Cantabria

This is a region in which it is very difficult to define the cuisine clearly because it really consists of what has come from the surrounding areas, with which it shares the raw materials.It is also a region which has absorbed many of the Castilian cooking habits. It is a place where one can eat very well, which is true everywhere in the North. Here again we find tuna, hake, sea bream, and salmon, which is prepared in an absolutely unique fashion: el arroz santanderino, which is rice with salmon and milk. There are also sardines and anchovies, the latter either in a stew or crusted pie, in a yellow sauce or in a batter. Another typical dish consists of rabas, ie, squid chopped up and fried. A splendid marmita is served on the coast.
The best known types of cheese are the ones from Tresviso, the smoked cheese from Aliva and others called quesucos which are generally of the cream cheese type.
However, it is in the chapter of desserts where the cuisine of Santander offers the most original dishes such as custard, which is extraordinary thanks to the natural flavour of the ingredients, ie, only milk and eggs; and los sobaos pasiegos, ie, pastry rich in butter and eggs. Both of these are at the top of the list, together with la quesada, one of the most popular of the national sweets, made with fresh cheese, honey and butter, the only problem being the limited time for which it can be kept.