英語趣味課堂：西班牙的烹飪-Spanish Cuisine

Chris: So Adelina, Ade, you just told me you’re from Spain, so let’s talk about gastronomy, food. They say a really good gastronomy in Spain, is that true?

Ade: Of course it is. We have the Mediterranean food, it’s well known for being tasty and healthy, like for example, our olive oil, our fresh fish coming from the north and the south. And we also have very good wines.

Chris: So if you’d have to name three of the really better dishes in your country, what would you say, what would be your three favorite dishes?

Ade: Paella of course.

Chris: Paella, yeah, that’s true, but there are a lot of different paellas. No, they say the paella they make in Valencia is the better one, do you agree on that or is it the same everywhere?

Ade: Well they said paella, Valenciana is the name. But it comes from Valencia but it doesn’t mean that there are not good paellas in any other places. Actually where I am from in Almadia, they do very, very tasty paellas.

Chris: And of course, can you explain the difference because people like me from the north, that they just come for tourism in summer, we just ask for paella, but there seem to be different paellas. Could you explain that a little bit?

Ade: Yeah, you have three different types. You have the meat paella, that they put of course some meat on it, you have the fish paella that they put only fish on it and then you have the mixed one that you can find both.

Chris: So which one do you suggest I should take when I go there?

Ade: The fish one of course.

Chris: Okay, I’ll take your word on that. So what about other good dishes, tell me?

Ade: Well it’s not a dish, but is very popular in Spain when you order a beer, they put you a tapas and it’s very nice to go out with your friends and have some tapas. I love to do that because you have small portions of food and you can go and ask for some fish or for some meat, so you have a very different kind of lunch doing that, no.

Chris: Oh yeah, of course, everybody knows about the tapas. But they say it’s really something from the south and it has a story behind it, but I don’t really remember it. Could you enlighten me with that story, please?

Ade: Yeah. Tapas means to cover in Spanish. So it was before that when they order something to drink they have to put a little plate on top so the flies don’t go into the drink. That’s why they started calling it tapas, because it covers the drink.

Chris: So when then in the end on that plate they start putting like little things to eat?

Ade: Yeah, exactly.

Chris: And then just that got just bigger and bigger and bigger?

Ade: Yeah, really big. But the problem is that it’s very popular in the south because it’s still original kind of going to have some tapas, because in the north now is like it’s popular but only for tourists. And you have to pay a lot of money to have a tapa. And actually in the original way of having a tapa means that you only pay for the drink and the tapa comes for free.

Chris: For free, oh nice, so that’s what tourists don’t know. So what do you say about that we go and have a beer?

Ade: Yeah, sure.