Christmas is celebrated with real gusto in Spain, but what food is eaten on la Navidad? We thought it would be helpful to pull together a complete guide to Spanish Christmas food and drink. To give you some ideas of either how to shake up your usual Christmas dinner or go completely native and indulge in proper traditional Basque Christmas food with all the trimmings. To get you to enter into the Spanish Christmas spirit, here are a few Spanish Christmas food ideas from starters and mains to desserts, drinks and ingredients. Let’s delve in.
Navidad in Spain
The Spanish celebrate la Navidad with lavish meals with family and friends. On Christmas Eve – called Nochebuena in Spain – people usually attend church after their grand Christmas dinner for the ‘misa del gallo’ at midnight. On Christmas Day itself, the Spanish tend to eat slightly lighter meals than on the night before and relax and enjoy the company of family.
Tapas
What better way to start the festive meal than with tapas – a typical Spanish Christmas food. There is such a wide selection of delicious options to choose from.
You could start with some thin slices of delicious Jamón Ibérico De Bellota carved at the table from an impressive leg of delicious acorn-fed pure-bred ham. From there, you could enjoy some flash-fried Padron Peppers with sea salt and maybe a few slices of Manchego cheese of jamón. Prawns are a popular Spanish Christmas food too. Make it really special with Carabineros – large deep-sea jumbo size prawns with a striking festive bright red colour.
Put on a selection of other tapas including Croquetas with different delicious fillings alongside a deeply satisfying Chorizo – there are so many different types to choose from including Picante, Iberico and fresh Cooking Chorizo. Spanish black pudding called Morcilla is beautiful pan-fried or dropped into soups or stews.
The Spanish love fish tapas, too, at Christmas. Authentic Basque Christmas food like Salt Cod, Bonito Tuna, Boquerones and Anchovies marinated in extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar go down especially well. Green and black Olives are also a staple Spanish Christmas food.
Primer Plato
The first course is often a traditional Spanish Christmas soup or stew, like an Andalusian stew, Catalan escudella meat stew with sausage or garlic soup hit the spot. Alternatively, a good Gazpacho can cleanse your palate in readiness for the main course.
Plato Principal
Now onto the main event. No Spanish Christmas food celebration like this would be complete without meat. Not just any meat though. It has to be of the finest quality, with the animals reared and fed by producers in a very particular way, because their husbandry and diet really do come through in the flavour.
The pinnacle of Spanish Christmas food has to be a Whole Suckling Pig. Roasted, it not only makes the crispiest crackling you have ever tasted, it yields the softest and sweetest meat – it literally melts in the mouth. In Spain, instead of being carved, it is traditionally pulled apart at the table using two plates – the meat is so incredibly tender.
Beef more your thing? Galician Whole Beef Fillet is so beautifully tender and has huge depth of flavour. Also known as Filet Mignon, Tenderloin or Eye Fillet, it comes from retired dairy cows aged between 8 and 12 years old and has natural grass-fed marbling.
Prefer pork? Presa Iberica is another prime cut of meat that melts in your mouth. The animals reared to create this superb pork are free-range Iberico pigs, indigenous to Spain, who root out acorns under holm oak trees. This gives the meat its highly-prized flavour and marbling. It is so delicious grilled under a medium heat or seared and sliced.
All of the above options can be accompanied by a variety of traditional Spanish vegetables including roasted carrots and pan-fried potatoes. Delicious.
Postre
No Nochebuena meal is complete without an authentic Spanish Christmas dessert. How about a Burnt Manchego Cheesecake? This classic Spanish Christmas dessert is rich, creamy and baked at a high temperature for a dark, deeply caramelised top and an indulgent oozy centre.
Got a sweet tooth? Serve some Turron which is a Spanish nougat, is made with the finest Marcona almonds, local orange blossom honey and sugar. It is available in a variety of flavours and textures it is perfect with a coffee and dried fruits.
