Fabada, cachopo, cheese, cider, fresh fish, traditional sweets, excellent tapas and Michelin-starred restaurants. Asturias boasts amazing cuisine pure and simple, no pretence.
Asturias is like that friend who always has something delicious to eat. No matter when you arrive at their house, they'll always whip up a gourmet treat or create a delicious dish with just four ingredients. Wherever you are, be it a coastal village or a beauty spot in the heart of the Picos de Europa mountains. Because in Asturias, you can enjoy good food everywhere.
In this region of Spain, vegetable garden, sea and land come together to ensure the gastronomic feast never stops. And without any pretence, because they don't need it. Only flavour, honesty, products that take your breath away, and a local population that enjoys itself to the fullest.
Haute cuisine with deep roots
Asturias is that place where you can tuck into a tapa of chorizo in cider in a bar where the floor is strewn with paper serviettes, and just two streets away raise a toast with an expensive wine in a restaurant with more stars than the sky over Somiedo. Here, tapas aren't trendy. They're a lifelong culture, the official excuse to celebrate anything: a birthday, a Tuesday, fabada on the menu, or simply because we're alive here and now.
You stand at any bar, order a couple of 'nibbles' and before you know it you've had five dishes, three small ciders and are chatting with the person next to you. Mind you, this down-to-earth side of the region doesn't cancel out refinement: Asturias is also home to haute cuisine, with chefs who reinvent tradition without going overboard. In other words, you can have tapas with fun and dine with class. Sometimes all in the same day.
Fabada reigns supreme
Oh, the fabada. It was apparently created in the 16th century, although there are no documents about its existence until well into the 19th century. What to say about this gem? It's pure bliss. It fills your soul. It reconciles you with life. It's the quintessential down-to-earth dish, but you'll also find it in sophisticated restaurants, and even in some with Michelin stars. Beans, chorizo, blood sausage, ham shank, lean bacon, onion, a ladle of oil, a few strands of saffron... and you'll be tucking into history. How can you resist?
Cheeses with their own personality
From great cows – and Asturias has some splendid ones – only great cheeses can come. Powerful blue Cabrales matures in caves in the Picos de Europa and may contain cow, sheep or goat's milk. Its intense flavour and powerful aroma have won fans around the world. Gamonéu, more discreet but just as tasty, is smoked in cabins and then cured in caves for an elegant touch that goes down smoothly and leaves a pleasant aftertaste. And then there's Afuega'l Pitu, which literally means "the one who chokes the throat", thick, buttery and with a paprika version. All with Designation of Origin and heaps of character.
Visiting a cider house is a must
Cider is not just a drink here, it's almost a religion. The way cider is served is an art: it's poured from a height so it oxygenates and creates magic on the palate. When you go to a cider house, get ready for a real show because this effervescent ritual is the perfect excuse to gather people, laugh and raise toasts nonstop.
Seafood and fish: from the Cantabrian Sea to the plate
If you like fresh, unadorned seafood flavours, you'll be thrilled by Asturias. Hake, monkfish, razor clams and a host of other seafood reach the table with all the power of the Cantabrian Sea. Without any tricks or embellishments. Towns like Cudillero, Lastres, Llanes and Ribadesella are a festival of simple, locally-sourced seafood where all the emphasis in on the ingredients. Because great fish tastes of the salty open sea and has its own personality; it doesn't need any seasoning to shine.
Cachopo for everyone
Cachopo isn't a dish, it's a statement of intent. Two steaks of beef the size of an ironing board, stuffed with ham and cheese then rolled in plenty of breadcrumbs and deep fried. Subtlety? None. Satisfaction? Total. It's the king of the most uninhibited Asturian cuisine, the dish you order without thinking and attack in epic fashion: knife in hand and stomach prepared for the affront, because only the best win here. There are versions for all tastes: with mushrooms, with Cabrales cheese, with a thousand different fillings, but the essence is always the same. A true feast.
Keep the party going
No fabada on the menu? There's sure to be Asturian stew, which comes with cabbage, "compango" (morcilla, chorizo and smoked pork belly) and lots of love. If the produce of the sea is more your thing, here monkfish ("pixín" for the locals) is treated like a prince: in sauce, fried or with cider, always with a Cantabrian flavour. Asturian-style tripe is a different story: powerful, spicy and full of personality.
But that's not all. If you look at the menu and see tortos, don't ask, just order some. It's the Asturian version of tacos, crunchy, addictive and topped with spiced minced meat and eggs, although you can find them with other ingredients. For sea lovers, oricios (the typical sea urchins of Gijón) are the marine boost you need. And among so many epic dishes, the bollo preñao is the portable option for local flavour: a bread roll with chorizo inside, straightforward but delicious.
Dessert? Yes, please
Just when you think you can't eat another thing, a friendly waiter asks you what you'll have for dessert. And you'll choose a heavenly, creamy rice pudding with a crust of burnt sugar. Or frixuelos, Asturian crêpes with a hint of anise. Fried casadielles filled with walnuts and sugar are out-and-out wicked. And the classic among classics: cheese with apple jam. So hard to choose!
Plus, you have to factor in the atmosphere. Streets packed with people raising toasts, enjoying tapas and celebrating life at their leisure; little restaurants tucked away in towns where you can eat like you're at grandma's; and a population devoted to great food. And all in a fairytale setting: wild cliffs, endless mountains and a sea that seems a figment of the imagination.
