GASTRONOMIC ROUTE

PAPRIKA ROUTE

This route covers the pathways of a genuinely Extremadura product. It is not surprising that the first indications of the product in history are recorded as being in this region. Paprika reached Spain thanks to Christopher Columbus who offered it together with other fruits to the Catholic Monarchs at the Monastery of Guadalupe. In light of its culinary advantages (it must not be forgotten that Guadalupe was the birthplace of the best conventual cuisine in Spain), the monks passed it on to other convents, the Hieronymites at the Monastery of Yuste being the first to dry paprika and use it as a preservative.

Hence, paprika is linked to La Vera, a district with privileged countryside, irrigated by the River Tiétar that crosses it in the shape of torrents and gorges and with a microclimate that provides fertile valleys and wonderful forests.

The pepper used for paprika is planted in March in seed beds where it remains until May, when it is transplanted into prepared, terraced land. There are three types of pepper: sweet, sweet and sour and spicy. The peppers are collected by hand in October, selecting those that are perfectly ripe.

The peppers are subjected to the traditional drying process in La Vera, over an oak or Holm oak wood fire and turned by hand until perfectly dried, giving the paprika its three essential characteristics: aroma, flavour and even colour. Subsequently, at the processing industries, it is ground in stone mills to give a fine, even red powder, the optimum quality and purity of which is guaranteed by the Pimentón de la Vera Designation of Origin.

Paprika is an essential part of traditional cuisine in Extremadura and is a wonderful seasoning and preservative for our dried meats. Its use in the treatment of dried meat was so important that, given the importance of the slaughter in the traditional economy of the region, for a long time it was called "red gold".

The paprika route is sprinkled with recipes, where the magical touch of its personality and differences are marked by its use. Hence lamb and kid goat cuisine, which is so closely related to La Vera, is told apart from other areas of Extremadura thanks to the use of paprika in all its stews: cordero sansero (stewed lamb with potatoes and carrots), caldereta verata (La Vera-style stewed lamb), frite al modo de la Vera (La Vera-style fried lamb), torteruelos or roast legs of lamb or kid goat.