Castile-Leon and Castile-La Mancha Restaurants

Castile-Leon and Castile-La Mancha Restaurant Reviews

Spain's central meseta is an arid, high plateau where peasant cooking evolved to provide comfort and energy. Roast lamb and goat are staples, as are soups, stews, and dishes made from scraps, such as the classic migas de pastor, shepherd's bread crumbs.

Classic Castilian dishes are cordero (lamb) and cochinillo (suckling pig) roasted in wood ovens, and other prized entrées include perdiz en escabeche (marinated partridge), and perdices a la Toledana (stewed partridge). Broad-bean dishes are specialties in the areas around Ávila and La Granja (Segovia), while trucha (trout) and cangrejos de río (river crayfish) are Guadalajara specialties. Some of Castile's most exotic cuisine is found in Cuenca, where a Moorish influence appears in such dishes as gazpacho pastor (shepherd's stew), a stew made with an assortment of meats. Wild mushrooms are used to enhance aromas in meat dishes and stews, or are served on their own in earthenware dishes. Níscalos estofados (stewed saffron milk cap mushrooms) or setas a la segoviana, a fragrant stew of king trumpet mushrooms.