Small Bites of Tastiness aka Tapas
For those of you who have dined on Spanish cuisine, you’ve probably experienced a meal completely made up of tapas. The word “tapas” is derived from the Spanish verb tapar, “to cover” and refers to a variety of appetizer portions of food that could be cold, as in olives and cheese, or warm, like chorizo sausage or empanadas.
When it comes to the origin of tapas, there are several stories about how they came to be. A couple are based on folklore regarding King Alfonso X. In one instance, it is told that King Alfonso X, made sure that Castilian taverns serve wine accompanied by something to eat, so that the wine would not go straight to the clients’ heads.
Another story claims that while on a long trip, King Alfonso had stopped to rest in the town of Ventorillo del Chato in the province of Cádiz, and he ordered a glass of jerez or sherry. There was a gusty wind, so the inn keeper served him his glass of sherry covered by a slice of ham to prevent the sherry from getting dirty. King Alfonso apparently liked it, and when he asked for a second glass, he requested another tapa or “cover” just like the first.
The Joy of Cooking cookbook; however, cites that originally tapas were slices of bread or meat which sherry drinkers in Andulasian taverns used to cover their glasses between sips to prevent fruit flies from hovering around their drink. As for the meat, it was usually ham or chorizo. Since both these meats were salty, their customers would actually be more thirsty and thus, order more sherry. Eventually, bartenders and restaurant owners began creating a variety of snacks to serve with the sherry, which naturally increased their alcohol sales.
The evolution of tapas over Spain’s history came about due to the incorporation of ingredients and influences from other cultures and countries. Since the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Romans, olives and irrigations methods were introduced. The North African Moors invasion brought in almonds, citrus fruits and fragrant spices. With the New World, came tomatoes, sweet and chili peppers, maize, beans and potatoes. All these other global influences in turn influenced what you eat today when you eat tapas.
When it comes to the tapas experience in Spain, it’s usually more of a bar crawl with food. Since dinner is served between 9 pm and as late as 12 pm, Spaniards would use the time between work and dinner to go “bar hopping.” Most bars or local restaurants would have 8 to 12 different tapas in warming trays. The food would be strongly flavored with garlic, chilies, paprika and a variety of other spices and usually cooked with a lot of olive oil. One or more choices that would be available include a type of seafood like anchovies or sardines in olive oil or a tomato based sauce. Also on tap would be various olives, cheeses and bread.
In cities like Madrid and in parts of Andalucia, when you order a drink, the tapa is free. Other cities have entire zones dedicated to tapas bars, with each one serving their own unique dish. When in Northern Spain, tapas are called pinchos because they normally have a toothpick to keep it from falling off the slice of bread it’s attached to. The toothpicks are used to keep track of how many a customer has had as well as denote the cost of the tapa depending on various sizes the toothpicks come
In North America and the United Kingdom, as well as in select bars in Spain, tapas have evolved into an entire, and sometimes sophisticated, cuisine. In these countries, patrons of tapas restaurants can order many different tapas and combine them to make a full meal.
Check out your very own Tapas Glossary below:
Aceitunas: Olives
Albóndigas: Meatballs
Allioli: Means “Garlic and oil” in Catalan. The classic ingredients are only garlic, oil and salt, but the common form of it includes Mayonnaise and garlic. A very strong garlic paste. Served on bread or with potatoes, fish, meat or grilled vegetables.
Bacalao: Salted cod loin served very thinly usually served with bread and tomatoes
Boquerones: White anchovies served in vinegar (boquerones en vinagre) or deep fried.
Calamares or Rabas: Rings of battered squid.
Carne Mechada: Slow-cooked, tender beef.
Chopitos: Battered and fried tiny squid. Also known as puntillitas.
Cojonuda: A kind of “pincho”. It consists of a slice of Spanish morcilla with a fried quail egg over a slice of bread. It is very common in Burgos, because the most well known and widespread Spanish morcilla is from there. In can also be prepared with a little strip of red spicy pepper.
Cojonudo: A kind of “pincho”. It consists of a slice of Spanish chorizo with a fried quail egg over a slice of bread.
Chorizo al Vino: Chorizo sausage slowly cooked in wine.
Chorizo a la Sidra: Chorizo sausage slowly cooked in cider.
Croquetas: A common sight on bar counters and in homes across Spain, served as a tapa, light lunch, or a dinner along with a salad.
Empanadas or Empanadillas: Large or small turnovers filled with meats and vegetables.
Ensaladilla Rusa: This literally means (little)Russian salad and is made with mixed boiled vegetables with tuna, olives and mayonnaise.
Gambas: Prawns sauteed in salsa negra (peppercorn sauce), al ajillo (with garlic), or pil-pil (with chopped chili peppers).
Pimientos de Padrón: Small green peppers from Padrón (a municipality in the province of A Coruña in the region of Galicia) that are fried in olive oil. Most are very mild, but a few in each batch are quite spicy.
Pulpo: Pulpo means Octopus, and it is usually served in small chunks in the oil in which it was cooked. In its most basic form, salt is also added. Pulpo, as with many of Spain’s seafood dishes, comes predominantly from Galicia due to the region’s access to the rich resources of Atlantic Ocean.
Pulpo a la Gallega (Octopus the Galician way): This Galician dish, known both as Pulpo á galega (Octopus the Galician way) and Polbo á feira (Octopus the fair way) in Galicia, is served hot in the olive or vegetable oil in which it was cooked. The octopus pieces are seasoned with substantial amounts of paprika, giving it its recognisable red colour, and sea-salt for texture and flavour.
Pincho Moruno: A spicy kebab-like stick, made of pork or chicken. Its name means ‘Moorish Stick’.
Patatas Bravas: Fried potato dices (sometimes part-boiled and then fried, or simply boiled) served with salsa brava, a spicy tomato sauce. Alioli is often served with it too.
Papas Arrugadas / Papas con Mojo: Canary Islands – Very small new potatoes boiled in salt water similar to sea water, then drained, slightly roasted and served with Mojo sauce , a garlic, spanish paprika, red pepper, cumin seed, olive oil, wine vinegar, salt and bread “miga” (fresh bread crumbs without the crust) to thicken it.
Puntillitas: Battered and fried tiny squid. Also known as chopitos.
Queso con Anchoas: Castilla or Manchego cured cheese with anchovies on top.
Rajo: Pork seasoned with garlic and parsley. A variety with added paprika is called Zorza.
Solomillo a la Castellana: Fried pork scallops, served with an onion and/or Cabrales cheese sauce
Solomillo al Whisky, or al Güisqui: Fried pork scallops, marinated using whisky, brandy or white wine and olive oil.
Tortilla de Patatas, also known as Tortilla Española: A type of omelet containing fried chunks of potatoes and sometimes onion. A variety containing vegetables and chorizo (similar to frittata) is known as Tortilla paisana.
Tortillitas de Camarones: Battered-prawn fritters.
Stuffed Mussels (Tigres): In Navarre, these stuffed mussels are called tigres (“tigers”) because of their fieriness.
Zamburiñas: Most renowned from the region of Galicia, zamburiñas are Chlamys varia, a type of scallop, which are often served in a marinera, tomoato-based sauce.
Ready to do your own tapas dining? Here are some restaurants for you to experience it for yourself.
Bar Ferdinand
1030 N 2nd St
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 923-1313
Eclipse Di Luna
764 Miami Cir NE
Ste 138
Atlanta, GA 30324
(404) 846-0449
Oporto Café
3833 Richmond Ave
Houston, TX 77027
(713) 621-1114
Tango
1100 Pike St
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 583-0382
The Bazaar at the SLS Hotel
465 S La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 246-5567
