Gluten Free eating in Spain

Since my diagnosis I've been very anxious about going abroad and having to face the same issues of trying to explain what I can and cannot eat somewhere where I have only a very basic grasp of the language. I was overwhelmingly surprised by how easy it was for me to follow a gluten free diet in Spain, the main response being that of course they had heard about a gluten free diet and were able to cater for my needs, and a slight look of confusion in response to how worried I looked about this issue. I didn't come across anywhere I wasn't able to eat, so if you're planning a trip to Spain- don't worry, you'll get along just fine!

What you need to say:

Sin gluten= without gluten, both gluten and sin are pronounced exactly as they are in English. It really is that simple!

Useful resources:

List of gluten containing ingredients- I found this page from a Spain gluten free blog really useful because of the list of foods which contain gluten, which I printed and took around supermarkets when looking at ingredients lists. However, many products in Spain are labelled 'sin gluten' to make life even easier!

Directory of gluten free restaurants- This website was amazing, to begin with it looks like it lists only chains like McDonalds, but on closer inspection it has several independent restaurants on it too.

Gluten Free Passport- I didn't actually take this along with me this time, I made my own. When someone is not aware of the diet I find it is helpful also to have a list of foods you can eat, milk, eggs, corn, potatoes etc. because sometimes people assume you can't eat anything that people are sometimes allergic to, leading to a very bland meal! Having said this, I never actually found occasion to have to use the gluten free restaurant card that I had made myself, because everyone was so well informed. 

Food Highlights:

       Clockwise from top left- bread at Rhonda parador, amuse-bouche at Rhonda parador
              (gluten containing version on left, gluten free version on right), message on menu, part of bread
at Malaga parador

Parador, a well known chain of hotels has an agreement with the coeliac society of Spain to provide gluten free food, including bread. We visited two paradores on our trip, one in Rhonda and one in Malaga. It was comforting knowing that this was an option to fall back on when you had run out of time to wonder around looking for somewhere to eat. The food was decent and the portion sizes were huge! in the malaga parador I got two huge gluten free baguettes that had been warmed in the oven, and my starter was scrambled egg and asparagus which must have been made with at least 4 eggs! I made myself a sandwich for the plane which was very handy.

Top panel clockwise from top left: fried fish at Restaurant Marymar- Marbella, mini burgers at La Trilla, Marbella (LTM), bread rolls at LTM. Bottom panel clockwise from left,: assorted croquette at LTM, Beiker Pan Tostado from supermarket, Kid chops at La Bodeguita de enmedio, Casares

My two favourite restaurants were Marymar, and La Trilla both in Marbella. Marymar was owned by a chef with a coeliac daughter, and specialised in fried fish, I had mixed marinated fish which was fried in a gluten free batter. It was very good, unfortunately the restaurant seems to have closed since I went.

La Trilla was an amazing tapas restaurant, almost their entire menu was gluten free. We visited at lunch and were the only table in there, but it didn't matter. I had gluten free bread rolls which were really tasty, buttery, fluffy and shaped in lovely little swirls, with hidden treats in the middle like a hazelnut or an olive. The mini burgers were delicious, the one I had was tuna and sea lettuce and tasted really good. The mixed croquettes were a little disappointing, the ham one didn't taste of much and the cheese one was very strong blue cheese. However, there was one which was 'chicken soup' flavoured and this was magnificent, really gooey and tasted like chicken soup which I've always been a big fan of! I've included a picture of Pan Tostado, which is basically little squares of toasted bread, I've not come across these in the UK, but I haven't looked very hard. They were really nice along side a salad and stay fresh better than a loaf of bread.

The most anxious experience I had was at La Bodeguita de enmedio, Casares, because the waiter didn't speak any English at all, at this lovely little restaurant in the square in Casares. It was fine though because he understood what I was talking about, and I was able to eat kid (goat) chops followed by a flan caramel. 

Our nearest supermarket was Mercadona, and we also tried Lidl, both of which had plenty of products that were gluten free.
If you do a little research before you travel and know what to say you will get on fine and be able to eat some amazing gluten free food in Spain.