The Camino and Vegetarian Food

The Spanish are passionate about their food which varies from region to region. They generally don’t understand the concept of vegetarianism as they do not class cured meat (jamon) or even chicken as meat.

The following phrases will be very helpful to vegetarian pilgrims:

• I’m vegetarian – Soy vegeteriano/a
• I don’t eat meat or fish – No como carne ni pescado

A few dishes that you should enjoy:

• Tortilla Espaniola – Spanish omelette made with eggs, potatoes and onions
• Parillada de Verduras – freshly grilled vegetables
• Espinacas con Garbanzos – Spinach with beans or chickpeas
• Gazpacho – cold ripe tomato, peppers and cucumber soup
• Patatas bravas – chunks of friend potato
• Pementos de Padrón – fried peppers with sea salt

For those who do venture into eating seafood here’s a few delicacies that you might treat yourself to:

Pulpo á feira (in Galician) – Octopus is the ultimate Galician dish and Melide is the place to try it.

Galicia is the shellfish and fish capital of Spain with an impressive variety and to the seafood markets in Santiago is a real treat. If you enjoy beef then the Galician beef is a must try.

The perfect sweet treat is the Tarta de Santiago which is the traditional almond cake. One of the the most famous cheeses is the Tetila cheese from Galicia which is creamy and slightly salty and can be enjoyed with full-bodied wine, manzanilla or sherry or the Galician whites albariño or ribeiro.

Buen provecho!