It sounds like a carnivore’s dream: two steaks, sandwiched together with cheese and a slice of ham, all coated in bread crumbs and fried up into a gooey, meaty plateful. This is cachopo, one of the signature dishes of Asturias, a province on the wild north coast of Spain (from where, incidentally, Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso and FC Barcelona manager Luis Enrique hail).

Historically a coal-mining and steel-making region, with rugged, mountainous terrain facing the Bay of Biscay, Asturias has a climate more like that of Yorkshire than the Costa del Sol – and the food is suitably hearty.

Cattle roam freely in lush, green mountain pastures – the region is also known as pais de quesos, (land of cheese) thanks to the wide range it produces, with cabrales, a stinky, sharp blue, its undisputed king.

Restaurants in the regional capital, Oviedo, serve excellent classic cachopos – the house cachopo at Casa Pedro on Calle Asturias costs €20 and would feed two. Or there are variations on the theme at Sidrería El Gato Negro on central Plaza Trascorrales, where cachopo can also come stuffed with mushrooms, bacon, red pepper and cheese, washed down, of course, with a glass of the locally made natural sidra (cider), the region’s traditional drink.

On lively Calle Gascona, also known as cider boulevard, locals and tourists can be seen tackling cachopos and other regional specialities – perfect for soaking up the booze – while waiters pour cider from a height of about a metre, to aerate the drink and enhance its flavour. It’s a food and drink match made in heaven.