Food at the April Fair

At the April Fair (Feria de Abril), that is a traditional appointment for all Sevillians, there are partying, dancing and singing, as well as horses and dresses, and of course, good food, shovelled in and washed down with a lot of wine (fino, manzanilla and rebujitos).

Sevillanas in the Alfonso Mora's stand (Photo by Intercambio de Idiomas Sevilla)

Eating isn't the main focus, nor is drinking, dancing or singing; this is all done merely passingly. Being there is an event in itself. Being together, exchanging looks and words, and sharing a passion for enjoying life. Chatting and eating, you know. It's a rite to chat while eating, as it is an authentic act of socialisation to eat while chatting. More often, it's snacking (tapeo, picoteo), not eating full meals. It's having a little bit of this and a little bit of that. 

Spanish omelette with a jarful of rebujito (Photo by my friend Alexánder Sánchez)

I found a website, where it was said that the Fair's origin dates back to the year 1846, when Narciso Bonaplata (Catalonian) and José María de Ybarra (Basque) submitted to the city council a request for an authorisation to hold an annual livestock fair on 19, 20 and 21 April to promote cattle ranchers and farmers. So, it was initiated as a countrymen's simple celebration.

The April Fair in its early days (Image taken from a blog)

In a way it still has its original traits. The latter also extends to food. Sevillan snacks (tapas), for the most part, and tapas at the Fair, for sure, are homey, no muss, no fuss kind of meals that are hearty and taste good. Nothing pretentious or extraordinary. Just solid, nutritious, rustic food. The list of the tapas offered in the stands is really long and it takes some experience to know what to order. Taken as a whole, it is all very Sevillian, it's just that some of the tapas are especially typical to the Fair.

A typical moment in a stand at the Fair

Tapas are served hot or cold. Typical hot tapas at the Fair (not the fried ones) include pork fillets (los filetitos de lomo), paella, Spanish omelette (la tortilla de patatas), and variety of seafood dishes, like grilled prawns (las gambas a la plancha), clams with seafood sauce (las almejas a la marinera), scrambled eggs with garlic sprouts and prawns (el revuelto de ajetes).

Revuelto (Photo by E. Agudo)

As Spain makes 44% of the world's olive oil, and as more than a quarter of Spain's oil (i.e. 10% of the total world production) comes from Jaén that is another province in Andalusia, most of the items on the menu at the Fair are fried food (los fritos, las frituritas), such as:

• seafood, like prawns (las gambas), prawn dumplings (las gambas con gabardina), shrimp cakes (las tortillitas de camarones), cuttlefish strips (los chocos), squid rings (las calamares), baby squids (los chipirones, las puntillitas);
• fish (el pescadito/pescaíto), including young hake (las pijotas), red mullets (los salmonetes) and anchovies (los boquerones);
• meat, like chicken strips (las lagrimitas de pollo);
• croquettes (las croquetas);
• vegetables, like peppers (los pimientos), or breaded pepper and onions rings (los calamares del campo).

Fried anchovies (Photo by R. Doblado)

Prawn dumplings

You can also choose from many cold snacks (las tapas frías), such as:

• Iberian cuts (las chacinas ibéricas), like cured ham (el jamón), pork loin (la caña de lomo), spicy sausage (el chorizo), strong cheese (el queso, el cabrales);
• crustaceans, like prawns from Huelva (las gambas de Huelva), common prawns (los camarones), king prawns from Sanlúcar (los langostinos de Sanlúcar), crayfish (las cigalas);
• fish dishes, like tuna in oil (el atún en aceite), anchovies in vinegar (los boquerones en vinagre), marinated dogfish (el cazón en adobo);
• meat dishes, like small sandwiches with pork topping (los montaditos de lomo), cheese stuffed meat rolls (flamenquines);
• salads and other dishes with oil and vinegar seasoning (el aliño de tomate, el pimiento aliñado, las patatas aliñadas), or marinated vegetables, like olives (las aceitunas);
• cold vegetable soups, like el salmorejo and el gazpacho andaluz.

Prawns (Photo by R. Carmona)

Montadito with pork fillet and ham (Image taken from the news site abcdesevilla.es)

Cheese stuffed meat roll (Photo by E. Ruz)

Thick tomato soup salmorejo (Photo by R. Doblado)

Then, all the stands usually feature spoon foods on the menu as a daily special (stew of the day, guiso del día), like spinach and chickpeas stew (las espinacas con garbanzos), chickpeas and cod stew (los garbanzos con bacalao), potato and cuttlefish stew (las papas con chocos), oxtail stew (el rabo de toro guisado), fish or lamb stew (la caldereta de pescado/cordero), pork cheeks (la carrillada), kidneys a la Jerez (los riñones al Jerez), eggs a la flamenca (los huevos a la flamenca), Andalusian stew (el cocido andaluz), etc. Stews are normally served late, not before 3 PM. 

Spinach and chickpeas stew (Photo by E. Ruz)

Potato and cuttlefish stew

Oxtail stew (Photo by Lola Monforte)

Typical desserts are fritters (los buñuelos, los churros) that are had nightly, before going home to sleep. Fritters are traditionally sold wrapped in paper cones or bags and served with sugar or hot chocolate.

Buñuelos (Photo by R. Doblado)

Churros