Gastronomy allows us to delve into the history and roots of many areas of the world. Because, generally, it is usually influenced by the experiences of the place and those who lived there in the past. Something that often leads to fusion and very delicious dishes that speak of the past, of the origins. And if we talk about Granada, the Arabs and their cuisine have a great weight in that past.
So, just as some time ago we talked about typical food of Granada for all palates, today we will do the same with the vestiges of Arab gastronomy in Granada. For this we are going to show you what was eaten in Al-Andalus with some Arabic cuisine recipes. In addition to explaining some dishes and ingredients inherited from this part of the history of the city of the Alhambra.
What was eaten in Al-Andalus?
Before we tell you about Arabic cuisine recipes that are currently being made in Granada, let’s go back a few years in time. Specifically up to the time of Al-Andalus. What did they eat back then? The truth is that there are some dishes and ingredients that were very recurrent. For example, thanks to wheat, barley and rye they made bread, pasta and porridge, which was an important part of their diet.
They also used beans, rice, peas and chickpeas to make soups and stews. Fish was very common among the poorer population and was frequently consumed fried or preserved, either salted or pickled. As for cooking fat, they used olive oil or refined mutton lard.
If we talk about meat, the custom was to consume it roasted, stewed in sauce or made into meatballs or sausages. And as for sweets, of which the Andalusians were in love, they were generally baked or fried with honey.
Dishes and ingredients inherited from Arabian cuisine
At this point you will have seen that many of the things that were eaten hundreds of years ago in Granada are still eaten today. But if we review a little bit the Arab cuisine recipes you will realize that there are many dishes from Granada that are a direct inheritance of the Al-Andalus period. Below are some of the most popular ones currently in use:
- Gazpacho: a classic summer dish that is a true Andalusian emblem finds its origins in Arab traditions, who knew it as ajo blanco and prepared it without tomatoes. Nowadays they are consumed in both ways, with and without tomato.
- Saffron: saffron is another ingredient of Arab origin that has remained over the years in the gastronomy of Granada until becoming an essential product for many recipes.
- Meatballs: its name comes from ‘búndiga’, which means hazelnut. They were so called because of their shape and size and were made with minced meat to take advantage of leftovers from other stews.
- Migas: another typical dish of Granada is migas. And, like gazpacho, they come from Arabic cuisine. At that time they used bread with animal fat and different meat products. The result was initially more brothy, something that has been changing over the years to be as they are today.
