Gastronomy

Cortegana enjoys a diverse and rich gastronomy as a fundamental part of our heritage and culture which shouldn’t only be associated with the fame of the local Iberian pork products. Depending on the season, we have a range of traditional dishes such as migas with potatoes (fried breadcumbs with all kinds of delicious ingredients like sausage, prawns and garlic)- especially on rainy days, winter gazpacho (with boiled potatoes, pig’s liver and cilantro), “adobao” (a stew with potatoes, pig’s liver and pepper), sopa de olores/ “aromatic soup” (with various aromatic herbs, chicken stock, potatoes, onions, garlic), pisto serrano (tomatoes, zucchini, onion, peppers, aubergine,garlic and a bit of chorizo, all fried together), potato cakes…

There are also various local goat cheeses, mature or freshly made, many of which are homemade on the little farms.

Summer brings the height of produce from the market gardens, which offer a variety of fruit and vegetables, often bottled to be consumed throughout the year.

An example of the combination of market garden and pork produce is “los distraidos”, slices of fresh tomato with salt and a thin slice of local bacon and perhaps  sprinkled with oregano and chopped garlic.

The wide diversity of wild mushrooms in our area has encouraged the creation of many dishes to enjoy mushrooms: grilled, stews, omelettes, scrambled with eggs, croquettes, with rice…

In cakes and sweets there are piñonates, pestiños, perrunillas, madeleines, doughnuts, a type of bagel, biscuits made with sweet dripping, quince preserves, honey, mead, poléas (milk, flour, lemon peel and cinnamon) or cucos (chestnuts toasted in the fireplace). These sweets can be accompanied by aguardiente and a great variety of traditional liqueurs ( acorn, chestnut, walnut, etc) Most do not have a translation into English- just ask for them by name and you’ll be delighted!

In Holy Week it’s traditional to eat “Bollo de Pascua” (Easter buns), a type of bun with aniseed.

The uniqueness of these products is the result of their local artesanal confection from organic produce, and so we recommend that you don’t leave Cortegana without tasting at least a few of them.