The excellent produce of the “Huerta”, a varied offer of meats and the prized treasures of the sea... a cuisine assimilating the products bequeathed by the peoples who settled here for centuries. The Romans showed us the art of making preserves and salted fish.
Outside the fertile valleys were grown wheat, olives and vines, which is tantamount to saying bread, oil and wine: the three mainstays of the Mediterranean Diet.
To say, for example, “Caldero” is to conjure up an image of rice, fish (grey mullet, monkfish, grouper), cooked in an iron pot, with ball peppers and garlic mayonnaise. Not to forget the fish a la sal, oven-baked in salt. Or grey mullet roe, “Mojama” (salted tuna) and “Mar Menor” prawns. We cannot fail to mention pastel de Cierva, a pie filled with egg and meat. If you like fish and happen to be in Águilas, ask for moraga de sardinas (grilled pilchards), or the rice they make here a la piedra. If the produce from Murcia's Huerta is your preference, then rice and beans, olla gitana (a vegetable hotpot), cocido of turkey with meatballs, michirones (a broad bean stew), and braised chicken or rabbit. Hearty stews, where imagination has salvaged the modesty of the raw materials. Rice and vegetables, Cocido with meatballs. The Huerta once again impresses us with salads and the thousandfold combinations afforded by its vegetables. Pork has always been a staple for the people of the huerta and it is used in every way possible. Braised or grilled, not to mention a whole appetizing range of sausages (morcón, spicy longanizas, morcilla black puddings, etc.).
Another great option is inland Murcia. For those few overcast and rainy days, try some “Migas Ruleras”, made from flour with oil, water, salt and a lot of patience. Or “Gazpacho Jumillano”, “Gazpacho de Yecla”, pickled partridge, or rabbit and rice. When in season, rice with snails, in Calasparra. In the Ricote valley: tender oven-roast lamb. The cheeseboard includes excellent goat cheeses, cottage and cured cheeses, cheese with wine, with pepper... Fruit preserves, which constitute a thriving industry... Excellent marmalades and jams. And honeys, with a hint of the delicate aromas of the fields. And spices and condiments which, like the sweets and pastries (tocinos de cielo, marzipans, Caravaca sugared egg yolks, macaroons, etc.), deserve a separate mention. Lastly, the fruit, which can be summed up in the words of the famous operetta by Serrano: Murcia, tu huerta no tiene igual (there is no match for your huerta). The Murcia Region has also cultivated grapevines and produced wines ever since Roman times. As well as those from the Campo de Cartagena, there are the wines from Ricote and, of course, the three Denominaciones de Origen: Jumilla, Yecla and Bullas. Whites, reds and rosés with rich bouquets. For all tastes, and for all palates.
Aromas, flavours, textures... sensations we discover and appreciate with the senses. Here you will find food products of the Murcia Region which will bring back the pleasure of the authentic and the natural. High-quality products to nourish your senses.
Murcia: Europe’s vegetable garden
13 % of the vegetables grown in Europe are cropped in Murcia, on an area that does not exceed 50.000 ha.
As a region, Murcia is the first producer of lettuce, artichokes, lemons and peaches in Spain; the second producer of peppers, plums, tomatoes for fresh consumption and table grapes and the third producer of melons.
The 374.684 t /lettuce obtained each year in Murcia represent 35,9% of the Spanish crop of this vegetable. 349.944 t tomatoes and 158.945 t of peppers amount to 9 % and 15 % of the Spanish total, respectively. The 128.840 t artichokes and the 244.560 tons, as their turn, sum up 42 % and 22,8 % of the Spanish crop of both products.
52 % of the Spanish lemon crop, a total of 590.644 t, is also obtained in Murcia each year. The 294.790 t of peaches represent 23 % of the total amount of this fruit, while 55.440 t of p/ums and 96.750 t of table grapes amount to 24,1 % and 30,2 % of the crop of both products, respective/y.
In Murcia, the traditional know-how of the growers and the last technological innovations combine to define and to apply norms of “good agricultural practice’ obtaining in that way fresh produce of the highest quality and security.
Many reasons allow calling Murcia “the fruit and vegetable garden of Europe”. First of all, the sheer volume of production justifies such name. But there is more about that: climate and geography makes growing a large number of different kinds of fruits and vegetables all year round a real possibility. The effort of its people — growers, traders, technicians, scientists, public servants —devoted to obtain not only a large production but also the first quality for it, represent the second half of the Story.
“Murcia is the region in Spain with the largest range of dishes based on fruit and vegetables on its culinary repertoire. The Murcian cuisine shows how well the region dwellers know their own products and also the pleasure they feel fixing meals with the high quality products of their gardens”.
Murcia food specialities
Revuelto – Revuelto is a common name for another tapas counter staple – eggs scrambled with runner beans, garlic, onions and ham.
Zarangollo – Zarangollo is a Murcian dish combining the concepts of ratatouille and omelette. It is made from tomatoes, courgettes, onions and eggs. Every tapas bar worth its salt in the region should have a plateful in the chiller. Menestra is similar, a dish of sautéed vegetables
 Ensalada Murciana – A wet salad of cooked tomatoes, sweet onions, boil egg, tuna, black olives and olive oil. Always served cold and frequently with. Almost always on the Tapas counter.
 Pastel de carne – Little pasty or pie shaped pastries, filled with delicious meat, tomato and egg. Very good, give it a try.
Arroz – Rice is grown in the Calasparra region, with it’s own quality standards. Among the wide variety of rice dishes are:
- Arroz y conejo – rice with rabbit
- Arroz de verduras – rice and vegetables
- Arroz y costillejas – rice and ribs
- Arroz marinero – seafood rice
- Paella huertana – a vegetable paella
Potaje – a rich stew dish
Habas con jamón – ham and broad beans
Caldo murciano – local soup dish
 Chuletas al ajo cabañil – garlic chops
Fresh Vegetables & Fruit – Known as the market garden (huerta), the Murcia region boasts an extensive and year round fruit and veg selection. Many of the fruit and vegetables you’ll find in supermarkets in the UK will have come from Murcia – particularly tomatoes, melons and oranges.
Wild Boar – Jabalí is available as a delicacy throughout Spain, and Murcia is no exception. The boar is served in a number of dishes (including the famous wild boar with figs) as well as just roasted.
Cheeses – The best cheeses in Murcia are granted a DOC rating, just like the wines of Yecla, Jumilla and Bullas. There are two categories of the Murcia DOC cheese, ‘Queso de Murcia’ and ‘Queso de Murcia al Vino’. The Murcia DOC cheeses are all produced from whole milk from Murciano–Granadina goats.
The ‘Queso de Murcia’ DOC comes in two varieties, fresh and semi–cured. The fresh variety is mild, white and has a woven texture on the rind from the tall, cylindrical mold. The cured variety is cured for at least 60 days, is rather more flavoured with a firmer texture, some holes and a smooth rind.
The ‘Queso de Murcia al Vino’ DOC is a richer cheese with a characteristic reddish colour which comes from the wine that the cheese is soaked in while maturing. The cheese is matured for at least 45 days for large moulds, and 30 days for smaller cheeses.
Caviar – A locally–produced variant of caviar (huevas de mújol) is produced on the Mar Menor. It’s available in jars in most local supermarkets at a very reasonable price compared to ‘the real thing’ – but tastes pretty good!
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