In this article we want to take you to discover the charms of Avila’s gastronomy. Ávila, that city as medieval as it is Renaissance, a mixture that makes it so magical, so religious, so full of traditions rooted for centuries. Famous for the large number of churches that mark its architecture in relation to the number of inhabitants, and famous for being one of the few cities that preserves the wall that once protected it from invasions practically intact.
And it is that the location of this beautiful city made it very often a strategic point between war and war. It is not surprising, Ávila is located at 1,182 meters high, it is the highest provincial capital in Spain. In fact, that’s where the city’s name comes from… The Vetones, the first inhabitants of these Castilian lands, called it Óvila, which means ‘high mountain’. But this being a defensive enclave, led the city to be the victim of continuous depopulation…
Until the 16th century. In 1085, after the conquest of the kingdom of Toledo, Alfonso VI entrusted the task of repopulating Ávila, among other cities of what was the Castilian Extremadura-, to his son-in-law, Count Don Raimundo de Borgoña. Then began to take shape the personality that characterizes the city of Ávila today. According to the Chronicles of the time, five years after the conquest, in 1090, the construction of the famous walls began, which according to some researchers was carried out on the remains of a previous wall… This great work, precisely for this reason, for its magnitude, and for the few inhabitants that then inhabited the city, did not culminate until the 12th century, a century of splendor for Ávila.
And look at it now, after so many centuries, it is still one of the main attractions of the city, a must-see: The Walls of Ávila. Going around two and a half kilometers around the perimeter, seeing the nine gates and the three posterns will whet your appetite enormously. We have told you that Ávila was known for its walls and for the number of churches in relation to its inhabitants, but Ávila is also known for the large number of hotel establishments in relation to the number of inhabitants, which makes it the perfect city to do gastrotourism.
Legumes and beef ‘with denomination of origin’
Ávila is praised for the quality of its legumes, special mention should be made of the beans from Barco de Ávila or the beans and chickpeas from La Moraña. And it is also highly valued for being one of the most renowned ‘asadera’ provinces of the peninsula. Thus, its roast suckling pig or tostón is famous, but one of its star products is the veal T-bone steak. And if you go during the slaughter season, be sure to try the lomo and the chorizo de olla. All these meats must be accompanied by a good wine. In Ávila there is no designation of origin, but we still recommend that you ask for local wines, such as Cebreros or Tiemblo.
A lot of gastronomic variety, yes, but if we have to talk about the star dish of Ávila we have to get away from everything we have mentioned… The quintessential recipe from Avila is that of patatas revolconas: red potatoes, from the highlands of the province, cooked and crushed seasoned with paprika and torreznillos.
Santa Teresa, responsible for bringing the potatoes to Ávila
And if we have to look for the origin of machacon as potatoes, we cannot go as far as the medieval origins of the city. The poor workers who built the walls could not be satisfied with this exquisite delicacy, neither paprika nor potatoes had yet reached Spain at the beginning of the 12th century. So if we want to know who were the first to eat this dish from Avila we will have to travel to the 16th century.
Both paprika and potatoes first reached the peninsula and then the rest of Europe from colonists returning from the Americas. Columbus patented paprika in his journal on January 15, 1493. But the potato came much later. The settlers brought it to Spain in the middle of the 16th century, but they still did not eat it, they simply saw it as something curious. Until 1571, when the great periods of famine began, no one in Spain had tasted this tuber. The first to do so were the poor people of Seville, and given their success, Seville was soon filled with these white-flowered plants, relief from hunger, an exquisite delicacy.
From Seville, the potato traveled directly to Ávila, and the product It spread thanks to the holy hand of Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada, Santa Teresa de Jesús or Teresa de Ávila for friends, patron saint of this city that saw it born and grow. And we know that it spread thanks to his holy hand because Teresa herself, as a token of gratitude, sent a letter to the abbess of the Convent of Carmen in Seville, dated December 19, 1577, which read as follows: “Jesus be Always with your reverence, my daughter. I’ll receive yours, and with it the potatoes and the straw and seven lemons. All very good wine, but it costs so much to bring it, that there’s no reason why I sent your reverence anything else, which is awareness”.
And since in Ávila they were and are very fond of adding pepper to all food, it is very possible that it was in the convent of this Saint where the idea of scrambled potatoes was born… What historians are sure of is that this product has a very humble origin, and some suggest that it has a pastoral origin. Of course it was for a long time the food of the poorest…
The Yolks of Avila
If the star dish is the patatas revolconas, the star dessert in Ávila is its Yemas. Unique, sweet egg yolks, which according to many historians have a monastic origin, were made by the nuns before the Carmelite Reformation, and which became very popular during the life of the Saint.
But today, hotel experts do not bet on this origin, but on a closer one. Many affirm that Yolks began to be made in pastry shops only 130 years ago, and more specifically in that of Don Isabelo Sánchez, whose pastry shop is still open today, known by the name of ‘La Flor de Castilla’. Only there they make the Yemas de Santa Teresa, in the rest they serve them under the name of Yemas de Ávila. Be that as it may, we will be left with the intrigue about its origin…
There is no doubt that, today, in Ávila a Teresian air is breathed on all four sides. Therefore, if you want to visit the city and take part in all its gastronomy, we recommend that you do so during the festivities of its patron saint. It is around October 15 when the festivities are celebrated in honor of Santa Teresa. A special moment in the city, when you will be able to share its religious tradition and eat some good scrambled potatoes… And don’t forget to bring some Yolks of Santa Teresa as a souvenir for your loved ones!