Castile and León

Almond flour cookie with lemon and cinnamon

Flower-shaped pastries, made by dipping flower-shaped iron molds into the batter, then into hot oil

Fried puff pastry, dipped in hot syrup

A Hojuela , also called a Hojaldra, is a traditional Spanish and Latin American sweet baked-good originating in Spain. In Latin American countries, especially Colombia, and in Spain, it is commonly made during Holy Week and the Christmas season. Ingredients vary by region, but usually consist of a flour-based batter fried in oil and dusted with sugar. In Colombia, Hojuelas are commonly made during the Holiday season. They are generally eaten along with manjar blanco, natillas, and buñuelos. Hojuelas are typically made with wheat flour, eggs, water, and half a cup or less of orange juice. Strips of the batter are fried in vegetable oil. In Chile, hojuelas derive from a traditional recipe using palm syrup.[citation needed]

Long bow-shaped puff pastries covered in powdered sugar

Mantecadas are spongy pastries originating in Spain. Perhaps the best known mantecadas are from Northwestern Spain, being a traditional product of the city of Astorga, province of León, as well as the nearby Maragateria comarca. They taste very much like pound cake. Other Spanish regions also prepare mantecadas. There is a factory producing mantecadas in Sardón de Duero, Valladolid Province and another in Maliaño, Cantabria. The Casa Salinas bakery in Tudela, Navarre, reputed for its excellent mantecadas, closed down in January 2011. Mantecadas are baked in square or rectangular box-shaped paper "cajillas" instead of in the typical muffin round paper cups. The mantecada leaves a characteristic cross-shaped silhouette on the paper when it is removed. In the Alt Maestrat comarca the mantecada square paper cups are known as "caixetes".

Flower-shaped puff pastries covered in powdered sugar

Layered vanilla cake filled with pastry cream and topped with marzipan

Quesillo refers to different Latin American, Spanish, and Filipino foods or dishes depending on the country: Argentine quesillo is a notable product of the Calchaquíes and Lerma valleys. It dates back to the Spanish conquest when European and traditional Creole recipes were combined. It is made by hand with cow's milk or goat through a process known as "filado" or spinning, which grants the product its distinctive characteristics.

Small flat cakes from the city of Zamora, flavored with, for example, lemon, orange, anise, chocolate, topped with powdered sugar, several variations

Yemas de Santa Teresa or Yemas de Ávila (Yolks of Ávila) is a pastry that is identified with the Spanish province of Ávila. They can be bought throughout Spain but typically they are a delicacy associated with the city of Ávila. They are very popular for their distinctive look: small orange balls served in a white confectionery paper and are made to honor Teresa of Ávila.

Aguardente or aguardiente (Spanish) (Basque: pattar; Catalan: aiguardent; Galician: augardente) is a type of distilled alcoholic spirit that contains between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). It is a somewhat generic term that can refer to liquors made from various foods. It originates from and is typically consumed on the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) and in Iberian America (Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries of the Americas). The word is a compound of the Iberian languages' words for "water" (agua in Castilian; aigua in Catalan; água in Portuguese; auga in Galician) and "burning"/"fiery" (ardiente in Castilian; ardent in Catalan; ardente in Portuguese and Galician). A comparable word in English is "firewater", though the English term is colloquial or humorous, whereas aguardiente is stylistically neutral in Spanish.

Mixed rice with sausage, ham, chorizo, bacon, bell peppers, vegetables, herbs, spices

Stewed cod and vegetables

Botillo sausage, served with potatoes and cabbage

Callos a la Madrileña is a stewed tripe dish, cooked slowly for hours over low heat, that is a speciality of Spanish cuisine associated with the city of Madrid. Traditionally pig or cow tripe was used but modern recipes use lamb or even cod. It includes pig snout and trotters, black pudding, sausage, ham, and soup vegetables like carrots and onions. When prepared correctly the broth is rich in gelatin and the tripe becomes very tender after the slow cooking process. The tripe can be browned before the cooking liquid is added, with trotter's, oxtails and other ingredients for the soup like ham, chorizo and smoked paprika. It is common to serve this stew with the morcilla blood sausage, a tapas dish typical of the region of Castile and León. A version of the stew with chickpeas is made in the Philippines.

