Thanks to the great possibilities of Huelva, the local gastronomy is based on both mountain and sea products – that is, cured meat and cured ham together with fish and seafood. There are some remarkable seafood species, such as crayfish, crabs, white shrimp, caridean shrimp, lobsters, langoustines, and molluscs like clams and wedge clams.
Sea products also include fish from the Gulf of Cadiz, such as tuna, red porgy, meagre, sole, and wedge sole, swordfish – which is known as aguja palá by locals –, mojama – salted dried tuna – and especially fried or roast sepia. The gastronomy of Huelva also encompasses some types of meat – especially pork dishes from Iberian pigs, such as cured ham and dried meat. Other products from the gastronomy of Huelva, such as palm hearts, strawberries, and wines with Appellation of Origin ‘Condado de Huelva’ – fruity wines, new wines, liqueur-wines, some red wines, sparkling wines from Almonte, brandies, and vinegars – must be also remarked.
This great amount of raw material can be seen at the typical dishes of Huelva, such as almejas a la marinera (‘clams with garlic, paprika, and wine’), atún encebollado (‘tuna with onion’), habas con choco (‘broad beans with sepia’), habas enzapatás (‘beans with pennyroyal or coriander, mint, and fresh garlic’), dorada al horno (‘roast gilthead bream’), gambas al ajillo (‘white shrimp with garlic’), migas de pan (‘bread with potatoes, red pepper, and onion’), coquinas (‘wedge clams with parsley, garlic, and white wine) raya en pimentón (‘ray with paprika’), sopa de tomate (‘tomato soup’), tollos con tomate (‘dried dogfish with tomato’), and “papas” con choco (‘potatoes with sepia’). A nice drink to be tried is the ponche colombino – an alcoholic drink made of fruity white wine, yellow peaches, cinnamon sticks, clove, and soda.