An Insider's Spain Travel Blog & Spain Food Blog!

Spanish Sabores

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
    • Drinks
    • Soup
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches
    • Sauces
    • Tapas
    • Side Dish
    • Main Courses
    • Fish
    • Vegetarian
    • Dessert
    • Holiday Food
  • Spain
    • Madrid
    • Barcelona
    • Andalusia
      • Seville
      • Cadiz
        • El Puerto de Santa Maria
      • Cordoba
      • Granada
        • Alpujarras
      • Jaén
      • Malaga
        • Archidona
    • Aragon
    • Canary Islands
      • Tenerife
      • Fuerteventura
      • Lanzarote
    • Basque Country
      • San Sebastian
      • Bilbao
      • Biscay
        • Guernica
        • Lekeitio
      • Saint Jean de Luz
    • Burgos
    • Catalonia
      • Barcelona
      • Costa Brava
        • Girona
        • Cadaqués
        • Blanes
        • Empordà
        • Lloret de Mar
    • Extremadura
    • Asturias
    • Galicia
    • Navarra
    • Toledo
    • Valladolid
    • Valencia
    • Murcia
    • Zaragoza
  • Madrid
    • Hotels in Madrid
    • Ultimate Madrid Food Guide
    • Madrid Tapas Tours
    • Flamenco in Madrid
    • Madrid with Kids
    • Madrid Restaurant Reviews
    • Wine Tasting in Madrid
    • Prado Museum Tour
    • Day Trips from Madrid
      • Alcala de Henares
      • Aranjuez
      • Cercedilla
      • Chinchón
      • El Escorial
      • Navacerrada
      • Segovia
      • Toledo
    • Weekend Trips from Madrid
  • Barcelona
    • Hotels in Barcelona
    • Ultimate Barcelona Food Guide
    • Barcelona Tapas Tours
    • Flamenco in Barcelona
    • Barcelona Winery Tour
    • Barcelona with Kids
  • Seville
    • Hotels in Seville
    • Ultimate Seville Food Guide
    • Flamenco in Seville
    • Tapas Tour in Seville
    • Flamenco Tour in Seville
  • Beyond Spain
    • Destinations
      • Portugal
        • Lisbon
        • Braga
        • Pinhão
        • Porto
        • Guimarães
      • Italy
        • Bologna
      • Holland
        • Amsterdam
      • Belgium
        • Brussels
      • Budapest
      • France
      • Germany
        • Munich
        • Berlin
      • Greece
        • Athens
      • Mexico
      • Morocco
        • Marrakesh
      • Poland
      • United States
        • Boston
      • Canada
        • Toronto
      • Argentina
    • Restaurants
    • Hotels
  • City Food Guides
    • Madrid
    • Barcelona
    • Seville
    • San Sebastian
    • Lisbon
    • Rome
    • Paris
    • Malaga
    • Cadiz
    • El Puerto
    • Naples
  • My Food Tours
    • Madrid
    • Barcelona
    • Seville
    • San Sebastian
  • Hotel Reviews
  • Blog
You are here: Home / Food / What to Eat in Spain in March

What to Eat in Spain in March

March 1, 2016 Amy Bingham 2 Comments

Spanish foods to boost your mood
Spanish-style French toast, the ultimate comfort food.

March is a month of transitions in Spain. The almond trees start blooming, yet chilling winds still rip through most of the peninsula. The hearty vegetables of winter are starting to disappear but the bright fruits of spring are only just starting to bud.

Luckily, Semana Santa (aka Easter Holy Week) is coming early this year, meaning  a whole host of Easter treats are flooding the markets, bakeries and butchers’ shops this month. Easter is a major holiday in Spain, marked by intensely religious processions, nearly two weeks of school vacations and (in typical Spanish fashion) a huge variety of traditional foods.

Here are the six things you definitely don’t want to miss eating and drinking in Spain in March!

Torrijas

If you only try one Spanish food this month, make it torrijas! These French toast like treats are typical during the Easter holiday and are hands down one of the best things to eat in Spain in March!
The best dessert in all of Spain!

Holy Week is my absolute favorite Spanish holiday– but not for the emotional processions or the devout citywide decorations. This holiday ranks No. 1 in my book because of the torrijas, a traditional treat that only makes an appearance around the Easter holidays.

Torrijas are similar to French toast, but about 1 million times more delicious. Thick slices of day-old baguette-style bread is soaked in milk, doused in egg and then then flash fried in olive oil. They are then soaked overnight in a light honey and cinnamon syrup. There are also milk and wine based versions. For a full torrija recipe, click here: Torrijas: Spanish Style French Toast Recipe with Cinnamon and Honey.

Lamb (Cordero)

March in Spain is one of the best times to feast on roast lamb!
Roasted lamb hot out of the wood oven!

With the first signs of Spring come the first Spanish lambs. March is one of the best months for the Spanish delicacy cordero asado, roast lamb. As the saying goes, “Enero y febrero preparan el buen cordero” which translates to “The good lamb is made in January and February.”

