Valencia, eternal and seasonal
As everyone knows, the Valencian paella is our calling card, but our cuisine is full of dishes brimming with flavor and made using local products. There's a reason Valencia is a land of fields, sea and mountains.
To venture beyond paellas, we have gathered twelve essentials of our cuisine: products, recipes, restaurants and traditions that are Valencia through and through. What this land offers each season, what you can't afford to miss and where to try it all.
Here we go!
1. Valencian paella and the thousand and one ways to cook rice in Valencia
It's the most international dish of Valencian cuisine, made with rice grown in the area, locally harvested vegetables, chicken, free-range if possible, and rabbit. Or, if you prefer, there's a seafood version, with the finest ingredients the Mediterranean has to offer. It's the best combination of farm- or sea-to-table products in the history of mankind! This and any rice you’ll find in this land.
2. All i pebre, the most traditional dish
An English translation of this basic dish of Valencian cuisine is garlic and paprika. Add eel, potatoes and a pinch of chili pepper, and the result is a potent and tasty stew that should be served with a good bread because not dipping in the sauce would be a crime.
3. Liquid food: fine wines and Agua de Valencia
Lovers of good wines, sparkling wines and craft beers, rejoice! Our province is home to two great Designations of Origin for wine: Valencia and Utiel-Requena. And what about the Agua de Valencia? It's our most local cocktail, made with orange juice, vodka, gin and cava. Liquid craftsmanship.
4. Horchata or orxata, don't leave without trying it!
Made from the tiger nut grown in these areas, horchata (orxata in Valencian) is a drink that can be had as a liquid or slushy. And to round out the experience, try it with fartons, a typical bun for dunking that tastes fantastic.
5. Esmorzaret: looks like lunch, feels like a gourmet experience
The Valencian esmorzaret is a legacy of the customs of the farmland, with mythical recipes such as the "black and white", the "goat" and the "Almussafes", served with a complete salad, pickles, olives, lupins and local peanuts. And a hearty bread, of course.
6. Municipal markets, temples for the senses
Every lover of fine cuisine has to visit one of Valencia's municipal markets, which provide a huge showcase of the wealth of our land. In them you will find the freshest and most traditional products, such as fruits and vegetables from our farmland, seafood from our coast, meats, vegetables, snails… almost anything you can imagine.
7. Oranges, treasures of Valencia's fields
Oranges, in season from November to May, are one of our hallmarks. If you want to eat the best varieties at all times, go to any municipal market and ask the grocer there, they'll know which ones to give you. The ones best known for their sweetness are all those in the Navel family: “Navelina”, “Navelate”, “Lane late”, “Washington Navel” and “Newhall”. They're available starting in December.
8. Designations of Origin of the Valencian Community
The Valencian Community has 16 recognized designations of origin for fruits, vegetables, rice, olive oil, turrón (nougat) and wine. Products from the land that are the basis of our local cuisine. Here we prepare dishes with olive oil with the Comunitat Valenciana D.O., rice from the Parque Natural de la Albufera de València, artichokes from Benicarló and many other ingredients.
9. La Tira de Contar: much more than a market
La Tira de Contar is a space in Mercavalència where you can find fruits and vegetables from our farmland, safe in the knowledge that it's taken the shortest path from the farmer to your hands. The institution dates back to the 12th century, made official by Jaume I in 1238, and it changed locations many times before settling in Mercavalència in 1981. In short, La Tira de Contar is an expression of our ancestral seasonal and local cuisine.
10. Typical sweets and breads
Our most typical sweets are inherited from our Muslim past, a culture that uses almonds, honey and pumpkin like no other. Nougat is a must of our cuisine. Arnadí, a cake made with pumpkin, sugar and almond, fritters, coca de llanda, sweet potato cakes, mona de pascua, panquemado and coca with raisins and walnuts.
11. Signature cuisine made in Valencia: the new essentials
In recent years, Valencia has made an important leap in terms of the range of its gourmet cuisine. Restaurants like Ricard Camarena, El Poblet, La Salita, Riff, Lienzo, Fierro and Kaido Sushi Bar are on the Michelin red list, and many others such as Saiti, La Sucursal, Apicius, Kauymus and Vertical boast Repsol suns. Valencia has made a name for itself on the world's gastronomic scene.
12. Food tours in the province
Touring L’Horta, the local farmland just on the outskirts of the city, by bicycle, visiting the cradle of rice in l'Albufera, discovering Valencia's wineries, or scheduling an excursion to the most beautiful villages in Valencia are experiences that link you to this land. They make it very easy to give the best reviews of our most cherished products.
