Festive Gastronomy
Flavours That Are Also a Tradition
The Moors and Christians Festival of Villena isn’t just seen and heard, it’s also savoured. Festive gastronomy is an essential part of the celebration: it brings people together, stirs memories, and perfectly complements the festival’s most iconic moments.
During the main events—and throughout the rest of the year—Villena smells of gachamiga (a traditional dish), tastes like homemade meatballs, and toasts with local wine. These are flavours steeped in history and identity, with a unique power to unite families, comparsas, and friends around the table.
Gachamiga
The soul of many festive lunches.Made with flour, garlic, water, oil, and salt, this simple dish requires patience, skill, and collaboration.Its group preparation is a ritual that involves both the food and the conversation.
Stuffed homemade meatballs
One of the signature dishes during the main events. Made with meat, breadcrumbs, pine nuts, and spices, they are cooked in broth and embody that homemade, festive flavour so eagerly awaited in September.
Villena Gazpachos
Different from the Andalusian version, they are prepared with gazpacho cakes and game or rabbit, well-spiced and simmered.
Triguico
A traditional stew made with boiled wheat, meat, and cured meats. Calorie-rich, comforting, and very festive.
Typical Pastries
Sequillos, wine rolls, almond or sweet potato empanadas, and angel hair empanadas. Homemade sweets that are a staple on any festive table.
Local Wines
Produced by the Nuestra Señora de las Virtudes Cooperative, they include such iconic labels as Arcabucero, Gachamiguero, Vinalopó, and Tesoro de Villena. Also popular are anise, cantueso, and mistela.
Popular lunches: Much more than just eating
After each “Diana” (early morning parade), at dawn, another magical moment of the festival begins: the traditional community breakfasts. In barracks and festive venues across the city, comparsistas and neighbours gather around the table to eat, share stories, and laugh together.
The menu is simple but foolproof: fried eggs, peppers, sardines, chorizo, sausage, and “patatas al montón” (hearty, rustic-style potatoes). It’s not just breakfast, it’s a ritual of friendship, celebration, and connection. A hearty breakfast that nourishes body and soul before launching into the day’s events. Here, there’s no rush or labels, just a desire to be together and celebrate.