One of the best topics I will get to write about is the food in Sevilla. It took some getting used to at first, but now I love the cuisine and diet. Let me take you through a typical day.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day right? In my home stay we have this amazing chocolate granola cereal that I eat almost every day.
If I feel like having more than just cereal, I grab a piece of fruit like an orange (the best oranges I have ever had – they are super sweet and juicy), banana or an apple.
If I ever go out for breakfast, it is usually to a café. I almost always order a café con leche (coffee with steamed milk) and some sort of pastry. My favorite is the Nutella croissant. I will also order this combo if I go to a café in the afternoon while working on homework.
Another good breakfast option outside of the home is churros con chocolate (churros and chocolate). An order includes a generous number of churros, perfect for sharing, with a cup of rich melted chocolate.
By three o’clock in the afternoon, it is finally time for lunch! Early in my stay I had trouble adapting to these later hours, but I quickly realized waiting is worth it to eat delicious foods like Paella! Paella is a traditional Spanish dish common in the south of Spain. It consists of rice, vegetables and either chicken, beef or seafood. We usually only eat this dish on special occasions or on a weekend when I am not traveling and my host mom has more time to prepare the meal.
In the United States, dinner is usually the largest meal of the day, but it is the opposite here. In Sevilla, dinner is a light meal served much later in the evening, usually around 10 p.m. Dinner at my home stay, usually consists of a salad loaded with raw, fresh vegetables topped with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt. Something small on the side like hummus and crackers or bread usually accompanies the salad.
A popular dinner option outside the home is Tapas. Tapa are small dishes you share with the people you are eating with. For example, if you are going out to eat with four people, everyone would choose one tapa that would be shared with the table. Each person would get a quarter of four different tapa dishes, adding up to one full plate of food per person. It is just enough to fill you up without being heavy.
Some common tapas are tortilla de patata (Spanish omelets), croquetas (fried cheese balls with Iberian ham), and salmorejo (cold tomato soup topped with hard boiled egg crumbles and ham bits). Another common order is a plate of various meats and cheese. There are many different types of Iberian ham in Spain, they are all amazing. My favorites are jamón ibera (high quality ham), chorizo (spicy sausage) and salchichón (salami).
If you come to Sevilla, you will eat well. With a large variety of foods to try, you won’t be hungry, even if you have to wait until after sunset to eat dinner.
