What a beautiful invention the days dedicated to food: now, June 16th, it’s Tapas Day, the time to celebrate tapas, emblem of that wonderful all-Spanish way of enjoying life, to linger at the table in company with something good to drink and lots of small portions to eat which are also a symbol of the rich Iberian gastronomic tradition.
For this theSpanish Tourist Board with the tourist-gastronomic association Saborea España they decided to celebrate them: they set the date as third Thursday of Junewhen summer is coming and tapear outdoors in company is even more enjoyable.
Read also:
Three master tapas recipes
Paella: all the recipes to try
Milan: the best places for an outdoor aperitif
The history of tapas
A deeply rooted ritual in the history of Spain: accompanying minutiae such as olives or salami with wine is aa custom that began in Andalusia centuries ago which then spread throughout the country. According to the Basque Culinary Center it is a legacy of the Greek and Roman culturesa tavern trick to make customers thirsty who, while eating, were tempted to drink more.
The recipes
Over time, tapas have transformed from “bait” to real recipes that can be found in every place in Spain practically at any time of the day (and not only, as in Italy, for an aperitif): for example the tortilla which remains among the most famous and which is not, as the Spaniards always want to point out, is not a simple omelette, or the Galician-style octopus. In addition to these, then, each region of Spain has developed its own: for example the Cantabrialand of fish preserves, offers several with its amazing anchoviesat Canary Islands they are very good at preparing papas arrugadasthat is, new potatoes cooked with a lot of salt and peel and accompanied by the sauce mojoand in Catalonia there is the pan tumacawhich is toasted bread with tomato to be enriched at will with PDO and PGI meats and cheeses of which Spain is very rich.
In this gallery you will find 10 tapas recipes that we have selected together with the Spanish Tourist Board: many great classics and a gourmet variation that also shows how tapas have evolved in flavors, shapes, for increasingly demanding palates, and to offer us ever new opportunities for tapear
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1/10Extremadura – Zorongollo
Ingredients: 3 large red peppers, 2 tomatoes, potatoes for the base, a couple of garlic cloves, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, salt.
Method: Brush the peppers, tomatoes and garlic heads with oil and roast them in the oven at a low temperature. Allow to cool and peel. Put the tomatoes and two cloves of garlic in the blender, add the olive oil and vinegar and work until you have a smooth puree. Add the salt to taste.
Cut the potatoes very thin and brown them with olive oil. Cover and continue cooking until tender. Arrange them on a plate and cover them with the red peppers, cut into strips, and the chopped spring onions. Season with the puree and vinegar. Let it rest.
Source: Book Extremadura four seasons, edited by Turismo de Extremadura -
Jesús Sanchez2/10Cantabria – Anchovies on a bed of tomatoes
Ingredients for 8 pinchos: 8 Cantábrico anchovies, 1 ripe tomato, 1 loaf of bread, extra virgin olive oil, salt.
Method: preheat the oven to 180ºC, cut 8 slices of bread of about 2cm, arrange the slices on the pan and spread the oil and toast for 5 minutes until golden. Grate the tomato in a container and season with oil and salt, arrange the slices on a serving dish with the tomato and anchovy on top -
3/10Galicia – Pulpo a feira
Ingredients for 4 people): 2 kg octopus, 100 g spicy paprika, 100 g coarse salt, oil.
Method: Wash the octopus in cold water and put it in a copper pot with water. When it starts to boil, you have to remove the octopus and dip it into the water 3 times. Let the octopus boil for about twenty minutes and then let it rest for 5 minutes. Next, cut it into small pieces with a pair of scissors. To serve, lay the pieces of octopus on wooden plates and season with the following ingredients, in the following order: salt, paprika and oil. \
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Lex Thoonen4/10Canary – Papas Arrugadas with Mojo
For the potatoes – Ingredients: 1 Kg. Of small potatoes, 2 handfuls (1/4 Kg) of salt, 1 piece of lemon, water.
Method: Wash the potatoes very well, without removing the skin and eliminating all the earth. Put the potatoes in a saucepan with the salt and a piece of lemon; cover them with water. Once cooked, remove the water and put them back on the heat, shaking them well until they dry (about two minutes). Remove from the heat and leave them covered with a cloth for a few minutes. Finally, serve them on a platter and pour the mojo over them.
For the mojo rojo or picón – Ingredients: 1 head of garlic, 2 hot peppers, 1 teaspoon of cumin grains, 1 teaspoon of paprika, 4 tablespoons of vinegar, 15 tablespoons of olive oil and coarse salt to taste.
