If you are planning to visit Navarre and are wondering what to eat, we bring you the 3 Pamplona foods you can not leave without trying.
Navarre (Or Navarra in Spanish) is a Spanish northern region famous all over the world for a very peculiar reason: The running of the bulls.
In the month of July, Pamplona celebrates its festivities with their main attraction being the bull race that happens in the city every morning.
But the region’s charms go far beyond some furious bulls. Navarre has a rich history, forests as green as they get, and a spooky reputation for hosting covens of witches in the XVII century.
However, today we will focus in something more mundane yet very fulfilling – Navarre’s culinary specialties.
The region produces wines, cheeses, mind-blowing meats and vegetables as tasty as they get.
1. Chistorra, the most meaty of the Pamplona foods
The tasty chistorra is a local sausage made of pork (sometimes also beef), garlic, salt, paprika, fat and herbs.
While its ingredients might sound just like any other sausage, this particular one’s flavour will be difficult to forget. You could describe it as something between pork sausage and chorizo.
The most famous recipe is, in fact, huevos rotos con chistorra (fried eggs, fries and chistorra).
However, you will also see it very often on its own as it is so rich and flavoursome, it does not really need anything else.
The piquillo pepper was brought to Spain by Christopher Columbus from South America. They are known colloquially in the area as red gold.
This local variety is red, smaller than a standard pepper and shaped as a triangle. While smaller, its flavour is also more concentrated.
Generally they are a starter, and the crown jewel of piquillo peppers recipes are the stuffed ones, particularly with cod. Just yummy!
3. Cordero al chilindrón, a must Pamplona food
The vast green prairies of the region make the meats richer. Consequently the lamb you can taste from the area is unlike any other.
Considering temperatures that can go below zero, this lamb dish is particularly popular in the winter.
This particular dish is cooked as a stew with peppers, onions, garlic, tomato and white wine.
Keep in mind that Navarre has much more to offer!
We strongly recommend you to finish your meal with a taste of their sheep cheeses (Idiazábal and Ronzal).
And if you are up for it, wash down your feast with any of the locally produced and extremely seductive red wines.
¡Que aprovechen all the Navarre foods!
- If you visit Navarre you might want to check out this post about the stunning Olite Royal Palace.
Save money on your trip to Navarre to try the Pamplona foods!
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