There was a healthly (?) discussion on the forum recently about whether or not Spanish food is oily. Quote: “the amount of oil most dishes are served with is mind boggling.” The basic consensus though, was that Spanish food is essentially oily in a good way. I mean, you can’t get enough of that anti-oxidising, extra-vigin, life-restoring olive oil, can you?
Well, my friends, I fear that some may draw the line at the Plato Alpujarreño.
Pictured above, and served up throughout the wonderful mountain range to the south of Granada, this cacophony of meat and not-very-extra-virgin grease slips down a treat. From the top we’ve got Jamon, Chorizo, Morcilla (no rice in this one, just the congealed pigs blood), a good slab of pork chop, the fried egg and, the coup de grasa, the oiliest of all oily potatoes: patatas a lo pobre.
Absolutely spot on after a day in the mountains 
Would you eat it?
Graeme
30 Jan 08 at 9:36 pm
I would happily eat everything on that plate except the fried egg.
Caleb
30 Jan 08 at 10:20 pm
A cardiologist’s nightmare on that plate!
richardksa
30 Jan 08 at 11:09 pm
Scrumptious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The heart attack would be worth it.
Tom
30 Jan 08 at 11:21 pm
I’d eat it all and I’d have Graeme’s egg.
Edith
31 Jan 08 at 1:55 am
I would have the egg, the jamón and the bell pepper.
Preston
31 Jan 08 at 2:10 am
That’s a meal for a night after about 5 pints! Looks delicious.
ValenciaSon
31 Jan 08 at 2:30 am
I would have seconds
leftbanker
31 Jan 08 at 8:45 am
That looks delicious. Could someone pass the salt and olive oil, please. With a bit of bread that plate would make the mother of all bocadillos.
I have a star rating system for Spanish food, with five stars being the best. The stars also equate to the number of hours I need to ride my bike after the meal to flush out all of the cholesterol. I would ride to Granada and back just to try Plato Alpujarreño.
Tom
31 Jan 08 at 8:59 am
Looks delicious. I don’t know who that other Tom is, but I concur.
Brendan
31 Jan 08 at 9:32 am
Hmmmmmmm….!!!! Love on a plate…!!!!
Parubin
31 Jan 08 at 9:35 am
After a day in the mountains, I’d have it all with my own two hands, no forks or napkins.
After a day in the city, I’d first go to the gymn and then I’d have boiled fish and a tomato salad. With the finest cutlery and table linen, of course.
Andrew
31 Jan 08 at 9:53 am
I’d eat it. Perfect resaca food.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to give my mother-in-law the lifetime achievement award for dressing salads. When she reaches for that vinagrera (vinagera in the north?) and starts showering those crispy leaves with salt, vinegar and olive oil nobody does it better. And when she’s not looking at the end of the meal then a nice chunk of bread to mop up is truly wonderful.
Resists urge to enter a long newly discovered string of smileys…
Amy
31 Jan 08 at 6:13 pm
Heck yeah I’d eat it! We just returned from a week in Madrid and seeing this post is making me yearn for some Morcilla. And, I agree with you, Spanish food is ‘in-a-good-way’ oily. And I love it and miss it! amy @ http://www.weareneverfull.com
Jon Hundt
31 Jan 08 at 6:40 pm
I would eat that in two shakes of a lambs tail.
Morcilla is one of those things that I once ordered without knowing what it was. It tastes great, the mental image is the problem. Now I order it every chance I get.
Here in Holland we have horse-butchers. Horse-meat products taste great… if my wife serves them up with no comment. Thinking about it is the biggest problem, though I don’t know why.
Chris
31 Jan 08 at 6:59 pm
That looks mouthwatering – half full English breakfast and half tapas – ‘the full Spanglish’. I’m itching to dip the sausage in that egg right now. I have no class!
Edith
31 Jan 08 at 7:27 pm
Yes, extra virgin olive oil is good for you when used sparingly, but it’s just as high in calories as other fats!
Mike
31 Jan 08 at 9:49 pm
Id eat it (all of it, no picking!) before 5 pints and proabably manage 10 thanks to the perfectly lined stomach. Anyone who’s lived in Spain just knows the flavours on that plate are delicious. My mouth is watering (oiling?) just looking at it….
Dawn
1 Feb 08 at 10:20 am
Definitely – after a night on the tiles and a morning in the mountains. Mind, I don’t think I’d want to eat anything but lettuce and All-Bran for about a week after, but for a once-in-a-while treat, why not?
However, I’m not sure I agree with the general perception that the “Mediterranean Diet” is a no-holds-barred path towards better health. Just think of all those Spanish men over 40 with the “curva de la felicidad” — all tum and no bum thanks to all that olive oil and all those freíduras!
gary
1 Feb 08 at 2:36 pm
Full Spanish…. I can feel my ventricles clogging as we speak – looks good
DH Wall
6 Feb 08 at 9:29 pm
Looks like the breakfast of champions. That has to be a lot of calories!
Speaking of food, here’s some pictures of Sevilla tapas to make your mouth water.
http://aboutspaintravel.com/spotlight-seville-spain-tapas-scene-8-photos
Cascade
8 Feb 08 at 3:04 am
Wow – thats about a months worth of fat grams I should think !!!
German
27 Feb 08 at 11:23 am
mmmh… Yes I would eat it all!
Rich
16 Jun 08 at 11:57 pm
I had the wonderful fortune of spending 1 1/2 years in the south of Spain, much of it in the mountains and coast south of Granada. That picture reminded me of my happy meals spent in friends’ homes!
In the 20+ years of my life outside of Spain, I have tried many times to replicate Patatas a lo pobre. Although my dish is usually pretty good, it doesn’t match the flavor intensity that I remember. Perhaps I’ll use more oil when I try again tonight!!
Ray
17 Jun 08 at 1:01 am
Also known as the first Auto de Fe.
Magu
5 Sep 08 at 8:40 am
I wouldn’t touch that even if I was about to starve. They really know how to make food look unappealing in Spain, don’t they?!
John
5 Sep 08 at 10:48 am
Yes Ben. I would. Please give the name of the restaurant. It’s selfish to keep it to yourself!
ValenciaSon
5 Sep 08 at 12:07 pm
@Magu: you don’t know what you don’t know.
Ben
5 Sep 08 at 9:23 pm
@John, sorry, can’t remember where it was in Lanjaron, but you’ll get it anywhere in the lovely alpujarras!
Jade
27 Jan 09 at 12:51 pm
It Looks Very Tastey And = I Might Be Movin 2 Spain So I Look Forward To Tasting It…xx