Recipes from our gastronomy
Cantabria, due to its privileged geographical location in the central area of the Cantabrian coast, occupies a space influenced by a truly exceptional natural environment, where landscapes and ecosystems alternate to harbor the most select range of gastronomic raw materials.
Cooked in the traditional Cantabrian style
The Cantabrian Sea with its fine fish and delicate seafood. The fast and abundant rivers that in their upper and middle reaches shelter the king of river fishing, salmon, and the delicate ‘terciada’ trout.
The Cantabrian pastures, always green, feed exquisite-tasting cattle and small flocks of sheep and goats.
The small family gardens and fruit orchards offer a wide range of products, which, when cooked in the traditional Cantabrian way, result in one of the richest and most distinctive cuisines in the country.
Category: First Course
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Medium
Price: Medium
Season: All year round
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 1 kg of clams
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 chili pepper
- Parsley
- ½ onion
- Breadcrumbs
- ½ glass of white wine
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Olive oil
- Salt.
Preparation:
A few hours beforehand, soak the clams in plenty of water with a handful of salt so that they release any possible sand. Wash them well. Put them in a frying pan with ½ glass of cold water and cook over high heat. As they open, transfer them to an earthenware casserole dish. Strain the liquid from cooking the clams and reserve it. In a frying pan, add olive oil and fry the onion and garlic, all finely chopped. When both ingredients are golden, add a tablespoon of breadcrumbs and sauté briefly. Add the reserved clam cooking liquid, white wine, lemon juice, and chili pepper. Bring to a boil and pour the sauce over the clams, letting them cook over very low heat for 5 to 10 minutes.
Presentation:
Spice up with salt and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Category: First Course
Preparation Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Difficulty: Medium
Price: Medium
Season: All year round
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 250 g red beans
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- Paprika
- 20 g flour
- Olive oil
- Salt
Preparation:
Soak the beans in cold water overnight. Wash them and place them in a pot with cold water, add the chopped onion, peeled garlic cloves, bay leaf, and a good drizzle of olive oil. Put the pot over the heat, and when it starts to boil, interrupt the boiling with a splash of cold water. Let it come back to a boil and keep it simmering over low heat, making sure they are always covered with water, adding a little cold water when necessary.
When they are tender, remove them from the heat. In a frying pan, lightly brown the flour and paprika, add a little of the cooking broth, and pour it over the beans. Season with salt and let it cook for a few more minutes. Let it rest for a while, then remove the bay leaf and onion before serving.
Category: First Course
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Medium
Price: Medium
Season: All year
Ingredients for 4 people:
- – 400 g of elvers (young eels)
- – 4 cloves of garlic
- – 4 rings of chili peppers
- – 1.5 dl of olive oil and salt
Preparation:
In an earthenware casserole dish, pour the olive oil and heat it over the fire. When it is hot, add the sliced garlic and the chili pepper rings. As the garlic begins to brown, remove the casserole dish from the heat and let it cool slightly. Then, add the previously cooked elvers and return the casserole dish to the heat, stirring with a wooden fork, always over very high heat. Add salt to taste.
Presentation:
Before they boil, remove from the heat and serve quickly in individual earthenware ramekins.
Category: First Course
Preparation time: approx. 35 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Price: Low
Ingredients for 4 people:
- ½ kg small and fresh bocartes (anchovies)
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 sprigs of parsley
- 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce
- Ground black pepper
- 8 tablespoons of oil
- Salt.
Preparation:
Put oil in an earthenware casserole dish and fry the finely chopped onion. When it is tender, add the chopped garlic. Add the seasoned, cleaned bocartes (without heads or guts) to the casserole dish. Spread the tablespoons of tomato, chopped parsley, and a pinch of ground black pepper over the top. Cover the casserole dish and let it cook over low heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Category: First Course
Preparation Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Difficulty: Medium
Price: Medium
Season: All year round
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 500 g beef shank (morcillo)
- 250 g cured beef (cecina)
- 100 g chorizo sausage
- 200 g streaky bacon (tocino entreverado)
- 2 beef knuckle bones (huesos de rodilla)
- 200 g cured ham (jamón curado)
- 1 cabbage
- 4 potatoes
- 250 g Liébana chickpeas (garbanzos de Liébana)
- Garlic, 2 eggs
- Breadcrumbs
- Parsley
- Pepper
- Milk
- Noodles for soup
- Olive oil and salt
Preparation:
Soak the chickpeas for 12 hours. In a deep pot, place the beef, cured beef, chorizo, bacon, eggs, and ham in cold water. Bring to a boil over heat, then add the chickpeas and simmer slowly until everything is tender. Before the end of cooking, add the chopped potatoes and cabbage. Season with salt. Strain the broth and prepare a noodle soup. Adjust the salt if necessary. To prepare the stuffing (relleno), in a separate bowl, beat the eggs, add chopped garlic and parsley, and a little of the meat ingredients from the broth, finely chopped. Add some breadcrumbs soaked in milk and well-drained. Mix everything well, form small rolls, and fry in hot oil until golden brown. Then, cook in a little of the stew broth for 15 minutes. Serve the soup and the rest of the meat with vegetables and the stuffing.
