Food is an important part of travel and in Yecla, the locals know how to enjoy their food. They serve a variety of dishes that you must try – for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The dishes were once considered traditional food for the farmers, but today they are also served in the best restaurants.
Here you’ll find recipes for six of the most popular dishes + restaurant recommendations:
BREAKFAST
Gachasmigas
This dish has its origins in Arabic cuisine, where flour-based food is common. Gachasmigas are similar to pancakes, with a golden crust and are usually eaten straight from the pan and washed down with wine.
Ingredients (8 people):
- 1 kg flour
- ¼ liter of oil
- 3 heads of garlic
- Salt (unflavored)
- Water (if needed)
Do not peel the garlic, but make a small notch in the shape of a cross so that they do not pop in the pan.
Sauté the garlic in the pan until they get a golden color, add the flour and mix well until all the oil is absorbed. Once the flour is fried, add water and salt and stir well.
Bring to the boil and stir well until everything has set. When the dough is thick enough, turn the dough into the pan. When it looks like an omelette, continue to heat it until it browns.
Finish by turning it a few times in the air. Serve and eat warm, with a few large pieces of bread dipped in the dish. Gachasmigas can also be served with bacon and sausages. Best time to eat Gachasmigas: Winter, especially on rainy days.
Tortas Fritas
A very simple dish consisting of yeast dough fried in large quantities of oil. Eaten with either sugar, salt, anchovies or honey.
Ingredients:
- 500 grams of flour
- A splash of oil (in addition to oil used for frying)
- 1 dl water
- Baking yeast
- Salt
Mix flour, oil and salt. Crumble until you get a grainy dough. Stir in the cold water and knead the dough until it is pliable.
Let the dough rise and then divide it into small balls, each of which will become a cake. Then roll out each ball until they are the size and thickness of a dessert plate.
Fry in a generous amount of oil.
When they are a nice golden color on each side, remove them from the pan. Recommended restaurant: Bar Peña Taurina
LUNSJ
Gazpachos
This is the most characteristic and well-known dish from Yecla. A unique dish that tastes great. Serve it with a good red wine, spring onions and sour spices.
Ingredients:
- 5 Gazpacho patties
- ½ kg rabbit
- ¼ kg chicken
- ¼ kg mushrooms
- 1 red bell pepper
- ¼ kg spinach
- Tomato puree
- Land snails
- ¼ liter of oil
- Salt to taste
Heat the oil in the pan and sauté with the peppers. As soon as it is well fried, take it out of the pan and fry the meat. Add the tomato puree followed by the spinach and mushrooms.
When everything is cooked, add the water and snails.
Cook for 30 minutes on a high heat and then add the lefse (a handful per person, torn into small pieces). Then boil for another 15 minutes.
Place a loaf on each plate and pour the Gazpachos on top. Best time to eat Gazpachos: Winter Recommended restaurant: Restaurante Los Chispos
Relleno (meatballs in broth)
This is the main course in the gastronomic world of Yecla. The balls are the size of tennis balls, cooked in broth made from a traditional stew.
Ingredients:
- 500 grams of ground pork
- 4 eggs
- 250 grams of bread
- 100 grams of pine nuts
- 1 lemon, grated and shredded
- 1 splash of Cognac
- Broth from stew
- Pepper
- Carnation
- Parsley
- Salt
- Nutmeg
Put the breadcrumbs, salt, spices, grated lemon, parsley and pine nuts in a bowl. Mix well and add the ground pork, eggs, soaked bread crusts, a splash of Cognac and the broth.
Mix well using your hands and then shape the mixture into balls (the size of tennis balls).
Cook the balls in the broth on medium heat for 45 minutes. Best time to eat Relleno: When it’s cool/cold outside, and especially during holidays such as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Recommended restaurant: Restaurante Aurora
Queso Frito Con Tomate
Fried goat cheese with roasted tomatoes and green peppers sounds extremely simple, but tastes exquisite.
Served with white or rosé wine.
Ingredients:
- Tomatoes
- Green peppers
- Fresh goat cheese
- Olive oil
- Salt
- A pinch of sugar
Fry the cheese in a small pan with a generous amount of olive oil. When the cheese is golden, remove it from the pan.
Cut the peppers into tiny pieces, fry them and add the grated tomatoes. Salt to taste and add a pinch of sugar just before removing the pan from the baking sheet. This avoids a sour taste. Serve the cheese with the tomato sauce on top. Best time to eat Queso Frito Con Tomate: All year round Recommended restaurant: La Zaranda
DESSERT
Libricos
You’ll have to look hard to find a more authentic dessert. The sweets are made by hand, using a recipe that has been passed down through generations. The biscuits are made up of thin discs with either honey or chocolate between them. The plates are engraved with the most famous places and monuments in Yecla. Best place to buy these sweets: Libricos Yecla
