushrooms, peppers, cheese, asparagus, etc.

Stewed squid with onions

Caldillo de perro is a fish soup of Andalusia (southern Spain). The name is said to come from "el Perro," the nickname of a shipboard cook in El Puerto de Santa María. The main ingredients are hake, garlic, olive oil, lemons, and Seville oranges. It is customarily served with sour orange juice. It is a common dish in the fishing districts. The fresh fish stock is cut into slices and seasoned with salt. The soup is traditionally cooked in a clay pot. Olive oil, garlic, onions, leeks, carrots, and parsley (with mussels occasionally added) are brought to a boil and then gently simmered for approximately 30 minutes. The sliced fish is added at the end and served with sour orange juice and white bread. The soup is served hot and freshly cooked.

Asturian, Highland Brown, Limousin, Monchina and Tudanca beef from Cantabria, Spain

Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve mollusc. The word is often applied only to those that are deemed edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the sea floor or riverbeds. Clams have two shells of equal size connected by two adductor muscles and have a powerful burrowing foot. They live in both freshwater and marine environments; in salt water they prefer to burrow down into the mud and the turbidity of the water required varies with species and location; the greatest diversity of these is in North America. Clams in the culinary sense do not live attached to a substrate and do not live near the bottom (whereas scallops do). In culinary usage, clams are commonly eaten marine bivalves, as in clam digging and the resulting soup, clam chowder. Many edible clams such as palourde clams are ovoid or triangular; however razor clams have an elongated parallel-sided shell, suggesting an old-fashioned straight razor.

Cocido [a] or cozido ( Portuguese: [kuˈziðu] ⓘ)[b] is a traditional stew eaten as a main dish in Spain, Portugal, Brazil and other Hispanophone and Lusophone countries. In Spanish, cocido is the past participle of the verb cocer ("to boil"), so it literally means "boiled [thing]". In Portuguese, the word cozido means "cooked", "boiled" or "baked", being the past participle of the verb cozer ("to cook", "to boil", or "to bake").

Cocido lebaniego is a traditional dish from the region of Liébana in Cantabria, Spain. This stew has some essential ingredients, which include chickpea from the municipality of Potes, potatoes, and collard greens . The rest of the elements of this recipe are known as compangu, which refers to meat from the pig slaughter, such as bacon (tocino), black pudding (morcilla), chorizo, and ham. Another additional ingredient is beef, especially cecina, bones and a stuffing made of bread flour, eggs, chorizo, and parsley. This dish is very rich and has great nutritional value. Therefore, it is eaten as a main dish. The soup is eaten first, then the chickpeas (occasionally with lettuce) and finally the meat with the stuffing, although sometimes the chickpeas and meat are served together.[citation needed]

Stew of beans, pork, ribs, sausage, black pudding, potatoes, cabbage

A cockle is an edible marine bivalve mollusc. Although many small edible bivalves are loosely called cockles, true cockles are species in the family Cardiidae. True cockles live in sandy, sheltered beaches throughout the world. The distinctive rounded shells are bilaterally symmetrical, and are heart-shaped when viewed from the end. Numerous radial, evenly spaced ribs are a feature of the shell in most but not all genera .

Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura , which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the thorax.[a] They live in all the world's oceans, in freshwater, and on land. They are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton. They generally have five pairs of legs, and they have pincer claws on the ends of the frontmost pair. They first appeared during the Jurassic period, around 200 million years ago. Crabs are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, composed primarily of highly mineralized chitin. Behind their pair of chelae (claws) are six walking legs and then two swimming legs. The crab breathes through gills on its underside; gills must be at least moist to work.

Crayfish[a] are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some species are found in brooks and streams, where fresh water is running, while others thrive in swamps, ditches, and paddy fields. Most crayfish cannot tolerate polluted water, although some species, such as Procambarus clarkii, are hardier. Crayfish feed on animals and plants, either living or decomposing, and detritus. The term "crayfish" is applied to saltwater species in some countries.

A deer or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) and Capreolinae (which includes, among others reindeer (caribou), white-tailed deer, roe deer, and moose). Male deer of almost all species (except the water deer), as well as female reindeer, grow and shed new antlers each year. These antlers are bony extensions of the skull and are often used for combat between males. The musk deer (Moschidae) of Asia and chevrotains (Tragulidae) of tropical African and Asian forests are separate families that are also in the ruminant clade Ruminantia; they are not especially closely related to Cervidae.

Hake is a type of fish belonging to the Merlucciidae family, related to cod and haddock, and is known for its mild flavor and flaky texture. It is commonly found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and is often used in various culinary dishes.

Lechazo is a Spanish dish made from "cordero lechal". The meat used is from unweaned lambs, and is similar to veal, or the meat of "cochinillo" . The autonomous region of Castile and León has a distinctive version of lechazo referred to as "Lechazo de Castilla y Leon". It is one of the most important dishes of the cuisine of the province of Burgos. Aranda de Duero is known as the heart of the dish, with numerous restaurants that specialize in lechazo and feature "hornos de leña", or wooden stoves, in which the lamb is roasted. The lamb used in lechal must derive all its nutrition from its mother's milk, and must be no more than 35 days old and weigh between 9 and 12 kilograms at the time of slaughter.