Category: Main Dish
Difficulty: Medium
Price: Medium
Season: All year round
Ingredients for 6 people:
- 400 gr (approximately 14 ounces) of white beans
- 300 gr (approximately 10.5 ounces) of marinated pork ribs
- 100 gr (approximately 3.5 ounces) of bacon
- 100 gr (approximately 3.5 ounces) of lard
- 100 gr (approximately 3.5 ounces) of chorizo (Spanish sausage)
- 100 gr (approximately 3.5 ounces) of morcilla (Spanish blood sausage)
- 1 kg (approximately 2.2 pounds) of collard greens
- 100 gr (approximately 3.5 ounces) of pig’s ear
- 1 onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- Sweet paprika
- Olive oil for sautéing
- Salt
Preparation:
Soak the beans overnight. Heat water in a pot, and when it boils, add the beans and cook over low heat along with the lard. As they cook, add more water when necessary and let the broth thicken. Add the ribs and pig’s ear halfway through the cooking process. Cook the collard greens separately and add the bacon, morcilla, and chorizo. Prepare the sofrito (sautéed vegetables) with olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, and sweet paprika. Adjust the salt if necessary.
Presentation:
Pour the sofrito over the collard greens. Serve the very hot beans with the collard greens, chorizo, and morcilla.
Category: First Course
Difficulty: Easy
Price: Medium
Ingredients:
- 600 gr small squid
- 2 onions
- 2 green peppers
- 2 ripe tomatoes
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 sprigs of parsley
- Pepper
- 20 g breadcrumbs
- 1 small glass of white wine
- Olive oil
- Salt
Preparation:
Clean the squid, being careful not to get them too wet. Cover them with the peeled and minced garlic cloves. Let them marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours. Place the squid in an earthenware casserole dish and cover them with the chopped onions, the diced green peppers, the chopped parsley, and the peeled and grated tomatoes (without seeds). Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and drizzle with olive oil. Cook very slowly, stirring occasionally so that the various ingredients mix well. Halfway through cooking, pour in the white wine. When the squid are tender, remove from the heat and let them rest before serving.
Category: First Course
Preparation Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Difficulty: Medium
Price: Medium
Season: All year round
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 500 g fresh tuna
- 750 g potatoes
- 2 onions
- 4 ripe tomatoes
- 2 green peppers
- 2 red peppers
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- Pepper
- Spicy paprika
- ½ glass of white wine
- Olive oil
- Salt
Preparation:
Cut the onions and peppers into small pieces. Peel the tomatoes and potatoes and cut them irregularly. In an earthenware pot with a little hot oil, sauté the onions. When they take on color, add the peppers and then the tomatoes. Cover and cook very slowly until it reduces a little. In a mortar, crush the garlic cloves, dilute with the white wine, and pour into the pot with the rest of the sofrito (sauce base). Flavor with the bay leaf, season with salt, pepper, and paprika, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the potatoes. Sauté a little so they absorb some flavor and barely cover with water. Cook gently. When the potatoes are almost done, add the tuna cut into large cubes and cook for 10 minutes. Check the salt, let it rest for 5 minutes, and serve.
Category: Second course
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Price: Medium
Season: All year round
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 4 hake loins of 200 g each
- 4 cloves of garlic
- Olive oil
- 16 clams
- 1 can of asparagus
- Chopped parsley
- Flour
Preparation:
Finely chop the garlic cloves and add them to an earthenware casserole dish set over the heat with olive oil. Meanwhile, lightly coat the hake loins with flour. When the oil is warm, add the hake to the casserole dish along with the clams. Cover the casserole dish for a few moments and then add the asparagus with its liquid. Cover the dish again for another two minutes. Add the parsley and gently but constantly swirl the casserole dish for 3 or 4 minutes. Then, replace the lid and remove the stew from the heat to let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
Category: First Course
Difficulty: Medium
Price: Medium
Season: All year round
Ingredients for 4 people:
- Lean meat
- Garlic
- Onions
- Leeks
- Green pepper
- Carrots
- Bay leaf
- White wine.
