When I first visited Spain more than 35 years ago, the food and joyous spirit of eating I found there were a revelation. Today, Spanish cooking may be the last great undiscovered cuisine for Americans, although it's not likely to remain that way for long. The foods of Spain are infinitely appealing, linked as they are to such robust Mediterranean ingredients as olive oil, garlic, dried legumes, grains, tomatoes, and peppers.

The Romans found Spain ideal for growing olive trees and grapevines, yielding oils and wines that were the envy of the ancient world and are the country's pride today. The Moors, who occupied Spain for nearly 800 years, brought exotic saffron, cumin, and coriander to the cooking. They also established an elaborate canal system that made it possible to grow rice and transformed Spain's eastern coast into a veritable garden. Europe's discovery of America brought previously unknown tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes to Spain (just try to imagine Mediterranean cooking without these characteristic ingredients), all of which adapted admirably to the Spanish climate and soil.

Freshness and quality are paramount. But what gives Spanish food its complexity are the country's different regions, each a culinary world unto itself. The Spanish landscape, in fact, offers the variety of an entire continent in an area no bigger than Texas. In a land with both snowcapped peaks and vast plains, there are also forests, valleys, deserts, and marshlands, all tempered by mighty rivers and the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Together, Spain's regions create optimum conditions for producing a great diversity of foods.

A Healthy Cuisine
Adopting wholesome, nutritious foods and eating patterns has never been an issue in Spain. It would be difficult to improve on a diet that places Spaniards in the enviable position of enjoying the world's third-highest life expectancy.

Indeed, I'm often asked why obesity is rare in the country, considering the large meals Spaniards typically enjoy. The answer, I believe, is that fast foods and other processed foods are merely novelties and snacking is negligible. Meals typically end with fresh fruits; sweets, although occasionally enjoyed, are not daily necessities. Old-fashioned, home-cooked food remains the standard rather than the exception in Spanish life.

Author Spotlight
Penelope Casas is the author of four books on Spanish food and wine, the most recent of which is Paella! A contributor to Food and Wine, Gourmet, the New York Times, and Saveur, she is an adjunct professor at New York University, where she teaches courses on Spanish food and travel.