Alt Maestrat, Alcalatén, Alto Mijares and Alto Palancia.

The black diamond
In Morella and surroundings there are many singular specialties, such as soups, croquettes and sweet “flaons”, but its typical cuisine has a black diamond: the truffle. For the Romans, truffles were exotic and an aphrodisiac. Today, the Italians and the French worship this ingredient and have adapted it to many of their dishes.

The home of the lamb
Lamb is king throughout this region. It is called “ternasco”, like in the neighbouring Aragón. The north of Castellón is influenced by Cataluña’s cooking and the south by Valencia’s vegetable garden. Other farmyard animals of importance with regard to cooking are pigs and cattle, the latter being essential for a multitude of dishes.

People from Geldo and L’Alcora are crazy about snails. In Benassal, snails are an essential ingredient for making “tombet”.

The oil produced in the Espadán mountain range is liquid gold.
In the regions of Mijares and Palancia (land of casseroles and cherries) there is something very relevant and extraordinary in towns such as Benassal or Bejís: the water.

And finally, the dessert
Everywhere, from Montanejos to Catí, there are extremely popular cakes, ideal for putting an end to our banquet. Many dishes in Castellón have remained traditional, but this applies even more so to its desserts and cakes. The most typical ones are: “arrops” which come in infinite varieties, fruits preserved in syrup and jams, “mongetes”, custard, “ous de neu”, crème caramel, rice pudding, baked sweet potato or pumpkin, fruit ice creams, nougats, “neules”, fritters, “flaons”, the traditional Christmas “mantecados”, “pinyonades”, “rollets”, etc.

Besides the succulent traditional cooking, there are also good contemporary cuisine restaurants in Vinaròs, Vila-real, Viver and Castellón de la Plana.
lluís ruiz soler / m. soler