Octopus, Wine, Peppers, and Pies
Octopus, Wine, Peppers, and Pies
A tour around Galicia to some of the most delectable food festivals in August.
There are tonnes of festivals going on in Spain during the month of August, especially food festivals, so I thought rather than try to choose one fiesta for this week’s article, I’ll combine a few of the most illustrious from the gastronomical superstar that is Galicia. At the risk of coming across as rather obsessed with this little corner of the world, I’ll take you to some of the most acclaimed and emblematic food festivals associated with the region.
Fiesta de Pimiento de Herbón
1st Saturday of August
On the first Saturday of August, a short half hour drive south from Santiago, the capital of Galicia, we come to the small parish of Herbón in the town of Padrón. Herbón, with a population of 700 is famous for its peppers which have been celebrated in a pepper festival for over 30 years. Deep fried and seasoned with rock salt, these small green peppers are a staple on the Galician tapa table and a lot of fun to eat due to their unpredictability. As the saying goes: "Os pementos de Padrón uns pican e outros non" (Padrón peppers, some are spicy, some aren't) – they are the Russian roulette of the pepper world.
Besides the over 3000kg of peppers that are distributed for free among the attendees during the day, there are other gastronomical delights on offer such as octopus and barbequed meats. Tractors are decorated and admired as they make their way along the 2km route between Herbón and Padrón. Later, there are medals awarded in recognition for the cultivation, characteristics, and culinary use of the peppers. Just going for the spectacle of so many tiny green peppers frying in large vats over gas fires and the earthy, sweet, and smoky aromas that fill the village is worth the trip.
Fiesta de Albariño
1st weekend of August
Another half hour drive further south, you’ll come to the next festival on our itinerary, already in full swing this first weekend of August.
Cambados, sitting pretty on the Ria de Arousa in the Rias Baixas with views to the Atlantic Ocean, is the world capital of one of the best white wines in the world and host to International Albariño Day which is followed by the Albariño Festival held early every August.
The picturesque fishing village with its characteristic granite squares, pazos (manor houses) and horreos (traditional stone granaries) has been classified an ‘Artistic and Historic Complex’ which makes it well worth the trip in its own right.
But for a week it vibrates to the sound of gaitas (Galician bagpipes), concerts, dancing, parades, taste-testing, and many other activities in celebration of the fabrication and flavours of the dry, crisp, light, fruity, summery, elegant, (and many more oenological adjectives), white wine.
The festival began 50 years ago among a couple of friends who argued over who had the best wines. They agreed to have a competition among all the wine producers to decide whose really was the best, and since then the Regulatory Council of the Designation of Origin Rias Baixas has organised a taste-testing contest among the most outstanding Albariño wineries of the year.
These wineries offer their wines all afternoon and into the early hours of the morning from stalls set up along the promenade A Calzada, and in the dozens of bars and restaurants lined along the Rua Real leading to the majestic Fefiñáns Square. There is no shortage of eateries where the wine pairs deliciously with scallops, octopus, razor clams, and many other varieties of seafood dishes the Rias Baixas are famous for.
A visit to one of the several wineries in town and of course, the Ethnographic and Wine Museum, is a great way to learn more about the fabulous wines and their origins. Take a boat trip out to the mussel farms or join one of the dozens of wine tours available and finish the festival on the promenade with a spectacular firework display over the sea.
Fiesta del Pulpo de O Carballiño
2nd Sunday of August
Now we’re heading inland towards Ourense for one of the most popular and anticipated gastronomic festivals in all of Galicia, if not Spain. For the second Sunday of August, the region’s national dish Pulpo a Feira is consumed by thousands of visitors who come to O Carballiño from all over the country and beyond.
The local pulpeiros slow-boil the octopuses in large cauldrons before snipping the leggy molluscs expertly onto round wooden plates with a pair of scissors. Smoked paprika, rock salt and a generous dribble of olive oil completes the dish which is served with the thick artisanal bread from the nearby town of Cea to sop up the juices. The secret to a perfect Pulpo a Feira lies in the cooking processes; soft and juicy when cooked well, a rubber disaster when not.
The Fiesta del Pulpo was declared of National Touristic Interest in 1972 for its cultural value in the food on offer, but also in the traditional folklore, costumes, dance and music represented from around Galicia. At least fifty pulpeiros prepare more than 25,000 kilos of octopus during the festival, but other foods are available such as empanadas (pies – see below), roasted sardines, barbecued meats, sweets and pastries, and of course, thousands of litres of local Ribeiro wine.
Fiesta de Empanada de Allariz
3rd weekend of August
The third week of August takes us to Allariz, another half hour south, for a pie festival on the banks of the Arnoia River. Allariz is a beautiful medieval town declared a Historic-Artistic Site, full of Romanesque and Gothic churches and surrounded by chestnut forests.
The Fiesta da Empanada de Allariz is a food festival for fans of pies, but not the kind of pies you’re probably thinking of. Empanadas are flat savoury pastries made with a soft flaky pastry and filled with a variety of fillings, from tuna, seafood, ham, chicken, cod, prawns, octopus, eel, chorizo or mushrooms. Really, any filling you feel like putting in the pie is acceptable.
Bakeries and home ovens in and around Allariz work tirelessly to produce enough empanadas to sell to the thousands of tourists who converge on the small town, and a competition is held to determine the best empanadas of Allariz. Parades with gigantes and people wearing large papier mache heads, music bands and bagpipes, sport events and of course, stalls brimming with pies of all kinds make this festival an important stop on our gastronomic tour around Galicia.
Galicia is a food lover’s dream - everywhere you go you are treated to an extensive selection of the best wines and cuisine you could possibly wish to find anywhere.