Traditional Spanish food is Galicia’s guarantee

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But seafood is not the only speciality. You have to try the tasty Padrón
peppers and the savoury pies known as empanadas. Even the various
kinds of seaweed that flourish around the coast are becoming prized by
Spain’s leading chefs.

So if you are thinking of taking a gastronomic tour of Galicia – perhaps
staying at parador hotels in monasteries and traditional pazo
palatial country houses along the way – you had better allow plenty of time.

There are more than 30 food festivals in the province of Pontevedra alone.
Check the dates and you could coincide your visit with events celebrating
shellfish in O Grove, lamprey in Arbo or potato omelettes in Silleda.

You should visit a few wineries, too. The Rías Baixas wine designation
produces crisp, aromatic white wines, made mostly with albariño grapes which
are grown on trellises above the ground. Heading inland into the province of
Ourense, there are four more designated wine areas to explore: Ribeiro,
Valdeorras, Ribeira Sacra and Monterrei.

If you associate Galicia only with white wine, you should try some of the
interesting reds being made using traditional grape varieties, too. Venture
further inland, into Lugo province where the rubia gallega cattle
graze, and you’ll find some of the best steak you’ll ever taste.

In the run-up to Christmas, orders are placed from all over Spain for the
capons reared in Vilalba, while thousands of people attend the fair in
December to choose their own. While you’re there, try the conical San Simón
cheese, which is wrapped in birch leaves and smoked.

I’d suggest ending your journey on the northern coast, with a dinner of hake
landed at the harbour in Celeiro or tuna in Burela, both of which have
designation of origin status.

But of course, by now you’ll have realised that you don’t really need official
recognition to eat well in Galicia. Good food using topquality local produce
is guaranteed.

Tour operators who offer holidays to Galicia include:

Visit the Telegraph’s Galicia
homepage to discover more about this secret corner of Green Spain

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