What to Eat in Murcia: A Food Lover's Guide to the Region

Murcia is one of Spain's best places to eat. Try zarangollo, marineras and pastel de carne in Murcia city's tapas squares, caldero rice by the Mar Menor, michirones stew in winter and paparajotes for pudding, then finish with a café asiático. All of it is an easy drive from our golf resorts.

The Region of Murcia doesn't shout about its cooking the way the Basque Country does. It just feeds you very well, for not much money. Here's what to order, and where to find it.

Why is Murcia called the "orchard of Europe"?

Around Murcia city lies the huerta, a patchwork of irrigated market gardens fed by the Segura river. The region grows so much fruit and veg for the rest of the continent that Spaniards call it la Huerta de Europa, the orchard of Europe. Lettuces, broccoli, artichokes, peppers, lemons and tomatoes from here regularly end up in British supermarkets.

Living here, the produce in your local market is often picked a few miles away, and you taste it. The tomato in your salad actually tastes of tomato.

Which Murcian dishes should I try first?

These are the dishes I'd put in front of any visitor.

Zarangollo

Zarangollo is the dish of the huerta: courgette and onion (sometimes potato) cooked slowly in olive oil until sweet, then bound with egg. It sounds humble, and it is one of the best things you'll eat in the region.

The marinera

The marinera is Murcia's signature tapa. A crunchy ring of breadstick, called a rosquilla, is piled with ensaladilla rusa (potato, tuna, olives, mayonnaise) and topped with a salted anchovy. Order one with a caña.

Pastel de carne murciano

Walk past any confitería in the morning and you'll see stacks of these round, golden pies. The filling is minced veal or beef with chorizo and hard-boiled egg, and the pastry is crisp and flaky. Think of it as Murcia's pork pie.

Michirones

On a cool January evening after a round, michirones is exactly right: dried broad beans stewed with chorizo, a ham bone, bay leaf and a little chilli, served as a tapa in a small earthenware dish.

What is caldero del Mar Menor?

Caldero is the Mar Menor's great rice dish, and it began with fishermen who cooked it in an iron pot (the caldero) on the boat or beach. The secret is the ñora, a small dried red pepper that's fried with garlic and ground into the stock. Local fish such as mullet and gilt-head bream go in, and the rice is usually Calasparra rice, from the region's own denomination of origin.

It's traditionally served in two parts: the rice first, with a bowl of alioli, then the fish. San Pedro del Pinatar, Los Alcázares and Cabo de Palos all take their caldero seriously. From Santa Rosalia, a caldero lunch by the Mar Menor is an easy Saturday.

What do Murcians eat inland?

Head towards the hills and arroz con conejo y caracoles, rice with rabbit and snails, becomes the Sunday lunch, often cooked over vine cuttings. Pair it with a Monastrell red from Jumilla, Yecla or Bullas.

What is the typical Murcian dessert?

Paparajotes. A lemon leaf from the huerta is dipped in a batter of flour, egg, milk and lemon zest, fried, and dusted with sugar and cinnamon. You eat the crispy coating and leave the leaf, which is there purely for flavour.

What is a café asiático?

The café asiático is Cartagena's own coffee. It's layered in a special little glass: condensed milk, brandy, Licor 43, hot espresso, and often a few coffee beans, lemon peel and cinnamon on top. The story goes that it grew out of a warming drink fishermen took to sea, refined in the 1940s by a bar owner in the Cartagena area.

After a morning at Cartagena's Roman Theatre, sit down with one in the sun.

Where are the best tapas in Murcia city?

Start at the Plaza de las Flores in the old centre, one of the city's liveliest squares for tapas, and wander between it and the neighbouring Plaza de Santa Catalina and Plaza de San Pedro. On a weekend lunchtime the terraces are full of Murcian families, which is always a good sign. The locals' way: a round of marineras and zarangollo, then on to the next bar.

What's at the Mercado de Verónicas?

The Mercado de Verónicas is Murcia's central food market, housed in a 1910 modernist building by the Segura river, close to the Malecón walk. There's been a market on this site since the 15th century. Inside: fish, seafood, meat, salted and cured products, and huerta fruit and veg.

It opens Monday to Saturday, from 8am to 3pm. Saturday is the busiest day, when the market's small bars cook up what's just been bought. Shop mid-morning, then have a tapa and a vermouth before heading home.

How does Murcia's food fit into golf-resort life?

From Alhama Nature, Omala Residences or Corvera Hills, Murcia city is a short drive, and Santa Rosalia is close to the Mar Menor. A good winter day is golf in the morning, a weekday menú del día at lunch and a few tapas in the evening.

October to May is golf high season here, with sunny days and cooler conditions, and that's also michirones and caldero season. In July and August, when it's too hot for much golf, lunch moves to the beach bars and dinner starts late, in the cool of the evening.

We arrange and accompany viewing trips across the resorts, and seeing the towns around them, with their markets and tapas bars, is the best way to picture a normal week here.

FAQ

What is the most famous food in Murcia?

The marinera is the region's signature tapa, a breadstick ring topped with Russian salad and an anchovy. Zarangollo and pastel de carne are close behind.

What is a typical Murcian dessert?

Paparajotes are the classic: lemon leaves coated in batter, fried and dusted with sugar and cinnamon. You eat the coating and leave the leaf.

What is caldero del Mar Menor?

It's a rice dish cooked in a rich fish stock flavoured with ñora peppers, traditionally served with alioli, followed by the fish. It comes from the fishing villages around the Mar Menor.

When is the Mercado de Verónicas open?

The market in Murcia city opens Monday to Saturday from 8am to 3pm. Saturday is the liveliest day.

What is a café asiático?

It's Cartagena's layered coffee drink made with condensed milk, brandy, Licor 43 and espresso, served in its own special glass.

If you'd like to taste Murcia for yourself and see the resorts at the same time, I'd love to show you round. Message me on WhatsApp on +44 7424 864 684 or send an enquiry and I'll get straight back to you.

About the author — Lee Doherty is the founder of MedSol Real Estate. He spent two years researching the region before buying here himself, and now helps UK and international buyers find golf-resort homes across the Region of Murcia.