Preparation:
A container of sufficient size is used to hold charcoal inside, and on top, fitting the container, a pot is placed where the «olla» (stew) is made. The festival in Mataporquera (Valdeolea) where it is enjoyed is very popular.
Add the lean meat, garlic, and onions, which should be browned well. When the meat has released enough juices, add chopped leeks, green pepper, carrots, bay leaf, and white wine. Stir well and add the chopped potatoes and enough water to cover them. Finish cooking over low heat.
Category: Starter
Preparation time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Difficulty: Medium
Price: Medium
Season: All year round
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 1 kg scorpionfish (cabracho)
- 1 lettuce
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- Parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- Pepper
- 1 small glass of white wine
- 1 dl tomato sauce
- 4 eggs
- 1 can evaporated milk
- Salt
Preparation:
In a saucepan with water, cook the onion, carrot, bay leaf, parsley, white wine, and salt for 10 minutes. After that time, add the fish and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the bones and skin from the scorpionfish, carefully flake the flesh, and set aside. In a bowl, beat the eggs, add the tomato sauce, evaporated milk, season with salt and pepper, and add the flaked fish. Beat everything until it forms a smooth paste. Grease a cake mold, also place a greased piece of parchment paper at the bottom, and pour in the prepared mixture. Preheat the oven to medium temperature and place the mold in a bain-marie (water bath). Cook for about 40 to 45 minutes. Check if it’s cooked by piercing with a needle. Do not unmold until it is cold.
Presentation:
Serve accompanied by pink sauce (salsa rosa) or mayonnaise and decorated with lettuce leaves.
Category: Dessert
Preparation Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Medium
Price: Medium
Season: All year round
Ingredients:
- 500 gr curdled milk
- 4 eggs
- 100 gr melted butter (at room temperature)
- 100 gr all-purpose flour
- 250 grams sugar
- Lemon zest
- Ground cinnamon
Instructions:
In a bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until you obtain a whitish mixture. Add the melted butter at room temperature and mix. Then, add the zest of half a lemon and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix well.
Incorporate the curdled milk and gradually mix until you achieve a homogeneous batter.
Little by little, add the sifted flour and mix well, trying not to leave any lumps of flour.
Pour the resulting cream into a greased and wide baking dish (quesada is shallow) and bake for about 30 minutes at 180ºC (350ºF).
Let it cool completely before serving.
Presentation:
Serve in the same cake-shaped baking dish.
Category: Dessert
Preparation time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Medium
Price: Low
Season: All year round
Ingredients:
- 250 gr. of flour
- 250 gr. of butter
- 250 gr. of sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 pinch of salt
- The zest of one lemon
- 3 teaspoons of baking powder.
Preparation:
Mix the baking powder with the flour and set aside. In a deep bowl, put the slightly softened butter, add the sugar, lemon zest, a pinch of salt, the lightly beaten eggs, and the flour. Knead with your hands until everything is well mixed. Divide the resulting dough into square paper molds, filling them halfway. These molds should not be greased. Place in a preheated oven. Bake for about 15 minutes. When they are golden brown, remove them.
Category: Main Course
Preparation Time: Less than half an hour
Difficulty: Easy
Price: Medium
Season: All year round
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 4 beef sirloin medallions, 200 g each
- 125 g Tresviso cheese
- 100 ml olive oil
- 100 ml white wine
- 100 ml liquid cream
- Black pepper
- Salt
Preparation:
Place the cheese and white wine in a saucepan over low heat, without oil. Add the liquid cream and pepper and continue cooking until the sauce is well combined and thickened. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sear the meat on both sides until cooked to your preference. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange the meat on a plate and serve with the sauce very hot.
Category: Starter
Preparation time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Medium
Price: Medium
Season: All year round
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 500 g monkfish
- 1 scorpionfish
- 200 g clams
- 2 onions
- 2 ripe tomatoes
- 2 leeks
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 hard-boiled egg
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 chili pepper
- 1 glass of dry white wine
- Olive oil and salt
Preparation:
Put the fish in a large saucepan with water and salt, the bay leaf, chopped onion, and a splash of white wine. Cook for 30 minutes.
Remove the fish from the broth, take off the skin and bones, and set aside.
Strain the broth and return it to the pot.
In a separate saucepan, sauté a finely chopped onion and add the minced garlic, leeks, and peeled and diced tomatoes. Blend.
In another saucepan, combine the sautéed vegetables, the strained broth, and the rest of the white wine. Cook for 20 minutes.
Add the clams and the pieces of fish. Adjust the salt if necessary.
Boil until the clams open.
Presentation:
At the last moment, add the chopped egg and serve.
