"Reading and eating should both be done slowly." -Spanish proverb
This spring I had the chance to go to Spain and visit a couple of regions I'd never been to before — the Basque Country, Asturias, and Cantabria. It was a good trip, the kind that inspires a steady stream of "I wish I had your job," comments. When I got back to Ann Arbor, a pile of people kept asking me some version of a question about whether the trip was "for fun or work?" The answer quite, simply, is "yes." Both. Together. Inextricably intertwined. The best of food and friendship woven together; a week of working my way across north central Spain with five food business friends, folks I've known for ten, fifteen, actually for nearly twenty years. I came back with lots of good stories, a zillion ideas for making great food here, stronger relationships, new sights and good insights, a dozen new products of note, an ever greater appreciation for Spanish food. For fun or for work? Like, I said, the answer is "yes."

Perhaps, the least expected going in but the most interesting insight of the moment was that I came back with the belief that the food in Spain right now is probably the best in Europe.

Mind you, I'm not big on "Best Of" lists, and I'm not a competition-provoking person, so I usually work hard to stay away from statements like this. And I say it with all due respect for all the regions of Italy, which I love dearly, and the obvious solidity and seriousness of French cuisine and all the other interesting foods of the Continent.

So with the wonderfulness (I can't believe that's really a word but spell check is letting it go so...) of Spanish food and the fact that I've already gotten going with provocative statements of "bests" I figured I'd continue down that road by listing my top twenty list, the Spanish foods that are most on my mind right now. Well, I started with twenty, but then I took it up to twenty-two because it's also about how long ago my relationship with started with the foods of Spain.

I still have the very first book I read about Spanish food, the one that set me on the path towards discovering this amazing cooking — Penelope Casas' still-classic, The Wines and Foods of Spain. While the book's just been released in its 11th edition, I still have my old mid-80s copy, which I've been marking up and coming back to regularly. It's signed, to me, by Penelope: "Viva Zingerman's! And here's to a great year for all thing Spanish." And it's dated "September 1987."

And my thing for Spanish food centers around the old-style, traditional, simple foods, ones that highlight the amazing diversity and depth of ingredients that are available in Spain, the dishes that are simple, yet really sort of spectacular in their simplicity of clear, clean flavors. The things that are stuck in my head from the last trip are platters of whole fish straight from the sea, sprinkled with sea salt and then cooked on the grill, the amazing crystal peppers from Navarre, fantastic, traditionally-cured anchovies, amazing fresh vegetables prepared in a number of different ways but more often than not with lots of really good olive oil and sometimes some very special vinegar. Cheeses of all sorts — so many that you can't even list them all here.

Regardless of which foods you'll find on this list, there's some very special stuff to be eaten in Spain. In a sense, the country's cuisine is a pretty good case study for the power of diversity and the blending of cultures in positive ways. Spain is alive with influences that have come from all over — you'll feel the impact of Moslem, Jewish and Catholic cultures; there's a wealth of New World produce (tomatoes, peppers for roasting and paprika, chocolate and vanilla) that's been completely integrated into every day food; there are exotics like saffron setting right beside seemingly simple stuff like beans (which the Spaniards have elevated to something akin to culinary cult status); olive oil and vinegar, cheese and ham, wine and wonderful fish. Spices — brought up from North Africa for centuries — are woven throughout. And remember, what we think of as "Spanish food" is actually about fifteen different regional styles of cooking that are more, and often much less, related. Spanish food is alive, creative, rooted and rebellious; it's something special.

Better than just going with my list, I'd encourage you to get your own going. You can start it by coming to the Deli to taste one on one or by attending any of the great classes coming up in September, or by ordering with us on line.

View the complete list of Spanish Foods or use the list to the left