Our full recipe guide on how to make Croquetas one of the most popular tapas in Spain. Apart from Spanish Omelette and the paella, Croquetas is very popular too. In Spain, few tapas are as beloved — or as addictive — as ham croquetas. Crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside, and bursting with the rich, savory …

A Spanish family in a small town outside Sevilla sits down to lunch on a Sunday in October. The grandmother brings out a plate of olives — fat Manzanillas, smaller Arbequinas, briny black olives from the local producer. The three-year-old grandson reaches for the plate first. He picks up a Manzanilla, removes the pit with …

Spanish cuisine is world-famous for its bold flavors, rustic charm, and deep connection to tradition and nowhere is this more evident than in its stews. From the hearty cocido madrileño of Madrid to the seafood-rich zarzuela de mariscos along the coast, stews in Spain are more than just food. They’re cultural markers that reflect local …

A nutritionist in Lyon reviews her American patient’s food diary. The patient lists “yogurt” three times. The nutritionist asks which yogurt. The patient names a popular American brand: vanilla flavored, with added probiotics, advertised as a healthy breakfast option. The nutritionist explains, gently, that what the patient is describing would be labeled differently in France. …

A Greek grandmother in a small town outside Thessaloniki begins her stuffed peppers. She salts the diced onions while they sweat in olive oil at low heat for 12 minutes. She salts the ground lamb when she adds it to the onions. She salts the rice when it goes in. She salts the tomato base. …

A French woman in her late forties in a small town in Burgundy eats dessert four to five times per week. Sometimes a piece of dark chocolate after lunch. Sometimes a small bowl of fresh strawberries with cream after dinner. On Sunday afternoon she walks to the village patisserie and brings home a real pastry …

The numbers you see in retirement blogs about international moves can make Spain look harder than it is. 58 percent of American couples sell their Portuguese property within two years. 72 percent of American men over 65 return from France within 24 months. 69 percent of American women in Italy return within 18 months. These …

A woman in her early sixties eats lunch at her usual American time. 12:30pm. A salad with grilled chicken and a small piece of bread. A coffee at 1:00. By 2:45pm she feels the familiar afternoon wave. The fatigue. The pull to a snack drawer. The slight irritability that her grown children have learned to …

A couple in their early sixties closes on a Madrid apartment in their second month in Spain. They paid €25,000 above market value because they did not know how Madrid pricing actually works, the realtor was selling at the “international price,” and they fell in love with the building during one viewing. That €25,000 is …

A 67-year-old man in Salamanca finishes lunch at 2:45pm. A bowl of lentil stew, a piece of grilled fish with roasted peppers, two pieces of bread, a small glass of red wine. He stays at the table for another 20 minutes finishing his coffee. Then he stands up and walks out the door. Not to …

A woman in her late fifties in Milan finishes her workday at 6:30pm. She does not go straight home. She walks two blocks to a small bar in her neighborhood and orders a Campari and soda with a small plate of olives, salted almonds, and a few pieces of focaccia. She sips her drink across …

Carnitas are not pulled pork with better marketing. They are pork cooked slowly in its own fat until tender, then finished hot enough to crisp at the edges without drying the meat into shreds. A slow cooker can make good pork. It cannot make real carnitas by itself. The missing step is not a spice …