Method: In a mortar, crush the peeled and minced garlic, the cumin, the peppers without the seeds and the coarse salt, until a smooth paste is formed. Slowly add the paprika and the oil and vinegar, resulting in a thick sauce that can be lightened to taste with a cup of water. It can be kept for months in the refrigerator. A lighter red mojo recipe can be made using sweet peppers instead of chillies.
Source: web oficial de Turismo de Gran Canaria -
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PaulaFelipe5/10Valencia – Esgarraet
Ingredients: 250 grams of roasted red pepper, 80 grams of dried cod crumbs, 2 cloves of garlic (more for the brave), 100 ml of olive oil.
Method: Roast the peppers in the oven (20 minutes at 180º), let them cool, peel them and turn them into longitudinal strips with your hands. Crumble the cod. Cut the garlic into very thin slices. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and add the oil. Let it rest. The more it macerates in the oil, the better, so it is recommended to prepare it the day before. Keep it covered in the refrigerator, but serve it hot.
Source: VisitValencia Blog -
6/10Basque Country – Pintxo Gilda
Ingredients: 10 anchovy fillets in salt, 30 pickled peppers, 10 olives, olive oil, skewer toothpicks.
Method: insert an olive, a folded anchovy fillet, pickled chilli pepper into the skewer toothpick. For those who wish, you can add a spring onion. Put in a bowl and add olive oil.
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7/10Tortilla de patatas
Ingredients: 4 medium sized potatoes, 4 or 5 eggs, 1 medium onion, ¼ l of olive oil, salt
Method: peel, wash and dry the potatoes. Cut them into thin slices and place them in a deep pan with olive oil at medium temperature to cook them slowly. Add the finely chopped onion. Slowly fry it with the potatoes until soft and starting to brown. It is best to mix with the skimmer and cut the ingredients with it. After about 10 minutes, drain the oil. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt in a bowl. Add the potatoes with the onion. Put everything back into the pan with a little drained oil. Leave to simmer with the lid on for about 5 or 10 minutes, until the bottom is golden brown. Turn the omelette on itself with the help of the lid and let it fall into the pan on the other side. Cook it until it hardens, slowly. It must be golden on both sides. \ -
vasanty – Shutterstock8/10Catalonia – Pa amb tomàquet
Ingredients: homemade bread (the Catalan one is PGI), ripe tomatoes, salt and oil.
Method: toast the bread, rub half a ripe tomato over each slice, then add salt and oil. Options to enrich it: in Catalonia there are those who also rub garlic on bread, put a sardine in brine or cold cuts and cheeses in it. Examples? Iberian ham, IGP salami from Vic and DOP cheeses from Alt Urgell and La Cerdany. -
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9/10Murcia – la marinera
Ingredients: 1 kg of potatoes, 4 eggs, 200 g of pickles (gherkins and carrots), 200 g of tuna in oil, 20 g of salt, 600 g “roscas” (to accompany, they are similar to taralli), anchovies in brine , mayonnaise to taste.
Method: cook the potatoes, let them cool and cut them into cubes. Cook the eggs, peel them and cut them into cubes. Put the chopped potatoes and eggs in a bowl together with the pickles, tuna, mayonnaise and salt. Mix everything and serve on a rosca, garnished with a pickled anchovy.
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10/10Castile and León – Corchifrito by Chef Emilio Martín Maquedano of the Suite22 restaurant – Valladolid
Ingredients: 1/2 kilo of suckling pig, an onion, a leek, a carrot, a clove of garlic, a sprig of rosemary, a small handful of thyme and lemongrass, sriracha sauce to taste, DO Cigales (Tempranillo) red wine, White wine DO Ribera del Duero (Albillo), White wine DO Rueda (Sauvignon Blanc) in equal parts and of the same weight as the pig, 1/2 kilo of potatoes.
Method: fry the chopped vegetables, add the pork in pieces, browning its parts over high heat, then set it aside with the vegetables. Deglaze with the wines, add the vegetables and pork back to the pot, then evaporate the alcohol and add the sriracha sauce to give the stew an umami and spicy touch. Cover with water and bring to a boil again. Cook the pork over low heat for about 2 hours. Once cooked, cook the potatoes and make a puree with a little butter, spread it into a very thin sheet and dehydrate it at 50º for 24 hours until you get a sheet. Crumble the pig and put it in cylindrical molds 5 cm high by 2 cm wide, let it cool in the refrigerator to be able to unmold it and keep its shape. Wrap the suckling pig in 5cm x 12cm potato sheets and fry.
CORCHIFRITO by Chef Emilio Martín Maquedano of the Suite22 restaurant – Valladolid
Tapa winner of the XVI Concurso Nacional de Pinchos y Tapas Ciudad de Valladolid 2020 and runner-up of the IV Campeonato Mundial de Tapas Ciudad de Valladolid 2021.\
Source: Vanity Fair
