We´re not talking about fried rice and sweet and sour noodles the other sort of eastern but the east coast of Spain.

Well, actually maybe fried rice!

Spanish food is celebrated all over the world, and happens to be pretty fashionable amongst foodies at the moment.

Switch on to any weekend food programme or Rick Stein series and watch Chorizo, Almonds, Saffron or Paella as the main starstapas bars such as the excellent José from my Twitter friend José Pizarro are popping up everywhere, whether you live in London or Luxembourg.

But the east coast specifically with it´s range of food developed over the years, introduced by invaders and visitors alike, is worth a mouth watering holidaybest bib on let´s go!

Whether you have visited the north Costa Brava of Catalonia, or the hot Orange Blossom Coast featuring Valencia, you will have tasted a variety of dishes from air dried mountain hams to juicy oranges.  You can really taste the weather in Spanish food, the sun ripened fruits and vegetables, the cool mountain air of the cold meats, the salty fresh taste of the sea when you enjoy a plate of freshly caught and fried fish.

Perhaps that´s the reason why it never tastes the same at home!

So, who´s to thank for this tasty bounty that we enjoy today?

The Moors are my food heroes, I only have to look at the ancient Mulberry trees in our village to think of the importance of the Silk Route, centuries before.

The Moors and Romans devised the wonderful watering systems, bringing clean mountain water from the snow capped Sierras down to irrigate the well planned planted terraces below.

Spices like punchy Pimenton and sweet Saffron, rich and aromatic, juicy fruits, Dates and Almonds are all souvenirs of the footprint left behind from these early tourists. Arab influence in evident in Catalonia, where meat dishes are enriched with sweet fruit, think Tangine!

Oranges, for eating or juicing, adding to stews, as sauces or sweet desserts, are the main crop of Valencia, Lemons too!

Murcía has meat on a grand scale, home to some of the best Chorizo in Spain.  Rice is grown to high standards in the paddy fields of  Sueca, where there is also an annual Paella fiesta, read about it here.

Aragón is the area for cool and dry healthy mountain air choose an air dried Jamón from here and you won´t be disappointed, cut thinly so that you can see through it, add some juicy melon and you have a first course fit for a King.

So, you have been to the local market and armed yourself with all of the tasty local ingredients, what to cook? Whether you have chosen to rent a country house in Huesca, in Aragón, a beach house on the Costa Blanca, or a castle on the Costa Calida- okay, maybe not a castle! then you´ll want to know what to cook!

Or at least what to expect to see on the menu at that cozy restaurant around the corner from your accommodation

Let´s go eat!

Shall we start with a salad?

How about Amanida a Catalan salad dish which encompasses cured meats such as Jamón or Lomo pork with boiled egg, local Cheese and is lightly dressed.

Perhaps a soup?  Spain really does do soup! From the cool summer Gazpacho of Andalucia to this region expect to see Fideo, a thin noodle soup flavoured with spices and thin shreds of local meat.

As a sharing dish, go for a Parrillada de Mariscos, a n assortment of grilled shellfish, enormous prawns and mussels, sometimes outside on a plancha and served with a rich homemade Allioli to dipmmm.

Ever had one of those Pidgeon pies in Morocco? The ones in Filo pastry with fruit and bursting with flavour street food to die for

Well, Murcia has the equivalent.  Pastel de Carne is stuffed with minced pork or lamb, chopped eggs and sultanas in a light Puff pastry - filling! A great take away lunch on the go

Paella of course a visit to Spain and the eastern coast would not be complete without trying at least on of the variations of this most Spanish of national dishes.  Try and taste one that has been cooked in front of you local fiestas are a great way to see a giant one being prepared, flavoured with Saffron and crammed with seafood and meat, depending on where you are will decide the ingredients.  Down here in Andalucía it tends to be locally caught rabbit, pork and chicken and snail yeuch  with a token prawn or two but the east coast of Spain will be more likely to be fish and seafood galore. I know which I prefer!

Meat lovers heaven will be back up in the north of Spain, the sausage selection is never ending!  Whether you like cured and dried Chorizo, or Butifarra, Morcilla, Longaniza or Fuet.  The difference in type is amazing!  Just go into any large Spanish supermarket, butcher shop or visit any town market and prepare to spend a long time choosing!

A typical dish is made with Butifarra  either the black or the white variety and white beans but you had better have a bit of an appetite! A typical peasant type dish made to fill you up and keep you warm in winter!

For dessert, Spain keeps it Moorish again, Turròn - using the Almond crop again  is the traditional sweet to be eaten at Christmas – read about the birthplace of Turrón here –  along with candied fruits frutas escarchadas , pretty and glistening but when out for dinner you are more likely to be given the choice of an ice cream in summer months, and there will always be a version of that ubiquitous egg custard, Crema Catalana. Served cold rather than warm with the crunch of the grilled sugar on top.

Or just dig into the sweet segmented Orange from eastern Spain a sweet and succulent end to a tasty meal!

Flickr credits with thanks to: paul goyette/chenines/Degilbo on flickr/egutes/tonx

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