Five EASY Spanish Tapas recipes!! All your favourites from the tapas bar – garlic mushrooms, marinated olives, Chorizo, Spanish Garlic Prawns/Shrimp, Spanish Marinated Olives and the famous Spanish Omelette (Tortilla).
This is the first of a 3 part Spanish Feast Special series that I’m sharing this week – complete with Spanish Wine pairings!
Hola! Who loves Spanish Food?? Me, me, me!!
Spanish food is made for gatherings. Tables laden with rustic food for sharing – no fussy giant white plates with a tiny portion of fancy food with names I can’t pronounce, garnished with tiny herbs and assembled using tweezers.
Spanish food is the polar opposite. Flamboyant, colourful, celebratory, generous, loud – and absolutely lip-smackingly delicious. Totally my kind of food.
And in the spirit of Spanish extravagance, this week I’m sharing something a bit special – a three part SPANISH FEAST MENU!!! 5 EASY Spanish Tapas recipes to start, a Chicken & Seafood Paella for the main and Churros for dessert. Woah! What a spread!
But wait….there’s MORE! What Spanish Fiesta would be complete without WINE??? So for each course, I have a wine pairing suggestion. 🙂 And to start? I’m grabbing this one for tapas – a Spanish Tempranillo from Rioja, Spain’s most famous wine region. 🙂
I love the name of this wine – La Mesa Y Los Amigos which means “The table and the friends”. Perfect for tapas, no? 😉
Besides the name being perfect, it’s a really great pairing with tapas! I wanted something pretty neutral – medium bodied and smooth so it didn’t overpower the kaleidoscope of flavours in my Easy Tapas menu. This Tempranillo is a dry red with a subtle warmth of spices and it is exceptional drinking for the price which I never would have guessed as being only $12 a bottle at Dan Murphy’s (I kid you not, I was shocked). I love finding gems like this – and I love sharing these finds with you!!
A note for wine nerds: Tempranillo is a Spanish black grape variety that is native to Spain, used to make medium to full bodied wines. It’s grown fairly widely around the world now, including in Australia and the States.
EASY SPANISH TAPAS RECIPES
I think that tapas, paella and churros are probably the most well known Spanish dishes in the world and I’m pretty darn excited to be sharing those with you this week! To kick things off, five easy Spanish Tapas recipes. I’ve added notes in the recipe for how to prepare these ahead so you don’t have to be scurrying around in the kitchen when your friends arrive. 🙂
Here’s a little run down of each of the recipes in this Tapas spread.
Garlic Prawns/Shrimp and Chorizo – The two dishes that I always order at tapas bars!
Garlic Mushrooms and Spanish Marinated Olives – Possibly my favourite way with mushrooms! The olives are just plain store bought olives that are dressed with herbs and citrus. Yum!
Spanish Omelette (Tortilla) – Arguably one of the most delicious omelettes in the world and commonly served as tapas in Spain! Because this requires a few more steps than the other recipes in my Easy Tapas recipes spread, I’ve included it as a separate recipe – get it here.
Jamon, Spanish Manchego Cheese and White Anchovies – Jamon is the Spanish version of prosciutto and it’s now widely available in Australia, even in supermarkets! Manchego is a Spanish cheese that is made with sheep milk that is beautifully buttery with a mild tang – one of my personal favorites (and you know how much I love cheese!!). White anchovies are completely different to the black anchovies that come in a jar (used in things like Caesar Salad dressings) – they are way less salty and marinated in vinegar, not oil. Perfect for antipasto!
Tiempo a la fiesta!! (It’s time to feast!)
– Nagi xx
PS Don’t forget Paella and Churro to complete your feast!!
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5 Easy Tapas Recipes
Ingredients
Garlic Prawns / Shrimp
- 1/4 cup / 65 ml olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves – 3 smashed , 1 minced
- 250 g / 8 oz raw prawns , peeled
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Finely chopped parsley
- Optional: lemon
Garlic mushrooms
- 1/4 cup olive oil (65 ml)
- 4 garlic cloves – 3 smashed , 1 minced
- 300 g / 10 oz Swiss brown or other small mushrooms
- Finely chopped parsley
Chorizo
- 2 (~250g / 8oz) chorizos , sliced (Note 3)
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
Marinated Olives (Note 4)
- 250 g / 8 oz plump black and green olives
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp Lemon or orange zest
- 1/3 cup olive oil (85 ml)
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves (or 1/2 tsp dried oregano or 1 tsp fresh thyme)
Spanish Antipasto
- Jamon cured ham
- Manchego Spanish Cheese
- White Anchovies
Spanish Omelette
- Spanish Omelette recipe here
To Serve
- Bread , Olive oil, Lemon wedges
- La Mesa Y Los Amigos Tempranillo Spanish Wine (great with tapas!)
