The Andalusian civilization left a formidable architectural legacy that even today, so many centuries later, continues to shine among the enormous historical heritage of the peninsula. But not only that. He also bequeathed us an invisible imprint that survives in many areas of popular culture. For example, in gastronomy. Many of the traditional dishes and culinary techniques that define our current cuisine were forged in Al Andalus.

Archaeological and documentary research has made it possible to rescue the suggestive Andalusian gastronomy as never before . In addition to the celebrated studies of professors Expiración García and Manuela Marínor previously by the Arabist Ambrosio Huici Miranda Ambrosio Huici Mirandais now joined by the most recent research work signed by Francisco de Borja García, author in 2025 of The Gastronomy of Al Andalus.

The researcher from Granada has followed the path blazed by his predecessors while exploring some of the most relevant Andalusian culinary recipe books, such as the anonymous one translated by Huici Miranda and the one by Ibn Razinboth dating from the 13th century. He has also studied Andalusian treatises on agriculture and those known as de hisbawhich regulated the commercial activity of the souks in Al Andalus.

Medieval recipe books were intended for the upper class. Generally, their recipes were sophisticated and expensive, with dishes that were prohibitively expensive for the popular masses. “Spices were fundamental in Andalusian cuisine,” says Francisco de Borja. “They had to be imported from outside and were therefore expensive.” The gastronomic researcher, however, has also rescued many simple recipes. “Quite a lot of popular gastronomy comes from Al Andalus, such as gachas,” he explains.

In the book published in 2025 by Almuzara, reference is made to many of today’s dishes that have their origin in Al Andalus. For example, ensopados made with bread. This is the case of tarida lamb soup prepared with spices, milk, spinach and bread crumbs. Also the maimones soupalso belongs to this culinary category. It is made with garlic, matalauva, sweet paprika, hard-boiled egg and fried bread. Garlic and onion soup or mazamorra, the predecessor of salmorejo and without tomato, are dishes inherited from the Andalusian gastronomic culture. The cachorreñas is also a popular dish with bread.

Al Andalus generated a gastronomy with its own personality, a tributary of oriental cuisine and Roman culinary arts. De Borja argues that pasta has an Andalusian antecedent. Especially the fidaw or even the fideuá that was prepared in a casserole and derived in the noodle. In the opinion of the researcher from Granada, it was not Marco Polo who introduced the paste into Europe from China, but it was already in use in Al Andalus, at least a century before the 13th century.

At that time, wheat was already introduced and cakes were baked that today could be compared to regañás. Pastries were also highly appreciated. Fritters, also known as alfinges in the Andalusian language, were already being cooked. If they were filled with cheese they were known as almojábana. Or Moroccan zalabias, a type of flour doughnut that is fried in oil, very similar to the churro.

Many Andalusian dishes ended up camouflaged after the conquest of America by the importation of new agricultural products, which began to be used in the peninsular cuisine. A clear case is the mazamorra that ends up in salmorejo when tomatoes recently brought from the new continent are added. The fennel stew, without pork, was already prepared in the Andalusian period, recalls the researcher from Granada.

Eggplant was a staple in the recipes of Al Andalus. It was a very versatile vegetable that was used as a garnish, generally coated with flour sauce, beaten egg and spices. It was also stuffed with meat or fish and fried. Vinaigrettes and salted fish, two basic preservation formulas, were very common in Andalusian cuisine. Exactly the same as the encostrado, a cream of beaten egg with breadcrumbs, cheese, spices and nuts that was cooked on top of the stew like a gratin.

The marinades, of oriental origin, were frequently used. Also saffron. The sweet and sour flavors were very characteristic, with the addition of almond milk, figs, raisins and sweet plums. Stews and casseroles abounded, very similar to those that are elaborated today in the traditional Mediterranean cuisine. And the vegetable stews. The best meat was lamb, although it was expensive, and was substituted by chicken and hen, present in many popular food recipes.

“The Andalusian recipes had a decisive influence on the Christians” after the fall of Al Andalus, says Francisco de Borja García. This is the case of the Moorish pot, dating from the 15th century, or the adafina itself. adafinawhich was an adaptation of the Andalusian stew but with lamb meat for the Sephardic Jewish community. “Since it was slow-cooked, the Jews would prepare it on Friday night so they wouldn’t have to cook on the Sabbath,” the author points out.

Other authors have also investigated the Andalusian culinary culture. This is the case of Expiración García, who is responsible for numerous articles articles on the subject, and Manuela Marín, National Gastronomy Prize in 2022 for her studies on Andalusian gastronomy, in a jury chaired by Ferrá Adriá. In Al Andalus, according to Marín, there was a predilection for meat and vegetable dishes. And roasts, stews and fried foods with olive oil were already plentiful.

We are talking about a period in which not all homes had their own kitchen and communal ovens were common in the neighborhood as a basic public service infrastructure. The Arabist also underlines the common use of eggplant and spinach at a time when neither peppers, potatoes nor tomatoes, which arrived centuries later from America, were known in the Iberian Peninsula.

Cocido was already a very popular dish, although without pork, due to the restrictions of Islamic precepts. Wine was consumed, on the other hand, and this is attested to in Andalusian texts, by both the wealthy and the humbler classes. Of course, the taverns used to be in the hands of Christians, whose religion did not object to the consumption of alcohol.

Manuela Marín highlights the sophistication of Andalusian pastries, which were the preserve of the elite due to the high price of sugar, and generally made of puff pastry, filled and perfumed. In the souks there was an abundance of more vulgar and affordable sweets for the popular strata.

For the preservation of food, the salting technique was used, as well as vinegar, as Francisco de Borja points out in his gastronomic manual. In fact, the marinade is a very popularculinary formula developed in Al Andalus. Its etymological origin comes from the Andalusian Arabic, as-sukkabach. The fruit was maintained by various methods.methods and wheat was stored in silos. The progress of archaeozoology in recent years, according to Manuela Marín, has made it possible to know in greater detail what was eaten, how the products were prepared and what utensils were used to shape a gastronomy whose mark still remains in our food.