Budget meals from around the world: Spain and Portugal
Spain and Portugal share the Iberian peninsula. Both countries are known for traditional dishes that originate from peasant cooking. Chickpeas, dried beans, salt cod, stale bread, and cheap cuts of pork have fed generations of families in one of the poorest regions of Europe.
The Facts
- Soups and stews feature cheap pulses, greens, meat scraps, and salt cod
- Stale bread is never wasted
- Garlic, olive oil, and paprika deliver lots of flavour at very low cost
Spanish and Portuguese cooking shares a common foundation: cheap and filling ingredients are transformed into flavourful dishes through patience and creativity with basic staples. Chickpeas, dried white beans, salt cod, offal, and whatever greens grew in the garden were the building blocks of daily meals that could feed a family hearty, flavourful meals on very little.
Like the peasant kitchens of many other countries, Spanish and Portuguese cooks didn’t waste anything. Many dishes use stale bread, because before the rise of commercial baking, bread used to harden practically overnight.
Other dishes make the most of cheap cuts of meats and bones, simmered for hours until the meat falls apart in flavourful broth. Portugal is also famous for bacalhau (salt cod) which is cheap, keeps indefinitely, and goes a long way.
Spanish and Portuguese budget dishes worth making:
- Cocido Madrileño: Slow-cooked chickpea stew with cheap cuts of pork, chorizo, and vegetables; the broth is served first as soup, the solids as a second course
- Caldo Verde: Portuguese soup of potato, kale, and chourico sausage
- Migas: Stale bread fried in olive oil with garlic, paprika, and whatever scraps are available
- Bacalhau com Grão: Salt cod with chickpeas, olive oil, and hard-boiled eggs
- Fabada Asturiana: Bean stew with white beans, chorizo, and morcilla
- Sopa de Ajo: Spanish garlic soup made from stale bread, garlic, paprika, and a poached egg
- Arroz de Feijão: Portuguese rice and beans cooked together in a garlicky tomato broth
Sources for inspiration:
- Cocido Madrileño by Spain in a Pan
- Caldo Verde by Daring Gourmet
- Migas by taste atlas
- Bacalhau com Grão by Culinary Explorer
- Fabada Asturiana by taste atlas
- Sopa de Ajo by the spruce Eats
- Arroz de Feijão by Shovel & Crunch