Crayfish in a spicy tomato sauce

Carne de Ávila is a protected geographic designation for beef originating from the Province of Ávila in Spain. The designation was approved in 1988. Carne de Ávila is produced exclusively from livestock of the Avileña-Black Iberian breed found throughout the region of Castile and León. The regulatory board is headquartered in the city of Ávila. The Avileña-Black Iberian breed is an evolved specimen from the serrana race, crossed with other breeds of the region, which has resulted in a small population of animals of uniform black coat, although some individuals exhibit degradations on the skin tone.

Morucha beef from Salamanca, Castile and Leon, Spain

Tripe, offal and vegetable stew

Lamb chops

Large steak from the Avileña-Negra ibérica cow breed

Stew with beef, pork, chicken, bacon, chorizo, pig ear and trotters, vegetables, cabbage, garbanzo beans, dumplings

Cuchifritos or cochifritos refers to various fried foods prepared principally of pork in Spanish and Puerto Rican cuisine. In Spain, cuchifritos are a typical dish from Segovia in Castile. The dish consists of pork meat fried in olive oil and garlic and served hot. In Puerto Rico they include a variety of dishes including morcilla (blood sausage), rellenos de papa (fried potato balls stuffed with meat), and chicharron (fried pork skin), and other parts of the pig prepared in different ways. Some cuchifritos dishes are prepared using cooking plantain as a primary ingredient. Cuchifritos vendors also typically serve juices and drinks such as passionfruit, pineapple, and coconut juice, as well as ajonjolí, a drink made from sesame seeds. The term used to refer to small, fried parts of a pig. It is incorrectly thought that it derives its name from the word cuchí, short for cochino or pig and frito, which describes something that is fried.

Beans from Barco de Avila, commonly made into a bean, vegetable and chorizo stew

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.

Lechazo de Castilla y León is a protected-origin food product in the European Union consisting of milk-fed lamb meat, produced in Castile and León . The Geographical indication (GI) was authorized in 1997. The GI encompasses 483 farms from all of the grain-producing counties of Castilla y León, producing more than 167,000 lechazos per year. The Indicación Geográfica Protegida (I.G.P.) Council headquarters is located in Zamora, Spain. The Spanish term lechazo refers to a young sheep that is still suckling. Per the I.G.P., lechazo de Castilla y León must be of the Churra, Castellana or Ojalada breeds, and the lambs must have been fed only their mothers' milk. Lechazo meat is a highly esteemed delicacy in the region. Roast lamb and lamb chops are a prized traditional food in Castile, and a widespread dish in the region's restaurants and taverns.

Olla podrida is a Spanish stew, usually made with chickpeas or beans, assorted meats like pork, beef, bacon, partridge, chicken, ham, and sausage, and vegetables such as carrots, leeks, cabbage, potatoes, and onions. The meal is traditionally prepared in a clay pot over several hours. It is eaten as a main course, sometimes as a single dish, and sometimes with ingredients separated (i.e., meats from the rest or liquids from solids). It is a specialty of the city of Burgos. The recipe can be found in Opera dell’arte del cucinare by Bartolomeo Scappi, the cook of Pope Pius V, published in 1570. This recipe was translated in Dutch by Antonius Magirus for the Koock-boeck oft Familieren kevken-boeck, first published in Leuven in 1612.

A casserole made with fried potato slices and a sauce with garlic, onion, chicken broth, wine

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.

