Tapas - Top Ten Tips to the Perfect Tapas
10 Tips to the Perfect Tapas
I don’t know about you, but the thought of going away and hiding out somewhere that has great pool side service seems like a long way off right now.
Yes, I know that the world is opening up again, but my choice is to do the world, my family and the lovely Mr G a favour, and stay
When the kids where small, we spent year after year in the hot sun of Spain, days spent around the swimming pool, nights staying up late dancing to the macarena again, and again , and again. I think the Lady in Red by Chris De Burgh too.
If I want to have a taste of Spain, tapas is what the lovely Mr G and I break out.
Most people have an idea of what Tapas is all about, but just in case, Tapas refers to a collection of Spanish Cuisine themed snacks.
There are few Tapas restaurants around the UK, but I don’t think they have really taken off as a go to destination for a Friday night get together, and that’s seems a shame to me.
I have always thought that the ‘small bite’ eating culture in restaurants was based on the social culture of tapas.
I don’t know about you, you, but if I’ve got the choice, I’ll always order a small bite tasting menu and if that’s not possible, you’ll probably find me surrounded by several appetisers rather than one main dish.
Here are a few top tips i use when I’m wishing for sunshine and sangria.
1) Plan it
Having a Tapas evening, is not really something that can be put together without at least the minimum of planning.
Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s an easy thing to gather together, but it does need to be thought about.
With a little bit of forward planning, it means I get to spend less time in the kitchen and more time outside sipping something cold and joining in with the fun.
The main focus is the food, but planning to make the atmosphere equally as fun is important.
Think about some music that fits in well,, or of not well, maybe go for the corny fun beats. The more fun the better.
Tablecloths, serviettes and plates are ann easy way to get that Spanish vibe, go for colour, lots and lots of colour and think outside the box too. Don’t spend money on new napkins, I’ve been known to find a red sheet at the charity shop and use it as a tablecloth, so keep your money for other things.
2) Make it look Spanish – Presentation
If I’m going to have a Spanish themed party, I want it to have as much of a Spanish look to it or at least drag out some of my more colourful plates and dishes to use in the hope that i can get that Spanish feel.
Using small bowls of varying sizes look so pretty when they are strewn around the table in small groups.
Are you like me and love to rummage through every charity shop and car boot sale I come across?
Finding small colourful bowls, teacups and those rustic little clay pots that cheese can be melted in, are easy to spot in a lot of small shops, and don’t I know it and so does the lovely Mr G.
I think what the lovely Mr G said was ‘How many more pots do you need?’
So, I started collecting serving boards instead!
These are plates from Verano Spanish Ceramic
3) Get it on a board
Serving boards or food grade planks of wood look perfect covered with small mounds of Spanish sausage and cheeses.
A Tapas themed charcuterie makes an ideal centrepiece to a large table.
Check out the Ten Top Tips to the Perfect Charcuterie page for tons of ideas.
The boards look best when they are packed full of tasty bits. Fill any gaps with smoked almonds, all kinds of different olives, balls of fresh mozzarella and filled peppers.
It’s a great place to put all those tasty bits bought from speciality shops, and there are lots of inexpensive bits to be found in supermarkets too.
Get it on a board
4) Show off the drinks
It’s great to have a Spanish themed drink or two around when there are tapas dishes nearby and this gives me an excuse to get my large glass drink dispenser out of the cupboard.
When living in the States, glass drink dispensers with small taps at the bottom were at every event, indoors and out, that we were invited to.
When I arrived back in the UK, I couldn’t find one for love nor money, not any more.
These dispensers are easy to find now and can be picked up for just a few pounds.
Ikea usually have a selection which is where I got mine from.
A large dispenser like this filled with ice and a colourful drink sets the scene for a great tapas party.
No dispenser, then a few clear bottles of varying sizes are another way to show off and make an impression.
Fill them up, gather them together in metal buckets or bowls and surround the bottles with as much ice cubes as will fit.
Pouring drinks in jam jars is another fun way to serve and drink the fabulous infusion and an easy and cheap way to do it too.
It might mean eating a lot of toast and jam though, not necessarily a bad thing
5) Make a drink that everyone will like
It’s got to be sangria, right?
Sangria is such an incredibly easy cocktail to make and fits perfectly with the theme, it’s also tasty enough to keep it alcohol free so designated drivers won’t feel as though they’re missing out.
Try this recipe from Minimilast Baker
Sangria
Fruit (like apples and oranges)
Orange juice
A sweetener (like brown sugar or cane sugar)
A liquor (like brandy or rum)
Bold, fruity, dry Spanish red wine (like Tempranillo, Garnacha, or other Rioja wine)
Ice (for chilling)
Mix with lots of ice and serve with the cut fruit and cold.
(For alcohol free version, replace the wine with non-alcoholic substitute.)
