Spanish Recipes

Spanish cooking runs on olive oil. Not just any oil. Extra virgin, first cold press, the kind that tastes like grass and pepper. Every dish starts with a glug in the pan.

Forget what you think you know about Spanish food. It's not all paella and tapas. Home cooks in Spain make tortilla española for dinner three nights a week. They braise chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. They fold eggs into everything.

The foundation is simple. Olive oil, garlic, onion, smoked paprika. These four ingredients appear in 80% of Spanish recipes. Add sherry vinegar and you're halfway to any Spanish sauce. The cooking happens in layers. First the sofrito: onions and garlic cooked slow in olive oil until they melt into jam. Then the protein. Then the liquid. Then you wait.

Spanish cooks measure olive oil by the chorro, the stream. A 3-second pour equals about 3 tablespoons. They use more than you think they should. A tortilla for 4 people needs 1/2 cup minimum. Gazpacho? Start with 3/4 cup for 6 servings.

Timing matters more than technique. Paella cooks for exactly 18-20 minutes once the stock goes in. Tortilla flips after 4 minutes on medium heat. Croquetas fry at 350F for 2-3 minutes until golden.

This is everyday food. The kind Spanish families eat at 10pm after the kids finish homework. Quick braises that bubble away while you set the table. Cold soups you blend in 5 minutes. Egg dishes that work for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Desserts lean on eggs and dairy. Flan uses 4 whole eggs plus 4 yolks per quart of milk. Crema catalana sets with 8 egg yolks per liter. Even the simplest cookies need at least 2 eggs per batch.

Start here if you like bold flavors that don't require special equipment. A good pan, sharp knife, and wooden spoon will carry you through 90% of Spanish cooking. The hardest part is waiting for the sofrito to properly caramelize.