Ask chef Jose Andres to describe the flavor of Spain, and he erupts in an impromptu ode to his homeland:

“Spanish food will taste like the beautiful smell of the seaside when the water is heating the rocks and you have this perfume of sea salt. Spain will taste like that,” says the restaurateur and host of PBS’s “Made in Spain.”

But he’s just getting started.

“I could even argue that Spain would smell, not like heavy smoke, but the smell and taste of the forest with the humidity and a touch of smoke in the air,” Andres muses as he shops the Penn Quarter farmers market in Washington, D.C., for his restaurant, Minibar.

“And, I would say it smells of history, like beautiful old cookbooks.”

Despite its integral role in the early history of the New World (remember the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria?), Spain, for many Americans, might as well be an undiscovered country.

Andres aims to change that. He currently shares the PBS schedule with Mario Batali, best-known for his Italian-themed restaurants, books and television shows. Batali’s “Spain . . . On the Road Again,” pairs him with Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow, New York Times writer Mark Bittman and Spanish actress Claudia Bassols as they gallivant around the Iberian Peninsula, drinking, eating and looking beautiful (the women, anyway).

Although they both celebrate the foods of the Iberian Peninsula, the shows differ in tone.

The Batali-Paltrow show feels a little like hanging out with the popular kids in high school, except the bus is a Mercedes Benz and the cafeteria is a Galician vineyard.

Lest the viewer think this is a beautifully filmed exercise in vanity, both Batali and Paltrow lived in Spain as teenagers and their return road trip is a homecoming of sorts. Their delight, along with Bittman’s role as resident gruñon (grouch) and Bassols’ gusto tempers the feeling that the viewer has intruded on an exclusive vacation.

It’s tempting to set up a rivalry between the two shows, but neither host will bite. In fact, Batali celebrated his birthday at Andres’ six-seat Minibar recently. “Jose has the passion and the ability to translate to the home cook in his show,” says Batali by cellphone from an airport (on his way to play golf with Tiger Woods — seriously). “Both of them are going to succeed.”

Andres the Spaniard agrees, but makes it clear that he got there first.

“My show started airing in February,” says Andres, who spent nearly three years shooting his show, which is in its second season now. “We were in different seasons waiting for saffron to open, waiting for the tuna to come or for the harvest of olive oil. Probably for a cooking show we were very ambitious.”

Ambition and a sincere desire to share his native cuisine has propelled Andres’ career since he crossed the Atlantic 19 years ago to work in New York after a stint with the famed innovator Ferran Adriu at elBulli in northeastern Spain.

With a successful television career in Spain, five restaurants in Washington, D.C., and The Bazaar in the new SLS Hotel opening in Beverly Hills this month, Andres still has a sense of mission about his work.

“My wife said, ‘You can go to Spain and be a TV boy or go to America and use TV to spread your message.’ It’s the ultimate way to tell the story of my country through cooking, and not only in the kitchen. It’s about how powerful Spanish gastronomy is, town by town, product by product. What I wanted to do was to plant the seeds and make people want to know more.”

Both shows aim to pique viewers’ interest in traveling to Spain, as they are sponsored in part by the Spanish tourism office. And they’re sure to stimulate interest in exploring Spanish flavors here at home.

Something about the landscape inspires the poet in Batali too.

“Things that grow together go together,” he says as he grills rosemary- and lavender- seasoned lamb chops over grapevine clippings at Valdubon Vineyard in one episode. “Everything about this whole dinner is from 250 yards from here. That is poetry on the planet.”

Batali, best-known for his Italian repertoire, says Spanish food shares the region’s cultural and geographic roots. “It’s similar in its Mediterranean-ness to Italian, Greek and southern French food. They just rely on rice more than pasta. Spanish food has a smokier flavor. Olives and olive oil. Almost more of the soil, that’s what distinguishes it from Italy.”

Kristen Browning-Blas: 303-954-1440 or kbrowning@denverpost.com

Local Spanish tastes

For the closest Denver comes to Spain, try The Ninth Door, a tiny LoDo restaurant that knows the meaning of tapas.

