From Spanish snacks to premium olive oils we look at the main shops to stock up on Spanish ingredients in Ireland. Tapas night at home just got easier!
Photo: Sarah & Olive
Here is a list in no particular order of my favorite places to shop for Spanish ingredients.
1. Sarah & Olive
Sarah and Olive is my go to for Spanish high-quality extra-virgin olive oil. Chef Sarah Merrigan is passionate about olive oils and it shows in her carefully curated offering. The Finca La Torre Hojiblanca (also available in Butler’s Pantry) is one of my favorite ones. It is made with organic Hojiblanca olives in Andalucia and it has a green almond and rocket flavor. It’s a great gift since it comes packaged in a beautiful bottle and box, also (and this is key!) it has the harvest date so you know that you are getting the freshest oil. You can taste her oils at the Honest2Goodness market. If you get more than 2 varieties of olive oils you can do tasting and match the evoos to cheese, veggies or fruits at home.
Honest2Goodness market in Glasnevin; saraandolive.com
2. Heart of Spain
Heart of Spain in Cork carries products from artisan producers from the region of Castilla La Mancha. They have a small but well curated selection of products from the area with offerings of cured raw milk sheep’s milk cheeses, tomato and fig jams, quince jelly, cured pork products and wines from Rueda, Ribera del Duero and Toro. Their line of pates and terrines are really fabulous and we especially like the Castellano raw milk cheeses. heartofspain.ie
3. Vera foods
Newcomers Damien Corr and Jenny Campbell have in a short time created the most compelling line of Spanish products in Ireland. During the pandemic both lost their jobs in hospitality and they decided to buy the line of a Spanish importer. This line has been meticulously improved and researched. This super charming couple really understand what the Irish consumer is looking for in Spanish products and choose accordingly. With all their restaurant experience I'd love to see a Vera Tapas Bar in the future. Thanks to Vera we have delicious Perelló olives and Quillo potato crisps now in Ireland among a plethora of other products. www.verafoods.ie
4. Sheridans
Sheridans stocks the uber popular Ortiz range of canned seafood (anchovies, bonito tuna and white anchovies), Chiquilin pimenton (smoked paprika), cheeses like raw milk Manchego, Mahón and Montenebro (not always available), figs in PX sherry (an absolute must try!), membrillo, fig bread, piquillo peppers (for stuffing) and guindilla peppers (to make gilda pintxos) from El Navarrico. They also stock cooking chorizo and Serrano ham. It would be nice to see a more complete line with evoos and olives from Spain in the future.
5. Yourwine.ie
Yourwine is an online shop where all the Spaniards in Ireland get their fix for the most popular branded ingredients from Spain like Cola Cao (chocolate powder) and salted sunflowers seeds from El Piponazo that you would buy in the supermarket. If you want an insight into what Spanish residents miss the most look no further. I buy Serrano cured ham bones, and tiny noodles to make my grandmother chicken and ham soup when I get home sick. I also stock up on regañas (olive oil crackers), Spanish rice, Mister Corn corn nuts, and pasta noodles for making fideuá (a Catalan pasta version of paella). The corn nuts are used to add crunch to ceviche or a chocolate olive oil mousse.
6. A Taste of Spain
A Taste of Spain in Capel street has a wide offering of cheeses, cured Ibérico products, Spanish rice and wines. Also they stock all the foods us Spanish miss from home like Pates from La Piara and Nocilla (a chocolate spread) but they also stock brands like La Chinata who make high-end products. They occasionally stock cooked octopus tentacles to make the famous Galician pulpo á feira, a dish made with octopus, boiled potatoes, paprika and olive oil.They don’t have a website yet but you can visit them in Capel St.
and their recent second location in Camden Street.
60 Camden St., Dublin 2
16 Capel St, North City, Dublin, D01 C6N4
7. Cavistons
Cavistons is possibly the best food shop in Dublin. In terms of Spanish ingredients it's the best place for fresh wild hake or merluza, padrón peppers, fruit coulis to make gazpachos with fruit and olive oils and vinegars from the Omed range. They also stock Ortiz.
58/59 Glasthule Rd, Glenageary, Glasthule, Co. Dublin, A96 FR63; www.cavistons.com
Glossary
Arbequina: a variety of olive from which evoo is extracted. The flavor is mild and the aroma reminiscent of green banana and fresh cut grass.
Bacalao: Salted-cod. Spaniards adore salted cod and use it in countless recipes. Ask your fishmonger how to get it.
Bomba: Fabulous rice for paella. It can absorb up to 3 times it's volume in liquid.
Bonito: Albacore tuna. Available canned in olive oil outside of Spain, this tinned product will elevate any salad or tapa. Bonito is used in a lot of Northern Spanish recipes like "bonito encebollado".
Calasparra: A D.O. of rice from Murcia.
Merluza: Hake. One of Spain's most popular fish. Popular dishes are "merluza en salsa verde" and Peruvian-style ceviche.
Ñora peppers: Dry, small, brick-colored mild pepper indispensable for Spanish stews especially lentil ones.
Padrón: A very popular small green pepper from Galicia. Perfect for flash frying. One or two in every bundle is hot!
Picual: A variety of olive used to make evoo. Originally from Andalucia it has a strong flavor with aroma of almonds and tomato leaf. Picual is one of the most -shelf stable evoo varieties.
Pimentón: A smoky, velvety powder similar to paprika. Comes in 3 varieties sweet, hot and bittersweet. The D.O. La Vera produces the highest quality.
Piquillo pepper: A type of small pepper from La Rioja and Navarra. They are sold roasted, peeled and bottled. Perfect for stuffing and salads. The flavor is sweet with a mild piquancy. The D.O. ones are the best. Try them stuffed with Mahón cheese and then grilled.
Pulpo: Octopus.
Serrano: A type of cured ham from white pigs very popular in Spain.
Sobrasada: Spreadable chorizo from Mallorca.