As Spain (and Northern Europe) swelters in the heat why not try the best Spanish treats to cool you down?
Though you might not feel like eating a lot when the weather is so warm, some Spanish food and drink can have an amazing cooling effect – from chilled gazpacho to icy refreshing granizados.
GAZPACHO
While normally soup tends to be reserved for the colder months, Gazpacho is a soup served cold, traditionally made of tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic and is wonderfully cooling!
AJOBLANCO
Sometimes called “white gazpacho”, this cold garlic soup is popular in southern Spain and is often served with fresh fruit like apples or melons.
PAPAS ALINAS
This cold summery potato salad dish comes from Cádiz in southern Spain and is prepared with onions, parsley, sherry vinegar and usually topped with slices of hard-boiled egg – yummy!
SALMOREJO
Much like its sister dish, gazpacho, this gorgeous cold soup graces the menu of many a Spanish restaurant during the summer. Thicker and creamier than gazpacho and is often served with bits of serrano ham and hard-boiled eggs on top.
SALPICON DE MARISCO
Again, wonderfully cooling, this popular Spanish dish is made with diced or minced tomatoes, onions, prawns and other seafood.
HORCHATA
This cool drink is made in different ways depending on whether it’s in Spain or Latin America. The Spanish beverage is typically extracted from chufas, or tigernuts, and mixed with water and sugar for a sweet, creamy flavour.
GRANIZADO
Basically a Spanish version of a slushy, these freezing cold beverages come quite in handy when the mercury starts to rise!
HELADO DE TURRON
If you’re desperate to try Spanish speciality (and Christmas favourite), turrón, but also need a cooling fix, why not mix the two by sampling the nougat-like snack in ice-cream form? A very popular flavour in Spanish heladerías (ice-cream shops), you will have no problem finding this very Spanish summery treat!.
TINTO DE VERANO
This cooling mixture of red wine and lemonade (or casera, which is a sweetened soda water) is best served on a terraza and only ever ordered in the hottest months of the year. Whilst normally tourists stick to sangria, tinto de verano is a much more authentic summer drink among Spaniards, and is guaranteed to quench that summer thirst!
CAFÉ CON HIELO
Need your caffeine fix but can’t stand the thought of a hot drink? Don’t panic! Order your coffee just the way you like it but with a side of ice. It’s an art to tip the hot drink into the ice-filled glass (never the other way round) without spilling it across the table but for coffee addicts, it’s one worth mastering!
We hope you enjoyed the article! Remember you can search for your perfect property in Alicante by using our alicante villa search on our home page. Please don't hesitate to contact us directly for help and advice.