Instructions
Garlic Prawns (Note 1)
- Place the smashed garlic in a skillet with the oil over medium heat. Sauté for 10 minutes, squishing the garlic down to squeeze juice out as it cooks, until garlic is golden brown. Then remove and discard garlic.
- Sprinkle prawns with salt and pepper. Turn stove up to high. When oil is hot, add prawns and cook for 2 minutes (for medium prawns) or until charred and just cooked. Just before the end, add the minced garlic and quickly saute, then transfer prawns into serving bowl.
- Sprinkle with parsley and red pepper flakes if using.
Garlic Mushrooms (Note 1)
- Halve or quarter the mushrooms, depending on size.
- Follow Garlic Prawn steps, except cook mushrooms instead of prawns. Cook the mushrooms until they are golden.
Chorizo
- Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Cook Chorizo until golden on both sides, then transfer to serving bowl, scraping in oil in the skillet.
Marinated Olives (Note 4)
- Combine ingredients in an airtight jar. Refrigerate for 24 hours – no longer than 48 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Spanish Antipasto
- Bring cheese to room temperature. Place on platter with ham and anchovies.
To Serve
- Place serving bowls / platters on table with plenty of bread to dunk into the leftover olive oil. Serve with your favourite Spanish wine!
Recipe Notes:
Giveaway CLOSED! Winners announced shortly.
ANNOUNCING: Spanish Fiesta Giveaway WINNERS!
The winners of the Spanish Fiesta Giveaway are:
Australia: Ian from the Hunter Valley, Belinda from NSW/Vic and Brittany!
Rest of world: Caitlin from Canada, Louellen from Sunny California, Sandra in the US
CONGRATULATIONS!! Each winner will receive a Spanish Fiesta prize pack of Spanish Wine, Paella Pan and Paella rice. I will email you shortly to arrange delivery!
4 x AUSTRALIAN PRIZES (Total Value A$600): 4 x Spanish Fiesta Gift Packs, each comprised of 6 x Spanish red wines (, 1 x 32 cm Miguel Maestre paella pan + 3 x paella rice. Delivered right to your door!
2 x WORLDWIDE PRIZES (Total Value US$300): Gift from me! 2 x Spanish Fiesta Gift Packs, each comprised of 6 x Spanish wines, 1 x 12″ paella pan + 1 x paella rice! If delivery is unavailable by Amazon or delivery cost is unreasonable due to winner location, the winner will receive an Amazon or Paypal gift voucher to the value of the prize.
Open To: Everyone, everywhere in this big wide world!!
To Enter: Just leave a comment below, telling me which country you live in and what your favourite tapas dish is! (PS Don’t worry if you can’t see your comment straight away, some need to be approved before they are displayed 🙂 )
Open Until: Monday 5 September 2016, AEST
Giveaway Terms and Conditions – You must be over 18 to enter in Australia, or over 21 in the rest of the world. Six winners will be randomly selected by a representative of Pinnacle Drinks. The winners will be notified by email and on www.recipetineats.com. If the winner does not respond within 7 days, another winner will be selected. For winners located outside of Australia, if the prizes cannot be delivered by Amazon.com or due to winner location, delivery cost is excessive, then the winner will receive an Amazon or Paypal gift voucher to the value of the prize.
Disclosure – This post and the Australia giveaway wine prizes are sponsored by Pinnacle Drinks, the geniuses who discovered and are spreading the love of Spanish wines throughout Australia! Wine and Spanish food lovers of the world such as myself thank you. <3
The paella pan and Paella rice included in the Australian prizes are donated by Maestre Family Food.
The Worldwide Prizes are being provided by me, Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTin Eats.
.Life of Dozer
This is the day I bought Dozer. I took my sister with me under strict instructions to ensure that I did not buy a puppy, that I was just window shopping. We had 3 puppy viewings lined up for that day.
Suffice to say, I never made the other two puppy visits.
