Easter Week in Valencia is different from all the others: it is experienced in the fishing neighbourhoods par excellence, in El Cabanyal and Poblados Marítimos.
And the fact is, here it is called »the seafaring Holy Week».»declared a Festivity of National Tourist Interest, it hosts some 80 processions that take place between Friday 8 April and Sunday 17 April.
And of course, the gastronomy of these dates is related to fish.
A little-known, nutritious and original tapa from Valencia.
It is a milk bread roll from which the crumbs are removed and filled with titaina (another typical dish).
Once filled, they are covered with a toothpick so that the filling does not leak out, dipped in milk, dipped in egg and fried.
Pepitos, hedonist guide
Star dish of »la terreta».
It is a kind of tomato and pepper ratatouille to which pine nuts, garlic and salted tuna belly are added. Delicious.
It is usually eaten on a plate to dip with bread, or in the form of coca, which is a typical local dough.
Although you can find it all year round in most restaurants in the city, its origin dates back to Easter.
In most cases they are called "buñuelo de bacalao", because although they have the shape of a croquette, their dough and texture is different: they have egg, potato and crumbled cod that make them very soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside.
Unlike croquettes, there are no breadcrumbs.
Codfish fritters, Central Bar
Traditional Good Friday recipe.
This is a stew made with chickpeas, cod and spinach. It is topped with chopped hard-boiled egg. A nutritious and tasty spoon dish that also serves to warm the body on the coldest winter days.
This dish is a real delicacy for cuttlefish lovers: the cuttlefish is cooked with the onion over a very low heat and olive oil, pine nuts, bay leaf and paprika are added.
The flavours are integrated and it is spectacular, healthy and simple.
That's why a good sardine escabeche is a must on our table: the traditional sauce contains carrot, onion, paprika, bay leaf, white wine and vinegar.
Sardine marinade
It is a sausage that is sold especially at Easter and must be eaten once it is dry.
This is a thin, long, spicy sausage that is hung on a string and left to dry for days, then eaten in bites.
The name comes from the ancient tradition of crushing the sardine with the hinge of the door: this was done to loosen the scales and the spine.
It was traditionally eaten with green peppers and fried eggs.
Complete dish with sardines, valenciaplaza.com
Also called panquemao, it is a sweet that can only be found at this time of the year and consists of a round or animal-shaped dough with a boiled egg inside.
It is usually eaten as a family and play at breaking the egg on each other's heads.
Where to buy the best ones?
A classic if ever there was one, you can find it all year round, but this is a star season.
This is stale bread, which is soaked in milk and then fried.
But in Valencia we do it differently... we dip it in horchata!
Where to eat the best ones?
Of Arabic heritage, it is a fat sponge cake made of flour, egg and sugar.
Very typical for a snack accompanied by mistela.
Coca en llanda with mistela, l'Alquería del Pou
The variety of Valencian gastronomy will never cease to surprise you... There are recipes for every season, with a variety of ingredients, healthy and for all tastes!