Partridge, or other game bird, that is semi-pickled with vinegar, commonly served with a salad

Veal from 8 to 12 month old cattle raised in Castille and Leon, Spain

Tostón asado or cochinillo asado is a dish consisting of roast suckling pig. It is commonly used in the Spanish cuisine of Castile, with the variants of Arévalo and Segovia being the most popular ones, although also popular in Madrid and in some places in the regions of La Mancha and Aragón. This oven dish is traditionally prepared in an earthenware pot and served hot with a crispy crust. It is recommended to combine cochinillo asado with wine. Tostón asado, just like roast lamb, forms part of the Castilian cuisine since the Roman conquest of Hispania. There are no recipes and descriptions available of the pre-Celtiberian period. In the 17th century, cochinillo asado became popular at bars and soup kitchens across the region of Castile. Little by little, it was served to travelers that were heading to Madrid. Yet in the middle of the 20th century, several taverns and restaurants in Segovia and Madrid claimed to have the best recipe in an attempt to attract tourists. Cándido is one of the most popular taverns, and the innkeeper became famous in the middle of the 20th century for accompanying the piglet dishes with songs. This ceremony gained international fame. Many markets and butcher shops in Spain offer cochinillo asado. According to some recipes, the piglet needs to be entirely cleaned, but without removing the kidneys. There are many different ways to prepare tostón asado, with the same applying for chopping up the piglet. The preparation process includes cutting the piglet's stomach, as well as the backbone's center, followed by cleaning the interior part. The piglet is usually coated in batter, alongside pork fat, a bit of laurel, leaves and twigs, and prepared in an earthenware pot in an oven. In other regions they use white wine during the process to ensure the meat's tenderness. Tostón asado is usually served in the same earthenware pot. It is also possible to marinate the meat parts during several days, and dehydrate them on the day of the roasting process. A wood-fired oven is traditionally used to roast piglets. Wine is one of the most widely accepted drinks to complement roast suckling pigs, according to gastronomic literature. Normally it is served with special decorations, with an apple on top of the piglet's mouth being one of the most common forms.

Dried Canela, Pinta, Plancheta and Riñón Menudo beans, from Leon and Zamora, Castile and Leon, Spain

Charcuterie made from rib and tail meat stuffed in pork intestine, then smoked and semi-cured, from Carracedelo, Castile and Leon, Spain

In Spanish, cecina [θeˈθina] is meat that has been salted and dried by means of air, sun or smoke. The word comes from the Latin siccus , via Vulgar Latin (caro) *siccīna, "dry (meat)". Cecina is similar to ham and is made by curing cow, horse or rabbit meat. The best known cecina is Cecina de León, which is made of the hind legs of a cow, salted, smoked and air-dried in the provinces of León and Palencia in northwestern Spain, and has PGI status. The word cecina is also used to name other kinds of dried or cured meat in Latin America.

Dried beef from breeds indigenous to Castile and Leon, Spain

Chorizo cooked with apple cider

Chorizo sausage braised in red wine, though white wine may be used, serve with bread

Cured pork sausage made with garlic, pimentón (paprika), oregano and salt, from Cantimpalos, Castile and Leon, Spain

A sausage made with lard, bread, oil and flour, farinato does not contain meat

Dried chickpeas (Cicer Arietimum L.) from Fuentesaúco, Castile and Leon, Spain

Hornazo is a Spanish meat pie eaten in the provinces of Salamanca and Ávila. It is made with flour and yeast and stuffed with pork loin, spicy chorizo, and hard-boiled eggs. In Salamanca, it is traditionally eaten in the field during the "Monday of the Waters" (Lunes de aguas) festival. The name of this unique festival supposedly comes from a twisting of the word enagua ("petticoat"), which the prostitutes of the town used to wear under their dresses. According to tradition, during Lent the prostitutes were sent to the other side of the Tormes River so that the men of the town were not distracted during the religious observances. On Easter Monday, the students of the town threw a party on the banks of the river to celebrate the return of the women, and ate hornazo as part of the celebration. In other places in the country there are dishes similar to hornazo that contain hard-boiled eggs as a primary ingredient. In some parts of Spain a bollo de hornazo is a sweet and dry bread which is decorated with hard-boiled eggs. These dishes are also traditionally consumed in and around Easter. This may be because long ago, eggs were considered a sort of meat, and were therefore prohibited during Lent, a fact that did not stop the chickens from laying eggs. The eggs were preserved by hard-boiling them, and then used for cooking in dishes like hornazo. From this tradition it is probable that Easter eggs came into being, but their exact origins are unknown.

