Spanish cuisine isn’t horse-ing around

Hold the horses: Spanish cuisine is delightful and delicious

The news that traces of horse DNA have been found in Tesco’s Value Beef Burgers has been causing no end of headlines here in the UK (and prompting a flurry of jokes, too, a favourite of mine being: ‘Have you heard that the veggie burgers have been found to have traces of Uniquorn in them?’).

Debates of food standards rage; there’s wailing and gnashing of teeth over what many see as yet another strike at the heart of the British poor. But some of the more mature commentators have driven this debate: what’s so wrong with eating horsemeat? It’s eaten rather regularly in France, yet the British find the idea revolting.

To paraphrase a well-known refrain: It’s the culture, stupid. Horsemeat is safe, versatile, tasty (I’m told) and relatively inexpensive. But the Brits see horses as pets and modes of transport, so until Fido joins Fiat on the menu, hold the Shergar.

But cultural attitudes are interesting. In Spain, horses are treated with a similar reverence to the Brits, and so it is rare to find horsemeat in your local carniceria or Mercadona.

Spain, though, isn’t without its culinary kinks. Every country has their own. The Scottish love of haggis is well-known, but the ingredients that go into your average haggis are enough to make even sturdy Englishmen feel queasy. The Brits love a good cup of milky tea; yet nobody else but the Irish share such an affinity.

Spain’s most famous dishes are well known, but some of their more idiosyncratic tastes have – perhaps unsurprisingly – struggled to make it beyond the border.

But that’s the beauty of moving to Spain. While you think you may know tapas, paella and Spanish omelette, there is so much more to dining in Spain than that. Each region has its own specialties, each climate demands its own dishes, and pretty much every restaurant and bodega throughout the country will serve up something that is sure to delight you.

So while the wags and jokers stirrup (sorry) more trouble in the UK, why not stop horse-ing around and get yourself down to Andalucía to sample some truly exotic tastes?