Whether by chance or careful selection, Valentine’s day in Seville marks the start of the Third Annual Edition of Las Jornadas Gastronómicas de la Naranja, a culinary competition for creating tapas using bitter oranges, which this year boasts more than thirty participating tapas bars and restaurants, and will last ten days.
If you’ve ever been to Seville, or are a keen marmalade maker, you’ll already know that Seville is famous for its orange trees, which are harvested at this time of year. Despite the close association of Seville with oranges, they are not, in fact, native to this part of the world, but come originally from the Far East. The first orange trees in Seville are believed to have been planted in the 12th century, primarily for shade and decoration – bitter oranges were chosen so that people wouldn’t eat them off the trees! Even today, the biggest consumers are the English. Seville oranges are the best in the world for making marmalade!
orange harvest in Plaza del Salvador
The tapas on offer include Iberian ham with orange sauce, roast beef and macerated orange in puff pastry, and an orange salmorejo with flakes of cod and leek.
There will be a panel of expert judges, but the public will also be able to vote for their favourite tapas (see the full list of participants below), which will give them a chance to win 1 of 10 hampers of orange goodies from local suppliers such as Basilippo, Inés Rosales and la Vieja Fábrica.
A rather nice touch is that on Feb 14 at Santa Justa, and Feb 17 at the airport, arrivals will be greeted with an orange and a brochure about the competition.
The Alfonso XIII hotel will host an orange products trade show on the 21st and a cooking demonstration on the 22nd, both events starting at midday.