Pasta Traditions

• Pasta is enjoyed by many children in Spain, and is popular with families for ease of preparation and use of other ingredients such as vegetables, cheese, and fish. The Spanish eat approximately 5 kilograms of pasta per year. Often times pasta is served in soups or in pasta salads in Spain.
• Tomatoes and Spanish Food: Like all Mediterranean people, the Spanish enjoy tomatoes many ways – fresh or cooked in lots of different kinds of dishes. Make sure to have on hand both fresh tomatoes, as well as a couple cans of tomato sauce and a large can of crushed tomatoes.

Food Facts

• Spanish cuisine is heavily influenced by the great availability of fish and seafood, and also by North African and Middle Eastern avors.
• Other traditional dishes in Spain include tapas, which are a great variety of small dishes eaten at any time of day. Common tapas include gambas, (shrimp cooked in garlic) tortilla, (an omelette with potato and onion) and pisto, (a stew of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and zucchini).

Fun Facts

• The name Spain came from the word Ispania, which means the land of rabbits.
• People in Spain eat dinner very late, around 9 or 10 at night.
• If you drink hot chocolate in Spain you will find it very thick almost like drinking warm pudding.