Food — Spain

Spanish gastronomy is one of the world's most inventive and influential — the country has produced more three-Michelin-star restaurants per capita than almost any other nation at various points in recent decades, and Ferran Adrià's El Bulli (closed 2011) is still considered the most revolutionary restaurant in the history of modern cuisine. But behind that avant-garde reputation lie deep regional traditions and ingredients of exceptional quality that require nothing more than excellent technique and great respect.

The founding principle of Spanish food culture is sharing. Tapas are not merely a way of eating — they are a way of being together. Ordering several small plates for the table, reaching across to someone else's dish, stretching the meal with conversation and an extra round — this is the Spanish social ritual at its most elemental. In the Basque Country, pintxos (pronounced 'peenchos') elevate this culture of grazing to a gastronomic art: bite-size creations balanced on slices of bread, lined up along bar counters, that in the best establishments of San Sebastián's Parte Vieja rival the starters of starred restaurants at a fraction of the price.

The national highlights are numerous and endlessly variable in execution: jamón ibérico de bellota (acorn-fed Iberian ham, cured for 36-48 months, widely considered the finest cured meat in the world); authentic paella valenciana (short-grain rice, chicken and rabbit, green beans and rosemary — never seafood in the original Valencian version); tortilla española (thick, trembling potato omelette, perfect at room temperature in a bar); Andalusian gazpacho and the thicker salmorejo; croquetas of ham, salt cod or wild mushroom; boquerones en vinagre (anchovies marinated in white wine vinegar); and an exceptional range of regional cheeses — Manchego, Galician tetilla, smoked Basque idiazábal, Asturian cabrales.

Spanish wines are experiencing an extraordinary renaissance. La Rioja remains the international flagship (Tempranillo and Garnacha, with Reserva and Gran Reserva designations that rival Bordeaux for ageing potential), but the Ribera del Duero, Catalonia's Priorat, Galicia's Rías Baixas (Albariño, arguably the finest white to drink with seafood), and Catalonia's Cava (méthode champenoise sparkling wine at €5-15 a bottle) each deserve serious attention. The sangria beloved of tourists is rarely drunk by Spaniards themselves — instead, order the vino de la casa (house wine, invariably decent), a glass of local txakoli (the lightly sparkling Basque white), or a vermouth on ice as an aperitif (vermut culture has made a major comeback in Barcelona and Madrid). Coffee — café con leche (espresso with hot milk) or cortado (espresso with a dash) — is taken standing at the bar, short and precise, never in a large takeaway cup.