Eating Local Produce

The benefits of eating local produce are bountiful. The food is fresher, healthier and tastes better because it spends less time in transit. Here, on the Costa Blanca, we can buy an abundance of local produce from the indoor markets and weekly street markets.

Local Recipies

Thankfully too, there are many recipes celebrating local produce such as Bomba rice – cultivated in the eastern parts of Spain including Pego and the Albufera de Valencia – oranges, broad beans, tomatoes, aubergines, fish and sausages. To celebrate the rich and diverse cuisine in North Costa Blanca, the D*NA Forum (https://dna-forum.es/) – which promotes local produce and cuisine – launched an initiative showcasing 33 recipes for the 33 Marina Alta towns.

Each one stars a local ingredient. Dénia, as well as being famous for the Dénia red prawn, has been given arroz a banda as its signature dish. The main ingredients of this popular dish are rice, fish stock and cuttlefish.

The typical recipe for Jávea is cruet de peix – which includes a variety of fish such as monkfish, mackerel and sea bass, and a good fish stock.

Teulada-Moraira is known for its polp amb penques starring fresh squid, and Calpe has arroz del senyoret, which is another typical rice dish including seafood and fish such as peeled prawns, squid and cuttlefish. This Valencian meal arose so that you could enjoy a rice dish without having to remove shells or peel prawns.

Broad beans are the delicious local produce starring in Benitachell’s signature dish, faves sacsades. The beans are cooked with pork ribs and sausages to create a flavoursome meal.

Sausages also star in the regional fare of Lliber – sobrasada which is made with pork and paprika. This tasty sausage was brought to Lliber by Mallorcan settlers in the 17th century.

The lovely thing about all the local recipes is that they use seasonal produce and are easy to create at home.

Local Wines

We are also spoilt for choice for good local wines to accompany the regional cuisine of the Costa Blanca.

Bodegas Xaló is definitely worth a visit as it has several award-winning wines including Bahía de Dénia and Vall de Xaló white wines. You can also get the delicious moscatel dessert wines here.

In Alfaz del Pi is the famous Enrique Mendoza vineyard with a classy selection of white, rosé and red wines. The white and red wines from Les Freses Bodega in Jesús Pobre are also highly recommended.

At VíllaMía we love using the local ingredients at home and also sampling local cuisine in the restaurants. We’re happy to share our knowledge of the area when you pop in to enquire about property on the Costa Blanca.

Get in touch if you want to know more about moving to the Costa Blanca North, the VíllaMía team has lived here for many years and are always happy to help.

VíllaMía Office