Although perhaps not the most outstanding feature of local cooking, the tapas served free in all the province’s bars to wash down with a glass of wine or beer are a tasty symbol of the province of Granada, stimulating the senses and wetting the appetite for lunch or dinner.

There are two types of tapas; the informal and traditional slice of bread with cured ham or cheese, olives and fish in batter or some left over meat stew from yesterday’s dinner.

The more sophisticated types of tapas are miniature cuisine of stewed snails, seafood, delicious meat dishes and vegetables in more or less hearty portions. This kind of tapas can be a varied and tasty way to have lunch or dinner out.

For every glass you order, you get a new portion. This is a bit dangerous, as it can lead to over consumption of alcoholic beverages, so better take a taxi home if you indulge in tasting the whole menu of these delicious small dishes. The French call them “Amuse bouches” which means something like “palate teasers”.

There are many stories about the history of tapas. One I had not heard before is that the idea was born when, due to an illness, the Spanish King Alfonso the 10th had to take small bites of food with some wine between meals. Once recovered from the disease, the king decreed that no wine was to be served in the inns of the land of Castile, unless accompanied by something to eat.

Of course, this was a wise precaution to counteract the adverse effects of alcohol. I prefer the more rural and also more credible story that the tapa originated from the custom to cover your copa of wine with a piece of bread or whatever there was at hand to prevent flies and other unpleasant intruders from taking a dip into your glass. The word tapa means cover. Everybody who has had even one tiny fly in their glass of wine knows the difference in taste before and after.

The cuisine in the Granada province is just as varied and tasty as the tapas. It is a style of cooking with a great Arabic inheritance, heavy on spices, rich in soups and stews and delicious sweets and desserts.

Traditional local dishes are soft broad beans fried with cured ham (habas con jamón) pipirrana salad and the ubiquitous gazpacho. On the tropical coast, including Almuñécar, the shrimp, crayfish and prawns are of exceptional quality. They can be served grilled,(a la plancha) or

cooked with oil, garlic and hot spices like in one of my favourite dishes, gambas al pil pil. Local fish like red snapper, white bream and sea bream, just to mention a few, are exquisite when grilled, smoked or cooked in the oven with a lot of garlic and spices. Sardines roasted on skewers is another of my preferences.

The fantastic climate of Costa Tropical favours growing subtropical fruit like custard apples or chirimoya, avocados, mangoes and carambolas to round off a good meal just au naturel or prepared as a delicious mousse or compote. Honey and spices are essential ingredients of local dessert making inherited from the Moors, like bizcochada sponges, moll eggs and buttery mantecada biscuits. The tocino del cielo, a pudding made with egg yolk and syrup  is a typical dessert served in all parts of the Granada province. Oddly enough, the translation of the name of this dessert is something like “bacon from heaven.” A bit prosaic, but truly delicious.

It does not take long after my return to Finland before I start making papas a lo pobre and gambas al pil pil.