What to eat in Cordoba? The most typical dishes of Cordovan gastronomy

INDEX:
What to eat in Cordoba? The most typical dishes of Cordovan gastronomy

Ajoblanco or mazamorra

Caliphate aubergines

Flamenquin

Salmorejo

Oxtail stew

Cordoba is a charming city in southern Spain where you can breathe a good atmosphere in all of its streets. Although it is world-renowned for its mosque-cathedral, it hides many other wonders. Among them, a very varied gastronomy, then… What to eat in Cordoba? These are the most typical dishes of the Cordovan gastronomy.

Ajoblanco or mazamorra

This cold soup called Ajoblanco is very popular in southern Spain. Although it is not known exactly where and when it was originated, there are some people who argue that it can go back to the ancient Roman gastronomy. But it is traditionally said that it was invented in Malaga or Granada. Still, it is a very repeated dish on the menus of the restaurants of the city.

It is made of bread, almonds, garlic, water, olive oil and salt. There are many variations of this dish. In this case, we have tried it with almonds, black olives and eggs. Even though it was much thicker than we expected, we found it delicious.

If you want to try this particular one, you can find at in La Manuela.

Caliphate aubergines

It doesn’t matter where you’re going to eat. If there is a dish you will find on all the menus of restaurants, bars or taverns… This is the one! Caliphate aubergines is a vegetarian dish, which you will love even if you are not a vegetable lover. Although I have not been able to corroborate this, I suspect that its name is in honour of the introduction of aubergines in Spain by the Arabs.

The star ingredient is the aubergine, battered and fried. Covered by sugar cane honey. As you can see, it’s not a particularly healthy dish… But it’s great! Since we tasted it, we can’t help having it everytime we find it.

One of the richest caliphate aubergines we have tasted has been at el Paseo Tavern.

Flamenquin

Flamenquin is one of the most traditional dishes of the city of Cordoba. It consists of pieces of Serrano ham rolled in pork loin ribbons, battered in breadcrumbs and then fried. Despite being a typical dish of Cordovan gastronomy, it is so tasty that it has spreaded throughout almost all of Spain.

Although there are many variations in relation to its filling, they all have something in common… They’re all huge! It is said that the traditional flamenquin has to be 18 centimeters long. It is usually accompanied with potatoes, mayonnaise and salad. Exactly as the one we have tried.

We have tried it in one of the Mosque Wineries and it was very good. Although at first, we thought it was small, in the end it turned out to be perfect for two people. We loved it!

Salmorejo

The salmorejo is one of the most famous and traditional starters in Cordoba. It is prepared with breadcrumbs, garlic, olive oil, salt and tomatoes and its consistency is similar to a sauce. It’s usually served with bits of other foods such as ham shavings, croutons or hard-boiled egg crumbs.

At first glance, it’s one of those dishes that could seem simple, but I assure you it’s a delight. If you go to Cordoba, you’ll be able to find it anywhere. Being a cold dish, it is perfect to take a break on a hot day. I have to admit that at first I wasn’t very fond of this dish… But after visiting Cordoba this has completely changed!

One of the tastiest ones for us was the salmorejo of Restaurante La Tata, a small restaurant near the Mosque of Cordoba with a very economical offer.

Oxtail stew

Although it can be found in many Andalusian kitchens, the oxtail is a traditional Cordovan stew. Apparently, it is a very ancient dish whose origin dates back to the Roman Empire. In the Spanish gastronomy it began to be named since the sixteenth century. It is a humble dish considering that the oxtail used to be found at the offal store.

If you like spoon dishes, this is going to be your favorite dish of Cordoba. Honestly, I found it similar to the gulash from Hungary, although the texture of the oxtail makes it much tastier. We had already tried it before going to Cordoba, so we knew we had to find the best… And we achieved it!

We were lucky because the El Paseo Tavern was very close to our hostel… and curiously its dish has been awarded with the first prize of the Brotherhood of the “Rabo de Toro Cordobés”.

These have been the dishes that we liked the most from Cordoba… But there are many others we haven’t been able to try! Do you know any that are missing from this list? Leave us a comment! We’d love to see new ideas for the next time we travel to this wonderful city.