Tapas Recipes | How to Make These Spanish Inspirations

A SELECTION OF TASTY TAPAS RECIPES & IDEAS

Make your own tasty tapas, and you have a themed meal or pre-dinner snacks inspired by the Spanish.

Tapa has its origin in Spain. Today we use the term across the globe when we refer to small snacks or appetizers. And don’t we just love an easy and tasty tapas recipe that’s quick to prepare!? So Spain, here we come…

TAPAS WITH CHERRY TOMATOES

Ingredients

Small cherry tomatoes (alternatively, oysters for a bit of romance)
Dried basil OR dried rosemary
Puff pastry
Cooking oil spray

Method

Spray your baking tray.
Preheat the oven to 180 degree celsius.
Lightly dust a bit of flour on a flat surface. You don’t want the pastry to stick to the surface!
Spread the puff pastry on the flat surface, without rolling it. Keep the same thickness as in the packet.
Cut into small squares – just large enough to fit a half cherry tomato. Put the squares on your prepared baking tray.
Place one half tomato on each square.
Dust the squares with the dried basil. Some of us like more basil, …dust to your own taste!
Place in the middle of your oven and keep an eye on it because it will de done within about 10 to 12 minutes.

Another option is to add feta or cream cheese and top it with fresh basil.

PatatAs bravas and patatas alioli

Ingredients

Potatoes
Salt
Olive oil
Garlic
Spicy sauce

How to make patatas bravas and patatas alioli

Peel and cut the potatoes into bite sizes.
Boil in salt (to taste) water until it’s about 80% done.
Fry in hot oil, and when done, garnish with a spicy sauce.
Alternatively, fry it in an olive-garlic-infused oil for a more authentic taste.

Olives & bread

Ingredients

Olives stuffed with peppers or anchovies
Pickled olives
Freshly baked crunchy bread

Variations

Cut the bread into small oblong shapes. (Small enough for two bites per piece)
Roast them in the oven until it’s nice and crispy.
Dust with garlic-infused olive oil.
Garnish with cured ham, such as Iberian ham.

Albondigas (or albondiguillas)

Feature Tapas Recipe!

Another idea is to make a platter of tasty tapas from little meatballs (about 2.5 cm in diameter / 1 inch), using a combination of beef and pork meat. They’re usually fried and served in a tomato sauce. Combine it with fresh crusty bread and red wine, and you have perfected another bite or two of authentic Spanish cuisine.

Soak 1 cup fresh white bread, torn into small pieces in ¼ cup beef stock.

Sauté ½ chopped onion and 2 cloves of crushed garlic until softened (3-5 minutes) in ½ tbsp olive oil over medium heat.

Combine all the above with the rest of the ingredients. Make sure everything is evenly combined.

½ lb ground pork
½ lb ground beef
1 egg
2 tbsp grated Manchego cheese (or Parmesan)
1 tbsp parsley
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper

You’re all set to roll them into small sizes and fry them for 5 to 7 minutes. They will continue to cook a bit more in the sauce. So, don’t be too concerned if they’re not cooked through.

The sauce is a winner. You may very well end up using it in other meals too!

Heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté 1 minced onion until soft (3-5 minutes).
Add 2 cups crushed tomatoes, ¼ cup beef stock, ½ cup red wine (merlot or cabernet sauvignon), 1 tsp paprika, and ½ tsp salt.
Mix well and simmer for about 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the meatballs.
Simmer for 20 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked and the sauce is thick.

Tapas inspirations

Similar to the above recipes, tapas can be prepared in a jiffy with what you have in the fridge. Well, most of the time. All you need, is inspiration. And there’s plenty of that in our photo gallery.

Mussels tasty tapas TravelAndHome spanish cuisine — Steamed mussels can be served with lemon or with finely-chopped and dressed tomato, onion and pepper.

Chorizo sausage calamari and potatoes tasty tapas TravelAndHome — Chorizo sausage, calamari and potatoes.

serrano ham ham with melon tasty tapas TravelAndHome — Serrano ham with melon.

bacon croquettes ham Spanish cuisine TravelAndHome tasty tapas — Croquettes, garnished with bacon. Traditionally, ham croquettes. However, nowadays wild mushrooms, king crab, squid, prawns, cod or different types of strong cheeses, like Cabrales, are some of the variants you’ll find in Spanish restaurants.

mushrooms tasty tapas Spain TravelAndHome — Mushrooms.

Devils on horseback

Now, this is not a traditional tapas dish, but somehow it ends up on many a table. Thus our inclusion, just to clear the confusion around its origin.

How to make Devils on Horseback:

Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil.
Wrap bacon pieces around pitted prunes and secure them with toothpicks.
Bake until bacon is browned, about 15 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Serve warm.

Angels on horseback

It is believed that the Angels on Horseback originated long before the devils got on horseback!! Oysters used to be the food of commoners in France, many, many decades ago. The oysters were wrapped in bacon and grilled in the oven. Then, with time, oysters became expensive and of course, the commoners could not afford it like before. Then, the Brits came up with the idea to replace the oysters with pitted prunes.

I’ll leave it up to you to decide if this variation of its origin has some merit! Irrespective of the merit of the story, the Angels or the Devils on Horseback are not Spanish and do not really count as tapas in the authentic way.

Cherries and bacon wraps

And then, last but not least, there is another horseback-version. This time it is maraschino cherries wrapped in bacon and baked for about 15 to 20 minutes. Once done, you can serve them warm as is, or dip them into a sweet chilly sauce.