Try this recipe from Minimilast Baker
For those who aren’t in to fruity cocktails, there are some great beers to have in ice buckets around the tables
Sol is one that the lovely Mr G loves to drink on a hot day and he swears it goes really well with the food too.
Don’t forget the lime.
Lime wedges pushed tightly into the open neck of each open bottle of beer really adds an extra fiesta flavour to the beer.
6) Simple is good
Tapas is about sharing, it’s about the small bite, the small appetiser, so having lots of small things so that everyone can dip into them are perfect and there’s no need to go hunting for unusual ingredients.
It’s really easy to get the vibe of tapas without having to spend the earth.
Spanish flavours are simple to find, and if you can’t find them in the supermarket, make them up.
Spicy and salty are two that are easy and olives are a fabulous way to cover both taste profiles.
I love olives!
I’m always the person who starts in first on the bowl of olives at restaurants, and I’m always hoping that I’ll get to the last one before anyone else too.
Have you tried frying the olives?
Well, if not, you have got to give it a try.
Trust me, a warm olive stuffed with cheese or garlic cloves, coated in spicy breadcrumbs is something which has the potential to change your life
This is how you do it!
Fried Olives
100g bread crumbs
Paprika
Stuffed olives
3 tbsp flour
1 egg beaten
Veg oil
Place the breadcrumbs and paprika onto a plate, the beaten egg on another and the flour on another.
Dip the stuffed olives into the flour, then the egg then into the paprika bread crumb mixture.
Make sure the olive is completely covered and place on to a different plate until the oil is heated up.
Heat the oil to 180c and once hot, put the coated olives into the hot oil for around 2 minutes until the coating is a golden brown.
Remove the olives with a slotted spoon and lay them onto some kitchen paper to drain and cool for a couple of minutes before eating.
7) Have enough and change it up
It’s more likely that guests go away from my house with doggy bags full of food than leave still hungry.
Even though Tapas is all about sharing, for Tapas, I usually calculate around 4 small plates per person for the savoury and 1 for the sweet element.
I don’t include a charcuterie board of meats or cheese in this count, only dishes I make from scratch.
Of course, this depends on how long people hang around, the longer they’re here, the more food I’ll need for them to munch on.
Add a few drinks to the mix, and it’s virtually guaranteed that I’ll need more.
Having a range of different types of dishes so no one gets board is the way to go.
Here’s one of my menus as an example:
Tapas Menu
Patatas Bravas
Croquettes
Tortilla
Spanish Meatballs
Garlic Prawns
Deep Fried Olives
Spicy Chickpeas
Pudding
Churros with Hot with Chocolate Sauce
Try this simple recipe for Spicy Chickpeas
Spicy Chickpeas
1 Tin of chickpeas – drained and rinsed twice with cold water
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon pf Maldon Salt
Place the rinsed chickpeas in a bowl
Add all the rest of the ingredients and mix together until the chickpeas are completely coated
Line an oven tray with non-stick baking parchment
Bake in 180c oven for 25- 30 minutes until crispy.
Spicy and crispy
8) Double dipping
No one likes other peoples mouth juice in their food, and when food is being shared with others around, that happening is more likely than not.
Toothpicks, lot and lots of toothpicks are my answer to this problem.
I’ve tried the reusable route, small forks next to each dish, but this only meant that people used multiple utensils so that they didn’t dip the fork back into the food.
I spent a lot of my time by the sink washing and drying them so I could keep up with the demand.
I always use the wooden toothpicks, much better for the landfill and less likely that guests will double dip, or double spear the food.
9) Don’t forget the sweet
I always want something sweet after savoury and having Tapas is no exception, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.
Fresh fruit might be the way you want to go, but if not, churros are a perfect thing to finish off with.
Churros, the Spanish equivalent of doughnuts are the first thing that springs to mind when I’m thinking of a dessert to finish off spicy titbits.
These sugar-coated warm doughs are to be found in every Spanish market I’ve ever been to and to be honest, I usually head straight to get a few when I arrive at the market and for the walk back to the hotel.
This recipe from The Spruce Eats works really well and you can see from the picture I’ve taken from their website that they look amazing too.
I always make more batter that I need, because once my guests take their first bite of the warm sweet dough, one batch never is enough.
10) And the rest
Any event is about having fun and putting on a Tapas event is no exception, so don’t make it too complicated.
It’s all about having fun with friends not being stuff in the kitchen cooking or plating up.
Be flexible. Keeping to the spirit of the Tapas idea is more important than making a ton of authentic Spanish food. If there’s enough small pates of tasty stuff around, everyone’s going to be happy.
Borrow stuff. If you don’t have it, more likely than not one of your friends does. Make it a joint get together and share the cooking and get friends to bring dishes too.more the merrier.
