Salamancan cuisine is deeply influenced by the geographical diversity of a province that ranges from pasture-lands and wheatfields to mountanious uplands. A common feature shared with the rest of Castile is the roast, be it sucking pig (Cochinillo) or kid (cabrito). Yet the real local staple is pork, appearing in the vast majority of the region's dishes, such as: the limón of Ciudad Rodrigo, a cold platter prepared from meat, chorizo (spicy Spanish sausage), egg and lemon, and eaten during Carnival season; hornazo, a pie, traditionally associated with Eastertime but nowadays the typical dish available at any time anywhere, and -depending on the recipe of the particular district- containing chorizo, ham, bacon, pork, hardboiled egg and sometimes even poultry; and farinato, a white sausage meat made with bradcrumbs, lard and seasoning (usually eaten with fried egg).
Moors and Jews alike left their mark on the local confectionery and pastries, good examples include the amarguillos (almond cookies) and mazapanes (marzipan) from the Convent of Santa María de Dueñas, and the buns and biscuits made by the nuns in Alba de Tormes, to say nothing of the bollo maimón, a kind of sponge cake.
A comprehensive list of cakes, biscuits, sweetmeats and the like made in the area would be too long to print here. Naming a few will however make the task of spotting them that much easier: roscas (doughnut-like rings), quisquillas almendradas and arrope (grape syrup) from La Alberca; almendras garrapiñadas (candied almonds) from Alba de Tormes; Obleas (wafers), perrunillas (oval or circular cinnamon-and-lemon flavoured biscuits), repelados, duquesitas, hojaldres (puff pastry) from Ledesma and Santillán; obispos from Yeltes; and empiñonados and huesillos (fried finger-shaped pastries) from Béjar...and so on.
Many good restaurants are to be found en route, where the region's varied fare may be enjoyed to the full. Bars abound, and the custom of tapeo (ordering a mix of snack-like servings, known as Tapas) is almost a "must" in and around the Plaza Mayor, with the Arco del Toro, Calle Clavel and Plaza San Julián, etc., being other areas where local specialities are served.
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