Hornazo is a Spanish meat pie eaten in the provinces of Salamanca and Ávila. It is made with flour and yeast and stuffed with pork loin, spicy chorizo, and hard-boiled eggs. In Salamanca, it is traditionally eaten in the field during the "Monday of the Waters" (Lunes de aguas) festival. The name of this unique festival supposedly comes from a twisting of the word enagua ("petticoat"), which the prostitutes of the town used to wear under their dresses. According to tradition, during Lent the prostitutes were sent to the other side of the Tormes River so that the men of the town were not distracted during the religious observances. On Easter Monday, the students of the town threw a party on the banks of the river to celebrate the return of the women, and ate hornazo as part of the celebration. In other places in the country there are dishes similar to hornazo that contain hard-boiled eggs as a primary ingredient. In some parts of Spain a bollo de hornazo is a sweet and dry bread which is decorated with hard-boiled eggs. These dishes are also traditionally consumed in and around Easter. This may be because long ago, eggs were considered a sort of meat, and were therefore prohibited during Lent, a fact that did not stop the chickens from laying eggs. The eggs were preserved by hard-boiling them, and then used for cooking in dishes like hornazo. From this tradition it is probable that Easter eggs came into being, but their exact origins are unknown.

Cured ham and shoulder from pure- or cross-bred Ibérico pigs, from Guijuelo, Castile and Leon, Spain

Dried Rubia de La Armuña lentils grown in Armuña, Salamanca, Castile and Leon, Spain

Dried Lens culinaris subsp. Culinaris lentils grown in Castile and Leon, Spain

Mantecadas are spongy pastries originating in Spain. Perhaps the best known mantecadas are from Northwestern Spain, being a traditional product of the city of Astorga, province of León, as well as the nearby Maragateria comarca. They taste very much like pound cake. Other Spanish regions also prepare mantecadas. There is a factory producing mantecadas in Sardón de Duero, Valladolid Province and another in Maliaño, Cantabria. The Casa Salinas bakery in Tudela, Navarre, reputed for its excellent mantecadas, closed down in January 2011. Mantecadas are baked in square or rectangular box-shaped paper "cajillas" instead of in the typical muffin round paper cups. The mantecada leaves a characteristic cross-shaped silhouette on the paper when it is removed. In the Alt Maestrat comarca the mantecada square paper cups are known as "caixetes".

Butter made from Pardo-Alpina cow's milk in Soria, Castile and Leon, Spain

Reineta Blanca, Reineta del Canada and Reineta Gris apples from El Bierzo, León, Spain

Blood sausage from Burgos, Castile and Leon, Spain

Mashed potatoes, meat and paprika

Roasted and peeled Capsicum Annuum L. peppers from Carracedelo , Castile and Leon, Spain

Capsicum annuum L. pepper grown in Fresno de la Vega, Castile and Leon, Spain

Queso de Valdeón is a Spanish blue cheese from León. The cheese is made in Posada de Valdeón, in the northeast of the province of León, and is wrapped in sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), or chestnut leaves before being sent to market. The cheese has a very intense blue flavor, but is not as yellowed or as biting as its cousin Cabrales. Queso de Valdeón has PGI status. The production of cheese in the Valdeón valley dates back to pre-Roman times, being made at that time with goat's milk as raw material. During the 19th century, cheese production was one of the main occupations in the area, since the production of milk from the cattle that grazed on the high-altitude sheepfolds during the summer was transformed into cheese in the cabins at the top or was transported to the villages of the valley. Due to the important natural barriers that delimit the valley, it has a microclimate that favors the development of the microbial flora that characterizes these cheeses.

Semi-hard unpasteurized or pasteurized cheese made with cow's, sheep's or goat's milk, from Desfiladero de Los Beyos gorge in Asturias and Castile and Leon, Spain

Pressed cheese made from Churra and Castellana ewe's milk, from Zamora, Castile and Leon, Spain

Mushrooms and garlic sautéed in olive oil with white wine