The Paradores chain of Spanish luxury celebrates its 90th anniversary this year and is honouring the event on its tables, and also with the launch of a new book, which proposes a tapas tour around the country’s Paradores, to sample those dishes that gained widespread popularity in Spain and abroad many years ago through its “Entremeses de pequeños bocados” menu that is now being brought back to life to mark such a special occasion.
Among the 97 different recipes included in the book, there are proposals as varied as ajoblanco (cold soup) with smoked sardines from Malaga, chorizo with cider, rice with botillo (local cured pork meat from León), baby lamb gizzards from Aragon, artichoke coca from Benicarló in Valencia, migas (bread soaked in water with herbs and spice) from Extremadura, morteruelo (a type of stew made from pork liver with spices) from Cuenca and cured seafood from Murcia. As you can see, this is a comprehensive tour of Spain’s gastronomy, stopping at different locations to savour their most outstanding dishes from start to finish in the recipe book.
The book, “El Sabor de Paradores. Entremeses. Las Tapas” has been published by Lerner TF Editores in English and Spanish and was recently presented at the Mapfre Foundation, which is also currently hosting a photo exhibition about the Paradores’ 90 years of history.
According to Rafael Ansón, president of Spain’s Royal Academy of Gastronomy, the book clearly “praises the entremeses and acknowledges the Paradores for their input to Spain’s contribution to the world – tapas” that from his point of view implies “a social way of eating” and he hopes it will be declared a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
In this way, the Paradores are enhancing their range of dishes that now include a monthly proposal to commemorate its 90th anniversary with the 1928 menu, which also introduces the Entremeses menu on the 28th of every month that’s clearly closely tied to the edition of the book.
The famous chef Mario Sandoval, with two Michelin stars in Coque (Madrid) and his team have been responsible for updating the traditional recipe book for the network’s 120 gastronomic spaces in unique locations with exceptional accommodation options.
According to Sandoval, “Customers nowadays are looking for authentic, original food, and haute cuisine is looking more towards traditional cuisine”, Sandoval also says that Paradores “are reclaiming regional products and seasonal food” and creating “added value in Spain today”.
Ángeles Alarcó, President of Paradores, said that on reaching 90, it wanted to honour the importance given to the gastronomic culture by the institution through the book and Spain’s most distinctive culinary format: tapas
