Camino de Santiago: A pilgrim route or gastronomic paradise?

When you start walking the famous pilgrim route, the Camino de Santiago, at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France and cross the Pyrenees to Navarra in Spain, you will definitely realise that you are in a stunning environment with amazing variety and quality of produce. 

If you love food like me, this is a journey that you should definitely do one day. Let me take you on a 780-kilometre walk, where you will discover different regions, people and amazing flavours.

On your first few days, close to the mountains, you are going to find lamb stews, river trout dishes, and stunning, quality cheeses and vegetables. You are in Navarra, one of the Rioja Wine lands, so it’s a no-brainer that a glass of beautiful red should be your choice. If liqueurs are your thing, you should try a glass of ‘Pacharán’ on ice – It’s made with the berries of the blackthorn and I’m sure it will definitely warm you up!

Then we leave the province of Navarra, and enter La Rioja, where the cuisine has a great variety of local vegetables and pulses. 

You should try the stews made with fava beans and chorizo, the cod dishes made in La Rioja style, or one of the many amazing vegetarian options. Wine-wise keep digging into the Rioja Wines, you are in the perfect place.

Now it's time to leave for the Province of Burgos, entering the region of Castille and León, the largest of the Spanish Autonomous Communities. Burgos has a unique climate and delicious local specialties, like sumptuous slow-roasted lamb in a wood-fired oven and the famous local black pudding.

For cheese lovers, don’t miss the white soft cheese from here! With a little bit of honey, this cheese makes for the perfect snack anytime of day. And to drink, definitely go for a glass of Ribera del Duero wine. It won’t disappoint.

Next, we leave Burgos and enter Palencia, where the cuisine is not too different. However, after a long day of walking, you may need a hearty soup. And in Palencia, they are quite popular, due to the low temperatures in winter. The Sopa de Ajo, or Castilian Garlic Soup with a hearty glass of red wine will sort your dinner out for sure.

Finally, we cross from León into Galicia. This is definitely the destination for freshly caught seafood like mussels, scallops, crabs, and octopus. And if you have a sweet tooth, you should try the Tarta de Santiago, an almond cake with origins in the middle ages. Wash it all down with the amazing local white wines called Albariño and Riveiro. Or, as a digestive, try the 'queimada', a punch made from Galicia aguardiente (a spirit).

So congratulations! After 30–35 days of walking of around 25 kilometre per day, you made it! I don’t know if religiously or spiritually you will have found what you were looking for when you started this adventure, but I’m sure that you’ll remember the flavours of the Camino de Santiago all your life.

‘Tarta de Santiago’ (the Cake of St James)

·       Five eggs

·       250 grams almond meal

·       Zest of ½ lemon and  juice of whole lemon

·       Santiago cross stencil (you can find plenty online to copy).

·       250 grams sugar

·       ½ tsp. cinnamon

·       Icing sugar to sprinkle on top

 Steps to follow:

·       Heat your oven to 180 degrees.

·       Prepare a 24–26 cm round tin with baking paper at the bottom and on the sides.

·       In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar until fluffy and sugar is completely dissolved (doesn’t need to double in volume). You can do it by hand or use a stand mixer.

·       Add to the egg and sugar mixture the almond meal, cinnamon and lemon zest, mixing with a spatula by hand until homogeneous, trying not to over-mix.

·       Pour the batter in the tin and bake for 25–30 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. It might rise a lot in the oven and deflate when it cools down, but that is ok, you will get a crackled top layer, and that is fine.

·       Let it cool for 10–15 minutes and then carefully remove the outer ring.

·       Make yourself a Santiago cross in cardboard or paper to lay on top of the cake before dusting generously with icing sugar.

·       Lift the Santiago cross carefully so the silhouette is clean and then it is ready to eat!

A handy trick:

·       If you have a food processor, you can prepare your own almond meal from whole almonds, you will certainly taste the difference.