Lobsters are malacostracans of the family Nephropidae or its synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, which are usually much larger than the others. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important and are often one of the most profitable commodities in the coastal areas they populate. Commercially important species include two species of Homarus from the northern Atlantic Ocean and scampi —the Northern Hemisphere genus Nephrops and the Southern Hemisphere genus Metanephrops.[citation needed]

Tuna pot, marmitako in Basque Country and marmita, marmite or sorropotún in Cantabria is a fish stew that was eaten on tuna fishing boats in the Cantabrian Sea. Today it is a simple dish with tuna, potatoes, onions, peppers, and tomatoes. The original French word marmite is a metal pot with lid. This French word marmite or the Spanish equivalent marmita gives name to the dish in the East and Central Coast of Cantabria while the Cantabrian word sorropotún is used in the West Coast. Marmitako in Basque language means 'from the pot'.[citation needed] Tuna pot was eaten by Basque fishermen during fishing season. As they stayed a long time at sea, the food used to go bad, so they ate the tuna they fished with cooked potatoes and choricero peppers that kept well.

Hake in green sauce

Mussel is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval. The word "mussel" is frequently used to mean the bivalves of the marine family Mytilidae, most of which live on exposed shores in the intertidal zone, attached by means of their strong byssal threads ("beard") to a firm substrate. A few species (in the genus Bathymodiolus) have colonised hydrothermal vents associated with deep ocean ridges.

Goose barnacles, also called percebes, turtle-claw barnacles, stalked barnacles, gooseneck barnacles, are filter-feeding crustaceans that live attached to hard surfaces of rocks and flotsam in the ocean intertidal zone. Goose barnacles formerly made up the taxonomic order Pedunculata, but the group has been found to be polyphyletic, with its members scattered across multiple orders of the infraclass Thoracica. Some species of goose barnacles such as Lepas anatifera are pelagic and are most frequently found on tidewrack on oceanic coasts. Unlike most other types of barnacles, intertidal goose barnacles depend on water motion rather than the movement of their cirri for feeding, so are found only on exposed or moderately exposed coasts.

The pod razor is a coastal bivalve of European waters. It is edible and has been fished commercially, especially in Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Scotland. Ensis siliqua is also known as the razor fish, razor clam or giant razor.

Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig . It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; curing extends the shelf life of pork products. Ham, gammon, bacon, and pork sausage are examples of preserved pork. Charcuterie is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, many from pork.

Leek soup with potatoes, vegetables, cod, fish, meat

Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term 'sardine' was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it comes from the Italian island of Sardinia, around which sardines were once supposedly abundant. The terms 'sardine' and 'pilchard' are not precise, and what is meant depends on the region. The United Kingdom's Sea Fish Industry Authority, for example, classifies sardines as young pilchards. One criterion suggests fish shorter in length than 15 cm are sardines, and larger fish are pilchards.

The Scorpaenidae are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venomous mucus. The family is a large one, with hundreds of members. They are widespread in tropical and temperate seas but mostly found in the Indo-Pacific. They should not be confused with the cabezones, of the genus Scorpaenichthys, which belong to a separate, though related, family, Cottidae. Scorpaenidae was described as a family in 1826 by the French naturalist Antoine Risso. The family is included in the suborder Scorpaenoidei of the order Scorpaeniformes in the 5th Edition of Fishes of the World but other authorities place it in the Perciformes either in the suborder Scorpaenoidei or the superfamily Scorpaenoidea. The subfamilies of this family are treated as valid families by some authorities.

Sea bass is a common name for a variety of species of marine fish. Many fish species of various families have been called sea bass. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, the fish sold and consumed as sea bass is exclusively the European bass, Dicentrarchus labrax. Sometimes referred to as sea bass include the following: Family Serranidae

Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs , crustaceans (e.g. shrimp, crabs, and lobster), and echinoderms (e.g. sea cucumbers and sea urchins). Historically, marine mammals such as cetaceans (whales and dolphins) as well as seals have been eaten as food, though that happens to a lesser extent in modern times. Edible sea plants such as some seaweeds and microalgae are widely eaten as sea vegetables around the world, especially in Asia. Seafood is an important source of (animal) protein in many diets around the world, especially in coastal areas. Semi-vegetarians who consume seafood as the only source of meat are said to adhere to pescetarianism.

