Medina in Cordoba
Córdoba
Córdoba, capital of Muslim Spain, is the main city in a territory located in the centre of Andalusia. The Guadalquivir river, at its wider middle course, crosses this province from east to west and provides irrigation for a wide plain where cereals, grapevines and olive trees grow.
Towards the north, the landscape becomes progressively wilder until it reaches the summits of the Sierra Morena, with dense forests and abundant wild game for hunting. In the south, the land rises gradually until it reaches the mountains of the Subbética range. These lands with their limestone soils feature spreading olive groves and white villages and noble towns with well-conserved Baroque architecture.
This mountainous landscape is home to a varied fauna. The province of Córdoba, which still bears traces of its Iberian, Roman and Muslim past, is rich in traditions; it has an outstanding architectural heritage, and its gastronomy has undergone a considerable resurgence with the revival of a range of dishes from the traditional cooking of the region.
Since Palaeolithic times, the province of Cordoba has been marked by the hand of man. The Tartessians and Oretani people fought over these lands and the exploitation of its iron, lead and copper mines.
The Romans conquered it, and were fascinated by its beautiful landscapes and the fertile valley. Numerous constructions throughout the province stand as witness to their presence. After the Muslim expansion across the Iberian peninsula, the territory of the Al-Andalus empire in Cordoba became a major hub for the export of cultural and economic ideas in medieval Europe.
With the independent Emirate established by Abderramán I and the Omeya caliphate of Abderramán III, Cordoba reached the pinnacle of its historical prominence. The teachings of great men –Seneca, Maimonides, Averroes...– spread the splendour and influence of Cordoba all over the world.
After the Christian conquest, the repopulations of the valley of the Guadalquivir by Charles III of Spain and the social unrest in the 19th century, the province changed course towards a new historical destination. Today this privileged enclave in Andalusia is home to a priceless architectural heritage, which will captivate the most demanding traveller.
The land in the province of Cordoba spreads between olive groves and grapevines and is bathed by the tributaries of the Guadalquivir river which runs through it from one side to the other and separates it in two: the mountain area of Sierra Morena and the flat countryside of the Guadalquivir. To the south there is another area which is not as extensive, but higher: the Subbética mountain ranges.
The province of Cordoba is located in the north centre of the Autonomous Region of Andalusia. It borders the provinces of Malaga, Seville, Badajoz, Ciudad Real, Jaén, and Granada. The capital city is Cordoba.
Cordoba cuisine has a rich culinary tradition, framed in Andalusian cuisine. Cuisine of Andalusian gazpachos, Cordovan salmorejo, oxtail, ... The influence of Andalusian cuisine is very persistent in some culinary preparations. As in stews with olive oil, vinegar, breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, saffron, etc. Some authors mention how Cordoba cuisine has yielded to the fame of tourism, forgetting some classic dishes. Like other gastronomies in the Andalusian community, in some urban cases it has become a tapas service.
Córdoba's cuisine is made up of two specific areas. On the one hand there are the cortijeros dishes (called camperos): the salmorejo, the carnerete, the crumbs, the gazpacho. In front of the country dishes, as an example: the country paella, the dry bean stew, etc. There is an influence from the North African cuisines and consequently they have dishes such as pigeons with olives and also pigeons with almonds.
Since Córdoba was the capital of the Roman province of Betica, the appearance of the likes of a Roman kitchen, previously the Phoenicians brought the olive tree and the Romans spread its cultivation. One of the most relevant historical activities is the appearance in the Middle Ages of the influence of Andalusian cuisine in the area. The city of Córdoba was the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate. According to Évariste Lévi-Provençal in the year 800, during the reign of Abderramán II the poet Ziryab brought the tastes and prearations of Badgad to the high leaders of Cordoba.
Likewise, it is worth highlighting various influences of Sephardic gastronomy (some cases such as the dry bean stew with aubergines, the white bean flour gazpacho). During the Reconquest period, the Christians introduced the consumption of pork in Cordoba cuisine, as well as the rituals of the slaughter of the pig.
In the best-known meat dishes you can find the stewed oxtail. The slaughter of the pig leaves cold cuts such as serrano ham and sausages such as salami from Pozoblanco and black pudding from Fuente Obejuna, Baena (usually onion) and Hinojosa del Duque. The Iberian pig breed is usually raised in the wild in the meadows of the Cordovan dehesas. Among the beef dishes you can find the veal with artichokes in Cordoba, the rabbit soup, the kid's cochifrito, the chanfaina, the baked pork hands, the honey lamb, etc. Flamenquines (a mixture of pork and beef).
Moreover, eggs are used for preparing San José omelette. Among the cheeses there is the one of Pedroches (from the Valle de los Pedroches which borders Extremadura), made with sheep's milk. With the lamb, the lamb stew is made throughout the province. The absence of a coastline in the province of Córdoba means that fresh fish dishes are not traditional, however salted fish are very popular.
In the Montilla wine region, the type of wine called amontillado was invented in the 18th century. This type of wine will become the Montilla-Moriles appellation.
In the 19th century, Cordoba cuisine began to popularize Andalusian gazpacho (made with tomato) and incorporated it among its significant dishes. There are two dishes that are known in Spanish cuisine as Cordovan: one is the salmorejo and the other is the stewed oxtail.
The confectionery has the same similarities as the Andalusian and La Mancha pastries (pan fruits such as fried flowers), the Cordovan cake (pastry based on puff pastry and angel hair). The usual ingredients of Cordovan pastries are: Matalaúva and sesame. The use of honey has been common since ancient times, as a sweetener ingredient that participates in some culinary dishes. Some preparations such as shortbread cakes (stuffed with angel hair), garrotillos. The culinary preparation that meets the greatest distinction from the Cordovan pastry is the quince paste, being that of Puente Genil one of the best known.
The province of Cordoba contains two of the most important towns in Andalusia during the Baroque period: Priego and Lucena, whose churches and shrines reflect the architectural styles of the 17th and 18th centuries. Zuheros, nestling in the hills of the Subbetica range, is one of the most attractive and popular towns in the south of Spain, together with Montoro, with its old quarter looking over the meandering bends of the River Guadalquivir. Almodóvar del Río, next to the Sierra de Hornachuelos Natural Park, has one of the most perfectly preserved castles in Andalusia, and from its towers and battlements all the tumultuous history of the province seems to echo down the years.