The most popular (and delicious!) way to eat lamb in Spain is by slow roasting it in traditional wood burning ovens. Lamb chops are also hugely popular here and are also usually prepared roasted. Both dishes are often served over Easter.

Cod (Bacalao)

best tapas bar in Cadiz
Amazing cod tapa in Cadiz!

Whether it’s crumbled into fritters, baked in filets, rolled into codfish balls, stewed in soups or stirred into Spanish omelets, cod is everywhere during the Spanish Easter season.

As meat was traditionally prohibited during Lent, Spaniards turned to their favorite fish: cod. Almost always conserved in salt, cod’s popularity extends across the Peninsula. Be sure to try the potaje de vigilia (a hearty cod and chickpea stew) and buñuelos de bacalao (fried codfish balls), both of which are on most Holy Week menus.

Our Favorite Cod Recipes:

  • Cod and Potato Stew
  • Cod with Cauliflower
  • Spanish Style Cod Lasagna

Hornazos

Easter is coming early this year and in Spain that means the hornazos are almost here! These meat and egg empanadas are a must try food in Spain in March!
Typical hornazo from Salamanca. Image from martius on Flickr CC

These often personal-sized empanadas are another staple of Easter in Spain. The story goes that long ago eggs were considered meat and therefore could not be eaten during Lent. But no one told the chickens, who (obviously) kept laying eggs despite the religious holiday. In order to conserve the eggs, Spaniards hard boiled them.

In the days after Easter, when they could again eat eggs, those hard boiled stockpiles were used to fill empanadas, now called hornazos. Nowadays you’ll find these round, bready treats in the weeks before and after Holy Week in many Spanish provinces.

Asparagus (Esparrago)

Bundles of asparagus pop up all over markets in Spain in March!
Green asparagus at the market!

In Spain asparagus come in two colors with two very distinct flavors. Green asparagus (often called trigueros) are often served simply pan seared in olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt. White asparagus, on the other hand, are much more common here than their green counterparts and are often served boiled or conserved in vinegar.

Asparagus is an ancient food that has been around for upwards of 6,000 years. It was one of Roman Emperor Augustus’s favorite foods. During the Renaissance asparagus were considered an aphrodisiac and thus were banned in convents!

Asturian Hard Cider (Sidra)

Asturian cider at Trabanco
Asturian cider at Trabanco

March marks the beginning of Espicha season in Asturias, a three-month-long tribute to the region’s most famous beverage: hard apple cider. After nearly three months of barrel fermentation, the tart cider is ready to start being bottled in March.

But after months of waiting for the sidra to be ready, Asturians just can’t wait any longer! They skip the bottle and go strait for the glass. The ceremonial opening of the first sidra barrels of the year is celebration with a weekend-long festival to all things Asturias: Cabrales cheese, chorizo and plenty of folk dancing all accompanied by glass after glass (or culín after culín) of fresh hard cider.

What will you being eating this month where you live?

  • About
  • Latest Posts
Follow me!

Amy Bingham

Spain lover, taste tester and unabashed wine sniffer. I've got an unshakable obsession for wild mushroom croquettes and rowdy food markets. I travel by my tastebuds and am a firm believer that every dish has a story to tell. Check out my food adventures on my blog, Restless Fork.
Follow me!

Latest posts by Amy Bingham (see all)

  • 4 Unique Spanish Wines You Should Be Drinking Right Now - March 17, 2016
  • 7 Magical Mountain Escapes in Spain - March 13, 2016
  • An Insider’s Guide to Where to Stay in Madrid - March 5, 2016

Food, Holiday Food, Spain Dining Guide

Comments

  1. Eleanor says

    March 5, 2016 at 11:19 pm

    Yum yum yum Hornazos sounds like something I need to have!

    Reply
  2. Kate says

    March 13, 2016 at 10:14 am

    All of this looks absolutely amazing, I can’t wait to try Torrijas and eat my way through March in Spain !

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

HOLA!

Lauren Aloise Spanish food blogger

Book My Food Tours!

Food Tours in Barcelona

My Newsletter

* indicates required

Search by Category

Feed Your Wanderlust

Pasteis de Belem pastries in Lisbon

13 Must Try Foods in Lisbon – Eat Like a Local in Lisbon

where to stay in Seville

An Insider’s Guide to Where to Stay in Seville – The Best Hotels & Neighborhoods

Must try foods in Rome - Carbonara

12 Must Try Foods in Rome – Eat Like a Local in Rome

Spanish tostada traditional Spanish recipes

My Top 8 Favorite Spanish Breakfast Foods – What People Eat for Breakfast in Spain

Top foods to try in Paris - chocolates

12 Must Try Foods in Paris – Eat Like a Local in Paris

Spanish Christmas lamb recipe - delicious Spanish roasted lamb

Spanish Christmas Lamb Recipe – Slow Roasted Lamb with Potatoes and Onions (Cordero con Patatas y Cebolla)

Categories

Spanish Sabores on Instagram

Follow on Instagram

© Copyright 2014 Spanish Sabores · All Rights Reserved