"The real test of a sandwich is making it delicious enough that people crave it. That's why we all know the classic peanut butter and jelly or a simple ham and cheese. But if you were to head to Spain and were interested in finding the most popular sandwich there, you would undoubtedly be directed to a bocadillo de calamares, a fried calamari sandwich."
"A true Spanish calamari sandwich, like you might find on the streets of Madrid or in any number of tapas restaurants, is deceptively simple. The bread is a crusty white roll, like half a baguette or something similar. The filling consists of crispy, fried squid rings. That's it. That's the traditional calamari bocadillo. Some describe adding a squeeze of lemon juice to the calamari immediately before eating. Additionally, some places sell it with a garlic aioli, but that is not a traditional topping."
"Madrid is a landlocked city, so being famous for a seafood sandwich seems counterintuitive. However, Madrid has the second largest seafood market in the world. That means there's always plenty of seafood on hand, and it has always been popular there. Part of the reason is thanks to the Catholic Church, which forbade eating meat on certain days, meaning seafood was in higher demand."
Sandwiches include any food held between bread, but the bocadillo de calamares stands out as a beloved Spanish fried calamari sandwich. The traditional preparation uses a crusty white roll, similar to half a baguette, filled with crispy fried squid rings and occasionally a squeeze of lemon. Garlic aioli appears as a modern, nontraditional topping. The sandwich is ubiquitous and deeply popular in Madrid, comparable to iconic street foods in other cities. Madrid's large seafood supply, despite being landlocked, and historical Catholic fasting practices helped fuel its seafood consumption and the sandwich's prominence.
Read at Tasting Table
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]