Salpicón

Salpicón is a cold Spanish dish of finely chopped meat or seafood, seasoned with salt, black pepper and a parsley and spring onion vinaigrette. It is rooted in Spanish cooking and today is especially associated with the Andalusian coast and with bar tapas.

History

The earliest written references to salpicón come from the literature of Spain's Golden Age. Covarrubias records it in his dictionary as minced meat seasoned with salt. Cervantes mentions it in Don Quixote, both among the everyday foods of Alonso Quijano and in the phrase «salpicón de vaca con cebolla», which shows how it was traditionally served. Quevedo also refers to it in his poetry.

Some scholars argue that in those centuries it was an affordable dish for working-class households, since it was made with beef that was easy to obtain. The older recipe differed from today's: the minced meat was slowly stewed with pork fatback, pepper, salt, vinegar and vegetables, then served hot and garnished with pieces of onion.

Over time the cold, vinaigrette-dressed version became the norm. Today seafood salpicón is the most common style in Huelva and Cádiz.

Culture

Today salpicón is mostly eaten as a tapa in bars across Spain, where the default version is usually seafood. Beef salpicón remains a home recipe. Outside Spain the name covers different dishes: in Mexico it is a salad of shredded beef with onion, serrano chile and avocado, served on tostadas or in tacos; in Nicaragua and El Salvador it is minced meat with lime, served with rice; in Peru it is a chicken salad with mayonnaise; and in the Philippines, salpicao is a garlicky stir-fry of beef eaten with rice.

Trivia