Our 21 Best Tapas Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What does tapas mean in Spanish? ›

Tapas has two meanings in Spanish. As a verb, tapas means “to cover”, revealing its origins as a way for guests to cover their drinks with pieces of food. As a noun, it references small plates of food.

Focus on creating five to six tapas dishes that are easy and quick to fix and can be prepared ahead of time. For example, three cold tapas and two warm tapas. Plan 6 to 8 bites per guest if you are hosting a co*cktail party (1-1/2 hour party) or 12 to 15 bites per guest for a tapas dinner party (3 hour party).

Portion sizes will vary by restaurant, but typically, ordering 2 to 3 tapas per person gets the job done. So a party of 4 would order 8 to 12 tapas between them. Don't be afraid to ask your server if you haven't ordered enough food, and remember, your friends are there to help if you've ordered too much.

Traditional tapas include mixed olives, garlicky shrimp, fried baby squid, meatballs, and chorizo. Whether you're craving briny seafood or crispy potatoes, these are our best tapas recipes.

Although the aperitivos can be the same little amount of food that a tapa is, tapas are served radically differently. The appetizer commonly comes just before the first course. Tapas, on the other hand, are served constantly in bars all over the country to accompany drinks and long conversations.

Traditionally they are small savoury dishes, snacks or appetisers of Spanish cuisine. It might be breads and meat, or a selection of dishes from ham, stuffed mussels, fried squid, to olives, sautéed mushroom and other vegetables. Essentially, Tapas is a small plate or serving, and it's a great way to try something new.

Tapas are small plates, snacks, or appetizers that are typically served with an alcoholic beverage. They originated in Spain, where they're served at bars and cafés, but now you can find tapas at restaurants around the world — including cities across the United States.

Tapas served as snacks to keep hunger at bay before the main meal. Their popularity has grown, and tapas are now often eaten as the main meal. They can be thought of as samplers, or you can make a complete meal by combining two or more tapas to enjoy a variety of flavors.

A large part of the tapas tradition is about sharing platefuls with your friends. Apart from being very sociable, it is a great way of trying lots of different dishes and flavours. People generally eat direct from the shared plate. 6) Don't order everything at once.

How many tapas should you order for 2 people? ›

However, you can trust us that 2 to 3 tapas per person are really enough! In case you still want to have the feeling to have your own place ... you take a bit of each tapas on your plate and put together your very own dish.

There are no rules for what tapas can be; they are sometimes meant to be shared and eaten with toothpicks, but they can also be small individual dishes with their own cutlery, and other times its perfectly acceptable to eat tapas with your hands. They will also take different forms depending on where you are in Spain.

7 Order Your Drink Before Your Tapas

If you have grabbed a table and don't want to move bars any time soon, you could order a bottle of wine – but the Spanish rarely do this. In general, the Spanish would order a glass of draught beer or a glass of white, red or rose wine.

In fact most tapas' sessions can start with a chilled dry sherry, then move onto a Rosado/Rosé or a Spanish white wine like an Albariño, or a crisp dry Riesling, or even a Chablis, with seafood tapas and then move onto a red Rioja Crianza or light Syrah, or a Rhône-Valley red blend with meat or mushroom-based dishes.

Tortilla de Patatas might be the most common tapa out there. It's also known as a Spanish Omelette however it really has no relation to the classic French dish. Tortilla is a perfect mix of softened potato slices mixed with egg that are fried into a cake like shape.

Tapas: In addition to the options under pincho, above, most traditional spots will offer an array of croquettes (savory fried fritters), empanadas (fried stuffed pastries), pulgas (bite-size sandwiches with meat or cheese), and encurtidos (pickled items that include a wide array of olives), plus lots of specialties of ...

Some of the most well-known are Manchego (typical of Castilla – La Mancha), Idiazábal (Basque Country), Roncal (Navarre), Mahón (Balearic Islands) and Majorero (Canary Islands).

Patatas Bravas

How could anyone go wrong with cubed potatoes fried to perfection served with a spicy tomato-based sauce (known as salsa brava)? This dish is a quintessential tapa beloved throughout Spain, served in most bars and restaurants, and is a must-try.