Chef Kevin Marquet imports many of his ingredients straight from Spain, including the olives, almonds, chorizo, goat and sheep cheeses, and serrano ham. “The serrano is similar to prosciutto — it’s salt-cured for a year,” says the chef. “I put it in quite a few of my dishes. And we use a lot of pimenton, or paprika. We have a smoked one and a spicy one.”

When partners William Kennedy, Dan Woodward and Pat Henry opened the restaurant about three years ago, they asked David Huertas, chef at El Meson in Santa Fe, for advice. “He said everybody’s doing fusion, so you should stay traditional. People might not get it at first, but they will,” says Kennedy.

Chef Marquet gets it, and says Denver diners do, too. “Spanish food has very simple flavors, you don’t want to mess with it too much.”

The Ninth Door, 1808 Blake St., 303-292-2229

Tapas and more

Rioja, 1431 Larimer St., 303-820-2282. This Mediterranean restaurant features Spanish flavors such as orange-garlic marinated olives, sheep’s milk cheeses and sangría.

Baca, Inverness Hotel, 200 Inverness West Drive, Englewood, 303-397-7222. Spanish-inspired Colorado cuisine: chorizo potatoes, tomato-rubbed toast with serrano ham, and Catalan flatbread with morcilla sausage and smoked pepper sauce.

Solera, 5410 E. Colfax Ave., 303-388-8429. Warm neighborhood restaurant with wine tastings (often Spanish wines) 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Appetizers include Spanish cured meats, Manchego cheese with membrillo and marcona almonds. Also: paella with mussels, clams, chorizo and saffron rice.

The Mediterranean, 1002 Walnut St., Boulder,303-444-5335. Extensive hot and cold tapas, paella and steamed mussels in a pan-Mediterranean menu. Kristen Browning-Blas

Spain on the small screen

“Made in Spain” and “Spain … On The Road Again” air on KRMA Channel 6 and KBDI Channel 12.

CHANNEL 12

“Made in Spain: Surf and Turf”

3:30 p.m. Friday

Jose Andres turns Spain’s sparkling wine, cava, into a light dressing for oysters and a refreshing mimosa cocktail. Also: mushroom hunting in the Catalan mountains, pork sausage with wild mushrooms, fishing for shrimp, and Catalan seafood.

“Made in Spain: Earth, Wind and Fire”

3:30 p.m. Sunday

Basque cheese, red and white wines, and baby squid with caramelized onions.

“Spain … On The Road Again: From the Sublime to the Surreal”

6 p.m. Saturday

REM’s Michael Stipe joins the trip. Barcelona’s La Boqueria market. A 3-star Michelin kitchen. Historic Jewish Quarter in Girona. Dalí museum. Cooking Catalunya’s seafood at culinary hot spot Roses.

“Spain … On The Road Again: A Sultan’s View of Andalucía”

9 p.m. Monday

Moorish history at the Alhambra, the legendary hilltop palace in Granada, the Andalucían coast and Cordoba.

CHANNEL 6

“Made in Spain: Seas of Delicacies”

1:30 p.m. Saturday

“Spain … On the Road Again: Rockstar Surprise in Catalunya”

6 p.m. Sunday

Spain Cookbooks

“Spain: A Culinary Road Trip,” by Mario Batali with Gwyneth Paltrow. Recipes and postcards from the TV series.

“Made in Spain: Spanish Dishes for the American Kitchen,” by Jose Andres with Richard Wolffe. Recipes and helpful tips from the series.

“A Day at elBulli,” by Ferran Adriu. 528 pages dedicated to photos of one day at the “best restaurant in the world.”

“Cooking from the Heart of Spain: Food of La Mancha,” by Janet Mendel. In in-depth look at the Moorish and Sephardic roots of Manchegan food.

“The New Spanish Table: 300 recipes of spain in all its glory,” by Anya von Bremzen. Tapas bars of Madrid to Mediterranean paella shacks.

“Spain and the World Table,” by the Culinary Institute of America. From the 2006 conference on Spanish cuisine.

“The Basque Table: Passionate Home Cooking from Spain’s Most Celebrated Cuisine,” by Teresa Barrenechea. Foods from the Pyrenees.

“1080 Recipes,” by Simone and Ines Ortega. Spain’s “Joy of Cooking.”