CASTILE LEÓN
The Castilian cuisine is an eclectic mix of Jewish, Arab and Christian food, and the menu is nothing short of exciting.
In Segovia, the pigs
are cooked whole in wood burning ovens – they are cooked like
spatch-cocked chickens, flattened on a large tray – the skin becomes as
crispy as chips and the flesh is creamy and out-of-this-world
delicious.
Jewish cuisine is also represented here in glorious
style because here they could live in peace, protected by the Castilian
crown until the 14th century, anyway.
The food in the Jewish quarter in Toledo is so good that it’s not imprudent to buy an air-ticket only for the food.
Stuffed fish, goat or mutton – rubbed with saffron and braised in onions, garlic, more saffron and herbs and roasted chicken are the stuff of legends.
Throughout the region Lechazo asado (roast suckling lamb) are cooked in huge, flat terracotta bowls in the wood burning ovens.
It’s
cut up into large portions (the whole rib-cage merely flattened) and
popped into the oven – one orders one’s lamb to take home and enjoy
but, if you’re really starving you could probably eat it right there.