Almonds also figure prominently in Spanish Polvorones. These toasted sweet treats contain crushed almonds and are flavoured with cinnamon. Delightful as a festive treat with a glass of Spanish sherry.
Queso
Manchego is the iconic Spanish cheese and the perfect way to draw a Spanish Christmas meal to a close. Varieties vary from those with an intense nutty flavour with hints of caramel and fruit to smooth and creamy manchegos with buttery flavours and hints of green almonds. Whichever you do choose, ensure it carries the ‘Queso Manchego D.O.’ seal of authenticity and serve it with quince paste, rosemary biscuits and fig and almond cakes. We actually offer a special Manchego Cheese Box containing all this and more.
Drinks to pair with Spanish Christmas food
To start the meal, we recommend a sparkling cava to accompany your tapas. Kripta Gran Reserva is from one of the most prestigious sparkling wine producers in Spain. It is elegant, clean and bright with fine with persistent bubbles.
To enjoy with your main, choose between a white or red Spanish wine, dependent upon your tastes and the meat served. If you prefer a red, try the Vega Sicilia Pintia. Aged in oak barrels for 12 months, this elegant, full bodied and intense expression of Tempranillo is from one of the most revered wineries in Spain. Perfect with roast suckling pig or Galician beef.
Want an excellent white? Martinez Lacuesta White Rioja Barrica is a white Rioja wine created from local Viura grapes. Ageing for 3 months in oak barrels gives it its pale yellow-green colour with delicate golden hues, a fresh, creamy entrance and subtle wood fragrances.
Now onto a Spanish Christmas dessert pairing. Alvear Pedro Ximenez 1927 is made from sun-dried Pedro Ximenez grapes from the prestigious Alvear winery and is a sumptuous wine of great intensity with rich, and juicy concentrated fruit.
Finally, settle down and relax after your Spanish gastronomic Christmas with a fine Peinado 100 Year Old Brandy, adored by Michelin starred chefs. Distilled in the town of Tomelloso in La Mancha by one of the oldest Brandy producers in Spain, the barrels are sprayed with aged brandies to bring out the aromas and body.
Javier’s Spanish Christmas food and drink secrets
Basco founder Javier De La Hormaza is a professional Basque chef and would like to highlight and share a few recipes that will make your Spanish Christmas extra special.
Fabulous Finger Food – one of Javier’s favourites is Chistorra Sausage Rolls with Lemon Aioli which are so easy to prepare and have to be tasted to be believed – his recipe is here.
Show Stopping Main – how about an Iberico Pork Wellington? Beautiful melt in the mouth presa iberica, earthy mushroom pate, creamy serrano ham and crusty pastry. Prepare it in advance and pop in the oven.
Easy Escape – want to enjoy maximum time with family and friends? An Oven-Ready Suckling Pig Quarter is a traditional quarter of Spanish cochinillo from Segovia – best of all it requires zero preparation and is utterly scrumptious.
Wow Dessert – want to end the meal on a high? Look no further than Javier’s Spanish Baked Alaska. Don’t be frightened to try this as it is easier than it might first look. It features a base of Santiago almond, lemon and cinnamon cake, topped with creamy turrón de jijona ice cream covered in silky Italian meringue.
Javier has a whole host of Spanish Christmas food ideas and recipes for you to try right here.
Drinks until dawn
Like to party well into the night? Practice the dark art of mixology with these three fabulous creations:
Vermouth Time – a Marianito Cocktail is from the Basque Country, and a more sophisticated way of drinking vermouth with similarities to that timeless classic…The Negroni.
Pedro Pick Me Up – need a quick hit? Affogato De Pedro Ximenez involves a freshly brewed espresso slowly dripped into home-made Pedro Ximenez ice cream for a rich and creamy ‘match in heaven’.
Felice Navidad!
Whatever Spanish Christmas food you do decide to serve on Nochebuena and día de Navidad, Javier and the team at Basco hope you enjoy the absolute best food and company and make amazing memories. Here’s to a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Buen provecho!
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