Paella is the Valencian dish. The cooking vessel determines how rice cooks. When rice is cooked in a deep pot it will be very different to oven-baked rice.The classic "Paella Valenciana" is cooked in a shallow paella dish as in the photograph above. Other rice dishes that you can sample locally include "arroz abanda" (with seafood), "arroz en perdiú", "arroz al forn" (baked in the oven), "rossjat","arroz con costra" (with an egg crust), "arroz am biedes" (with chard. Arroz, it should be apparent, is the Spanish word for "rice".
Paella Mixta contain meats (pork, rabbit, chicken etc) pieces of white fish, squid, shellfish plus fresh pimiento and beans - and a liberal helping of garlic.
Paella de Marisco is the version of Paella mixta using only fish.
A freshly prepared paella will take some time to arrive, so do not expect instant service - in fact be wary if it arrives too quickly. The classic paella is finished in the last moments of cooking by turning up the heat to produce a tasty crusty layer on the bottom.
Fideua is a local pasta speciality, cooked in seafood stock like paella, and served with pieces of squid. and vegetables.
The local soups and stews known as "ollas". The "olla de la plana" is cooked with vegetables and saffron, "la olla recapte" with potatoes and pork, "ollica de verduras" (vegetables), "olla de cardet" (thistles), "giraboix" (cod, green beans and potatoes).
Beef used to be reserved only for fiesta time, but are now served any time. Game, rabbit and duck are cooked with rice, whilst lamb is usually roasted.
A wide selection of fish is available in Moraira. Look out for spotted flounder, conger eel, whiting, hake, sea bass, sea bream, red mullet, anglerfish and "aladroc" (anchovy). One local way of preparing fish is known as "salazón", in which the fish is covered in a salt crust before baking.
A few of the good local fish dishes available in restaurants are:-
Calamares - the well known rings of squid fried in batter
Gambas or Cigalas are prawns or crayfish are grilled "a la plancha" or in garlic "al ajillo"
Emperador is swordfish
Langosta - lobster tends to be expensive
Lenguado - the Mediterranean sole is cooked in butter "meuniere" or grilled "a la plancha"
Lubina is the large sea-bass, and can be served "a la sal"
Mejillones - mussels can be al vapor or can salsa
Parillada is a mixed fried fish dish
Pescadilla is deep fried whitebait
Pulchero de Pulpo is octopus stew
Salmonetes is a grilled red mullet
Sopa de Pescado or Marisco is the fish/shellfish soup or stew
Suc de Rape is monkfish
Zarzuela is a fish casserole
Other local specialties include Cocas - savoury cakes with a variety of toppings (tomato, onion, anchovy etc) and local fruits used in desserts (almonds, raisins, figs and nisperos).
The iced fruit juices are worth trying - limon, naranja and horchata - in English respectively lemon, orange and the milk from tiger-nuts.
Teulada's wine is the Moscatel. A sweet desert wine to ideal
partner with the local pudding of almonds and raisins, "els patisets de
boniato'.
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