I'm a lapsed vegetarian (I eat dairy and eggs and seafood, but no other meats) who hasn't spoken Spanish in about a decade. Hopefully I'll be going to Madrid for a long weekend next month.

I've been reading the vegetarian posts on the board here, and found lots of useful suggestions. But I have another question.

Often it's the case that people who don't understand vegetarianism don't realize what counts as "meat". I've heard stories of people ordering meals 'sin carne' and ending up with ham and sausage and fish and who knows what else.

Can anyone come up with a list of at least some of the words that are meat-signallers on a Spanish menu? Either words for meats, or words for dishes that traditionally have (non-seafood) meat in them? Things like pollo, jamon... uh, shows how rusty my Spanish is that those are the only ones I can come up with off the top of my head. (And the pollo I only remember because of El Pollo Loco! Sad...)

Tienen platos vegetarianos? worked for me though you never really know about broths and oils used.I looked for the word plancha (grilled)when ordering fish. Also I took someones advice (I believe Eddie??) who suggested checking out Spanish cookbooks prior to trip. Tortillas de patatas was a great brunch staple and I have to admit I just sort of went by gut feelings whether the waiter truly knew what vegetarian meant and didn't get freaked out when my wonderful trout came served with a slice of bacon in its cavity.I felt the cuisine is such a part of the Spain experience that it would be a shame to request special cooking even if you knew how to do it!

Here we go:
carne, pollo, salchichas, beicon, lomo, jamón, embutidos, cerdo, chorizo, salchichón, morcilla, tocino, solomillo, entrecot, paté, salami, etc...

Is cheese and milk something you consider animal? If so, here are some milk derivated products: leche (milk), queso (cheese), mantequilla (butter), yogur, batidos, natillas, arroz con leche, cuajada, ...

However, there are lots of spanish dishes which don't have even a rest of animal fat.

Almost every dish is cooked with olive oil or other vegetal oil.

Tortilla de patata (it would be a crime not using olive oil), ensaladas (salads), menestra, gazpacho, ajoblanco, merluza (kind of fish), pescadilla (another), mero (yet other), emperador (...), lubina (...), dorada (...), sardina (...), boquerones (...), chopitos (...), and I could be here until the next year.

Beware that some non-meat dishes as fabada, lentejas, alubias, and so on always carry chorizo, morcilla and tocino, so the dish have animal fat.

Also, the better the restaurant, the more probable it is that they use olive oil (if you go to a fast food restaurant I wouldn't bet on what you are eating).

Said this, I feel I will never understand vegetarism, how could you live without all this wonderful dishes? I respect it, but I think I couldn't share it... :P

Fernando

Hi ebell, Like you, I don't eat meat but vegies, fruit, cheese (yummy), fish, and some chicken - and never has it been a problem in Spain. Am sure you will be having tapas (which you can see on the bar) as well as full meals and Fernando's guidelines will more than cover your dietary requirements. The fish is fresh (arrives daily) in Madrid and usually cooked to perfection!
Enjoy!