Spanish Chefs Pick the Best 100 Spanish Dishes

'Los 100 Grandes Platos de la Cocina Española' highlights a selection of dishes from all across Spain, along with traditional recipes and chefs’ reinterpretations

A new book featuring the very best of Spanish food has recently hit the streets, entitled Los 100 Grandes Platos de la Cocina Española (The Best 100 Spanish Dishes), by Carlos Díaz Güell. Selecting just 100 dishes was no easy feat, as a select number of accredited Spanish gastronomes joined forces and undertook a very ambitious task that lasted three years: picking the 100 most representative dishes out of a group of around 150.

Participants included Elena Arzak, Quique Dacosta, Joan Roca, Martín Berasategui,Dani García, Dabiz Muñoz, and Ángel León. The top 100 dishes include Madrid-style cocido and tripe, Asturian fabada stew, Valencian paella, Spanish omelet, salmorejo, marmitako, calçots, escalivada, fideuá, Galician-style hake, garlic prawns, roasted sardines, leche frita, artichokes with ham, pig’s feet, butifarra sausage with beans, garlic rabbit, and squid in their own ink.

The book is organized with a ranking of dishes, organized by the number of votes,and each dish is accompanied by a recipe as well as an interpretation of the dish from a renowned chef, offering a unique version of each recipe and a testament to how lively and creative Spanish cuisine can be. The prologue was written by José Andrés, who likened the book to a “gastronomic business card.”