Tapas, Spanish appetisers, small casual snacks often eaten in bars, can also make an entire meal. Here are some of my favourite tapas recipes.
Garlic Squid Spaniards love meat or seafood cooked in oil and garlic: garlic prawns, garlic chicken and garlic squid. I use beautiful southern calamari for this simple tasty dish of calamares al ajillo as I love their delicate flesh, but you could use any squid, mussels, clams, even chunks of salmon, tuna or chicken; the […]
Albóndigas de Atún (Tuna ‘Meatballs’) Albóndigas, meatballs, are a classic part of the Spanish tapas repertoire and are also popular in Mexico where they’re served in soup. As a tapa they’re usually coated in a thick tomato sauce, I love to add a pinch of smoked paprika (sweet or spicy, depending on who I’m cooking […]
Pa amb Tomàquet Called pan con tomate in other parts of Spain, this classic Catalan snack is about as simple and delicious as you can get. There are many variations, but this is how it was taught to me many years ago by my Catalan flatmate, Susie. Susie told me that her family always made […]
Patatas Bravas Named for the ‘bold’ sauce that coats them, patatas bravas are deep-fried potato cubes in a spicy, tangy tomato sauce. They’re one of my favourite tapas dishes when done well – that means freshly fried, not done ahead of time, refrigerated and reheated as happens in too many Spanish restaurants! As the sauce […]
Portuguese Sardine Pate Sardines abound in Portuguese waters and are one of the country’s most popular fish, with each person consuming an average of 5kg per year. Lisbon’s annual sardine festival sees the streets filled with parties, parades and makeshift charcoal grilling stations cooking so many sardines that about 13 are eaten every second of […]
Pimientos de Padrón (Padron Peppers) Looking for something different to get your next gatherings off to a great start? The darling of many fancy restaurants, Pimientos de Padrón (or Padron peppers) are plump little Spanish chillies grown near Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and they’re the easiest things in the world to prepare (they’re the ones pictured […]
Lamb Cutlets with Romesco Sauce Romesco is a Spanish sauce from the region of Catalonia, where a variation called salvitxada is served as a dip for calçots, local spring onions traditionally charred over open fires; thick green onions or baby leeks make a good alternative. Since we’re talking Spain, Sherry is the perfect accompaniment, especially […]
Tomato Gazpacho Gazpacho is an ancient Spanish bread soup, possibly dating back to Roman times, which was readily adapted to include the New World tomato in the 18th century. It makes a delicious, appetite-stimulating start to a summer meal and is great in shot glasses for cocktail parties – perfect with an ice-cold Manzanilla Sherry […]
