Cochinillo of Segovia

Cochinillo asado uses a piglet of about three weeks and four and a half kilos, fed only on milk, roasted in a wood-fired clay oven in an earthenware dish with water beneath and little more than salt and lard, for a couple of hours until the meat falls apart and the skin is glassy and thin. The demonstration that follows in Segovia's restaurants is a ritual: the roast is carved at the table with the edge of a plate rather than a knife, to show that no knife is needed, and the plate is then thrown to the floor and broken. Segovia's protected designation sets the breed and feeding requirements. It is heavy food, and one piglet serves four to six people.

What you actually see

• The clay oven roasting - piglets cooked in wood-fired earthenware dishes.
• The plate carving - the roast cut with a plate edge at the table.
• The broken plate - the plate thrown down after the carving.
• The glassy skin - crackling thin enough to shatter.

When to go

Year-round; Segovia's restaurants serve it every day, and booking is advisable at the well-known places. Lunch is the traditional time and the meal takes two hours or more.

Honest expectations

It is extremely rich and fatty, and portions are large; a quarter piglet defeats most people. The plate-breaking ceremony is performed for visitors and can feel staged. Prices in the restaurants around the aqueduct are high.

Nearby

Segovia's aqueduct and Alcazar are in the town; La Granja and Pedraza are short drives away.