- The main idea is serving a series of shareable small colorful plates. Don't divide your meal into starters, entrees and sides. Here, any dish can be the star of the show.
- Tapas are appropriate for any time of day or night.
- They are designed to be eaten while standing up. You hold a tapa with one hand and your drink with the other (beer, wine, cider or sangria are our favorites).
- Most of them are finger food.
- You don't have to worry about food getting cold, tapas are served at room temperature.
The list of tapas you can make is endless but here's a roundup of my favorites:
- Steamed mussels with diced tomato, green pepper and onion on top.
- Olives with different dressings.
- Spanish omelette (recipe).
- Cheese platter (must include at least one wedge of Manchego cheese).
- Fried morcilla (black pudding) served with foie-gras and bread sticks.
- Croquetas (croquettes). They are usually made with ham but the ones in the photo above were made with cecina which is cured meat that may remind you of beef jerky.
- Fish meatballs.
- Bread slices with a slice of ham and a fried quail egg on top.
Another favorite of mine is this tapa riojana I posted last February. I recommend you to read the article because I also explain where the word tapa comes from.
I've already numbered the drinks we usually order. However, I didn't mention the star of the summer gazpacho (recipe). On this particular occasion I opted for a sangria pitcher. Make your own sangria following the recipe below.
What was your favorite dish? Would you like to host a tapas party?
xo Cristina
