Glossary of Spanish Food Words

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Word or Term	Definition
pa amb tomaquet	Catalan tapa: bread or toast rubbed with olive oil and fresh crushed tomato
paella	a saffron & rice cassarole garnished with rabbit, chicken, mussels shell fish dish cooked in a flat shallow pan, also called a paella
palitos de queso	cheese straws
pan	bread
pan ázimo, pan sin levadura	unleavened bread
pan de molde	sliced bread
pan duro	stale bread
pan integral	whole wheat bread
panceta	cured pork belly
panellets	almond macaroons, often encrusted with pine nuts or other nuts, made in Catalonia for the feast of Epiphany
panera	bread box
papel de cocina	paper towel for the kitchen
papillote	a baked package of meat, poultry, or fish with other ingredients in foil, baking parchment, or waxed paper.
paprika	pimentón de la Vera - smoked paprika unique to Spain - a key ingredient in chorizo and many cocidos. Comes as dulce/sweet; agridulce/bittersweet; and picante/hot. Pimentón de Murcia is not smoked, but rather sun dried witrh a distinct but more subdued flavor.
pargo	common sea bream
pasa (de uva)	raisin
pasta	pasta
pastel	cake
pasteleria	pastries
pasteleria/pastisseria (Cat.)	pastry shop
pata negra	"black hoof" The term refers to the fabled Iberian pig, and the hams produced from it. By association "pata egra" refers to anything of superlative quality
patata frita	french fries
patatas	potatoes
patatas bravas	fried potato pieces with spicy sauce
patatas fritas	french fries
pato	duck
pechuga de pollo	chicken breast
pedazo grande	wedge
Pedro Ximenez	a sweet sherry with a raisin like flavor, made from grapes of that name Used in cooking and as an after dinner aperatif.
pelado	peeled
pelar	peel
pepinillo	pickle
pepino	cucumber
pepitas (trocitos) de pollo	chicken nuggets
percebes	goose barnacles scraped from the sheer granite cliffs of Galicia
perdiz	partridge
perejil	parsley
perro or perrito caliente	hot dog
perrunilla	sugary biscuit, made with lard
pescado	fish
piña	pineapple
piñones	pine nut
picada	pounded mixture of herbs, spices, garlic, bread, biscuits, etc., characteristic of Catalan cooking
picante	spicy, hot
picar	to chop
pico	small toasted bread sticks served with tapas
piel/pelar	skin
pimentón	paprika
pimienta	pepper
pimiento de Padron	baby green pepper from Galicia, sauteed in extra virgin olive oil until blistered, and then sprikled with sea salt. Served as a tapa. Most of the identical little peppers are mild, but every fifth or sixth one is extremet hot! Some people call it Spanish roulette.
pimiento de piquillo	small, red, peppers with a pointed end. The best come from Lodosa in Navarra. Eaten as tapas or stuffed with fish or meat
pimiento rojo	red pepper
pimiento verde	green pepper
pintxo	the Basque word for tapas. The best come from towns along the coast stretching from Bilbao, Zarautz to San Sebastian
piperrada	Basque dish of peppers (capsicum), tomato, onion, etc.
pisto	originally from La Mancha, a more concentrated version of ratatouille made from fried peppers, onion, tomato, garlic, zucchini, eggplant. .
pizca	pinch
plátano	banana
plato	plate, dish, course
plato principal, segundo plato	main course
pochar	to fry until soft
pollo	chicken
poner	arrange
poner trocitos encima	dot with (butter)
postre	dessert
potaje	leek and potato soup, or a similar stew
pringa	cabbage, bean, and meat stew typical of Western Asturias
prueba	foodstuffs
puñado	Gallego specialty, boiled and sliced octopus with cooked potato, olive oil, pimenton, and sea salt, served on a wooden plate
puchero	formerly a trial sample of sausage mixture fried up for testing at the matanza, now has become a dish in its own right
puerros	terra cotta cooking pots, also Andalusian one-pot stew, similar to cocido
pulpo a feira	Gallego term referring to to places serving octopus (pulperia in Castilian)
punto de ebullición	handful
punto de fusión	boiling point