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Gastro Guide to Valencia

San Sebastian and Barcelona may be famous for their innovative Tapas and Michelin starred restaurants, but foodies on a budget should flock to Valencia, where food is one of the principal pleasures in life.

Valencians love their food, but don’t take it too seriously – take the Tomatina Festival – where trucks of ripe tomatoes are brought to Bunol for a city-wide food fight under the August sun. This also means that eating well doesn’t have to cost the earth – even if you stick to simple restaurants or cafés, you will be served fresh fruit, vegetables, and freshly-caught seafood.

If you fancy a true taste of the city, here’s a guide to eating in Valencia for cash-strapped gourmands:

Local Produce

Valencia is famous for its exports – juicy oranges and Paella, but there’s far more food to be savored in Spain’s third largest city. Surrounded by fertile countryside and orange groves, the cuisine is enriched with an abundance of fruit and vegetables, and is influenced by centuries of Moorish invaders – seen in the almonds and saffron used in most dishes. The city’s proximity to the sea means that fish is used in a lot of cooking, from succulent shrimp to grilled octopus.

Paella

One of the city’s most famous exports, this rice dish is a must during your stay. Authentic Paella is a mix of long-grain rice simmered with tomatoes, saffron, onion and garlic in a giant frying dish, over an open fire.

Traditional ‘Paella Valenciana’ is cooked with chicken, rabbit and a range of vegetables, such as sweet peppers, artichokes and garden peas. Paella is meant to be served fresh, in a huge dish big enough for sharing (for at least two people or more).

Avoid restaurants with display platters of Paella in the window – servings are usually just spooned out of this lukewarm dish and heated up! Some of the best Paella is cooked outdoors in giant pans during the festivities at Las Fallas in March.

Other Specialities

Rice is king in Valencia, forming a solid base for most dishes. Other popular meals include Arroz Negro, a simplified seafood paella, cooked with squid ink to give the dish an intriguing black colour. Arroz a Banda is paella rice cooked with leftover fish stock (much more delicious than it sounds), and Arroz al Horno is baked rice with potato cubes and chunks of chorizo – sometimes with egg spread over the top. For an alternative to rice, try Fideua, a paella cooked with noodles, or All I Pebre, a tomato-based stew of peppers, garlic, potato chunks and eels. If you like seafood, you’ll be spoilt for choice in Valencia – most restaurants serve it grilled or fried, with delicious sauces on the side – try Allioli (a very garlicky thick sauce) or Picada (made with crushed almonds).

Sweet Treats

Make sure you always leave room for dessert, as Valencia is full of sweet and festive treats. The bakeries roll out an array of cakes and special desserts during festivals and religious holidays – ‘Bunyols’ are a doughnut eaten during Las Fallas. Arnadi is an Arab dessert, a pumpkin and sweet potato pie, flavored with ground almonds, sugar and cinnamon. Other after-dinner sweets include Los Ducles de Saint Dionis (marzipan sweets) Rosegons (a toasted almond cake) and El Arrop I Talladetes (fruit slices with brown sugar syrup).

Drink Up

Valencia is famous for its refreshing summer drink, Horchata, a sweet milky concoction made with ‘chufas’ (earth almonds). It’s served semi-frozen or ice cold and eaten with ‘fartons’ – soft sweet bread sticks. There are old-world Horchaterias all over the city.
A slightly less innocent thirst-quencher is Agua de Valencia – fresh orange juice mixed with a wide range of alcohol, usually Catalonian wine or cava.

Where to Eat

Valencia’s Mercat Central is a paradise for budget travelers, a historic marketplace filled with 1,000 stalls, each bursting with fresh produce. You can almost halve your food budget by staying in a Valencia hostel with a kitchen, buying from the market and rustling up your own versions of classic dishes. The bars or ‘cervecerias’ close by are also a great place to pick up a cheap bite to eat with a cold drink.

The city’s buzzing student population means there are plenty of bargain places to eat by the university (to the northwest of El Carme), around the Plaza Xuquer and the Avenida Blasco Ibanez.

Create Your Own Gastro Tour

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