Snails are eaten by humans in many areas such as Africa, Southeast Asia and Mediterranean Europe, while in other cultures, snails are seen as a taboo food. In English, edible land snails are commonly called escargot, from the French word for 'snail'. Snails as a food date back to ancient times, with numerous cultures worldwide having traditions and practices that attest to their consumption. In the modern era snails are farmed, an industry known as heliciculture. The snails are collected after the rains and are put to "purge" . In the past, the consumption of snails had a marked seasonality, from April to June. Now, snail-breeding techniques make them available all year. Heliciculture occurs mainly in Spain, France, and Italy, which are also the countries with the greatest culinary tradition of the snail. Although throughout history the snail has had little value in the kitchen because it is considered "poverty food", in recent times it can be classified as a delicacy thanks to the appreciation given to it by haute cuisine chefs. Escargot, French pronunciation: [ɛskaʁɡo] ⓘ, comes from the French term for snail. Usage of the French word "escargot" dates back to 1892. The French word, first recorded in the 14th century, derives from escaragol (Provençal) and then escargol (Old French). It ultimately traces back through Vulgar Latin coculium and Classical Latin conchylium to the Ancient Greek konchylion (κογχύλιον), which meant "edible shellfish, oyster". The Online Etymological Dictionary notes that the form of the word in Provençal and French seems to have been influenced by words related to the scarab.

Garlic soup

A squid is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting these criteria). Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, and a mantle. They are mainly soft-bodied, like octopuses, but have a small internal skeleton in the form of a rod-like gladius or pen, made of chitin. Squid diverged from other cephalopods during the Jurassic and occupy a similar role to teleost fish as open water predators of similar size and behaviour. They play an important role in the open water food web. The two long tentacles are used to grab prey and the eight arms to hold and control it. The beak then cuts the food into suitable size chunks for swallowing. Squid are rapid swimmers, moving by jet propulsion, and largely locate their prey by sight. They are among the most intelligent of invertebrates, with groups of Humboldt squid having been observed hunting cooperatively. They are preyed on by sharks, other fish, sea birds, seals and cetaceans, particularly sperm whales.

A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: 50 cm or 1.6 ft, weight: 1.8 kg or 4 lb) up to the Atlantic bluefin tuna (max length: 4.6 m or 15 ft, weight: 684 kg or 1,508 lb[citation needed]), which averages 2 m (6.6 ft) and is believed to live up to 50 years. Tuna, opah, and mackerel sharks are the only species of fish that can maintain a body temperature higher than that of the surrounding water. An active and agile predator, the tuna has a sleek, streamlined body, and is among the fastest-swimming pelagic fish – the yellowfin tuna, for example, is capable of speeds of up to 75 km/h (47 mph). Greatly inflated speeds can be found in early scientific reports and are still widely reported in the popular literature.

Veal is the meat of calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either gender and any breed; however, most veal comes from young male calves of dairy breeds which are not used for breeding. Generally, veal is more expensive by weight than beef from older cattle. Veal production is a way to add value to dairy bull calves and to utilize whey solids, a byproduct from the manufacturing of cheese. There are several types of veal, and terminology varies by country.

Picón Bejes-Tresviso is a blue cheese from Cantabria, in the north of Spain. It has been protected under Denominación de Origen legislation since 1994, prior to which it was traditionally known as Picón de Tresviso and Queso Picón de Bejes. The designated area centers in the Liébana valley and production is restricted to the municipalities of Potes, Pesaguero, Cabezón de Liébana, Camaleño, Cillorigo de Liébana, Peñarrubia, Tresviso and Vega de Liébana. A mixture of cow's, sheep's and goat's milk is used in its production (although not necessarily from Bejes or Tresviso). The curd is created using a precise dose of rennet and cut into hazelnut-sized pieces, which are then drained and allowed to dry. The curd pieces are placed loosely in the mould, allowing sufficient air to circulate and initiate the growth of penicillium spores. The cheese is then salted and left for an initial drying and curing period of between 12 and 18 days, at a temperature between 15 and 18 °C (59 and 64 °F). Although much of the process thus far may take place in modern industrial units, DO regulations stipulate that final maturity be achieved by further curing in a natural limestone cave, typical of the geology of the Liébana region, for a minimum of two months. Maturation in this cool, high-humidity environment develops the particular taste and brevibacterium-infested crust typical of many blue cheeses.

Cantabrian cream cheese is made from the milk of Friesian cows in Cantabria, an autonomous community in northern Spain. The cheese has a Protected Designation of Origin since 1985. The production of the cheese is confined to all parts of Cantabria, except the areas of Tresviso and Menor de Bejes in the western part of the region. It is presented in forms of various weights from 400 – 2,800 g (14 ounces – 6 lbs). The size of the forms varies according to the weight. The milk is coagulated with an animal enzyme, preferably from suckling calves of the “Pintas de Cantabria” breed, or with any other enzyme permitted by the regulating council. The curdling process is carried out when the milk is 30°C (86°F) and continues for 40 minutes. The curd is then cut to grains of 5mm (0.20 inches) diameter and then they are heated to 34°C (93°F). It is then placed in moulds, the size of which vary according to the weight of the finished form. The moulds are pressed for up to 24 hours and then they are salted by immersion in a brine bath for a maximum of 24 hours. The curing of this cheese takes a minimum of 7 days from the time it comes out of the brine bath. While the cheese is maturing the forms are turned over regularly and the rinds rubbed clean. Flavour and taste are described as characteristic, buttery with a slight acidity.

Semi-hard cheese made from Tudanca, Swiss Brown and Friesian cow's milk, may also include goat's milk or sheep's milk, from Liébana, Cantabria, Spain