VEGAN VARIETY IN SPAIN

26 Jul , 2016 Uncategorized

by Dikshali Shah

There’s no doubt about it: being a vegan or vegetarian is a challenging feat in ham-loving Spain. On our gap year, my friend Izzy and I spent hours walking from restaurant to restaurant, from bar to bar, perusing every detail on the tapas menu to find something substantial that was not just a plate of patatas bravas or a bowl of spinach leaves (which makes me giggle every time).

Lonely Planet’s World Food Guide to Spain, published in 2000, advises vegetarian visitors to bring with them ‘a small stash of vitamins and a big sense of humour’, and says that many Spaniards consider even ‘a dead pig to be a vegetable’. Although this goes a long way towards alerting attention to the alarming fact that there is no concept of vegetarianism, the situation is currently changing. A previous work colleague told me that the HappyCow vegetarian website was a godsend, enabling her to find authentic Spanish bars and restaurants without having to commit the culture crime of eating at a local pizzeria. It’s highly plausible that people are becoming vegetarian on account of health reasons rather than for animal rights advocacy.

I recently discovered El Cortijo Sin in Granada. Vegetarians, celiacs and lactose intolerants are now able to enjoy the majority of the menu at this delightful cafe. It was opened by Pilar Martinez, recently diagnosed with celiac disease and obliged to adapt her cooking to create a menu that was apt for those intolerant to gluten. The choice of a ‘cerveza sin gluten’ is rather distinctive for a café-bar in the heart of traditional Granada. Pilar also tells me that not a single glob of gluten enters her kitchen at El Cortijo Sin and that her café-bar is one of only three in Spain that offers an unabridged gluten free menu. This is highly progressive for a nation of diehard carnivores. Pilar’s café is innovative and provides visitors with healthy alternatives to meat. Vegans, vegetarians, celiacs and gluten intolerants alike should be pleased to know that there are signs of change: a new culture of vegetarian-friendly restaurants and tapas bars is emerging in Andalusia.