Hi Nagi – oh what fun! SO interesting to learn where we all live: I had no idea you had so many blogfriends in the States and Canada 🙂 ! Well, this is quite my favourite way to have friends over as the food is easy to prepare and makes the tastebuds tingle. Love Dan Murphy’s of course: some of the best specials seem to come on for the night owls . . . balances my pocketbook as some items like jamon have such big price tags. Oh, I live in the beautiful Southern Highlands in NSW, Australia and adore seafood: so chillii squid and chorizo salad is usually available!
Hi Nagi,
I live in Phoenix, AZ and have enjoyed trying out some of your recipes! I used to have a friend from Cadiz,
Spain so I’ve been lucky enough to get to try some Spanish Tapas. My favorite is the Spanish Omelette and love rosemary marcona almonds. I can’t wait to try your Garlic Prawns and mushroom recipe. Hope I’m lucky enough to win!!!
Hi Nagi,
I live in Ohio, US. I’m a transplant from Los Angeles, via Arizona, via Lake Tahoe, via Chicago. Love your blog. 🙂 I used to think my favorite Spanish dish was paella, and make this at home a lot, but I recently was on vacation in Miami and was treated to an amazing dinner at http://barcelonetarestaurant.com/. I can’t remember the name of the dish that was my favorite but it was a chef special of the evening that included lamb sausage and manchego cheese. So yummy. There we’re so many dishes we sampled including a tomato & watermelon salad, pimientos del piquillo, a brussel sprout dish, and croquetas de iberico. I also loved the grilled Octopus. It truly was a feast! Too many to not include. I’ve been looking at Spanish tapas recipes since we came home and was thrilled to see this blog post. Thanks for the chance to win!
Hi Nagi
Thanks for the giveaway. I love your recipes and have made many of them. I’m laying in my hospital bed in Brisbane Australia and I can tell you there is no tapas food here lol. My favourite tapas is anything with seafood. Seeing as my husband is alergic to seafood he gets me to make him anything with olives or mushrooms. He’ll love the new recipes.
You are my first and only food blogger. I really enjoy your varity of international flavors.
I’m from the U.S. But love trying new dishes.
The Spanish omelet was good and look forward to trying more.
Your only food blogger? 🙂 I’m honoured Suzanne, I really am! Thank you for reading and trying my recipes. And you’ve tried the omelette already?? Wow! 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi, I live in Redcliffe Qld Australia, my favourite dish is Paela and also love any Spanish Tapas as sharing food amongst family and friends is the best and only way to eat drink and enjoy , so happy you have put these recipes up as I will be making and sharing them Las Gracias 🙂 also love love the pic of Dozer and yes how could you not fall in love at first sight ❤️
Hi Kristine! Oooh, I do hope you enjoy the paella recipe I just shared…. 🙂 It is SO GOOD done on the barbie! That’s my favourite way to do Paella with a big group of friends. As for Dozer…..truth be told….whichever puppy I saw first, I would have taken home with me. I mean, seriously. Have you ever seen an ugly puppy??? 😉 N x
Hi, I’ve been reading and trying your recipes for a while now, and absolutly love them!!! So stoked when I found your website 🙂 I sure has made me want to do a foodie tour through Spain, France, Italy ok this list could go on for too long haha pretty much food everywhere!!!
Am from New Zealand and I’d have to say that patatas bravas, and fresh bread dipped in oil would have to be my favourites, along with a nice wine. Yay love that summer is on it’s way!!!
Cheers
Laura
I’m the US and I love fried calamari as a tapas dish 🙂
Where do i start Nagi it has to be anything with seafood especially prawns or squid.Then there has to be garlic and lemon,any croquetas especially if they have cheese in them.Living in the U.K. we don’t do tapas over here so i always check out yours to give me ideas.Thx Nagi xx 10 star but won’t let me post it
Living in rural Pennsylvania, USA, it is difficult to find any sort of decent international food, but I do manage to get to a major city and indulge once in a while. : ) Many of my favorite tapas involve seafood, so anything with clams, mussels, shrimp, or octopus I am game to try. Another favorite is morcilla, and you can’t go wrong with a nice bowl of marinated olives!
I love Spanish food. So much so that I held my 30th in a Spanish restaurant, and had my hens night in a Spanish restaurant. Spanish tapas always evoke happy memories of all the delicious Spanish meals I’ve shared with friends. Love the fact that where I am (Sydney, Australia) has so many great Spanish restaurants! But whilst I love tapas, I love a good paella the most. Yum yum yum!
NO WAY!!!! See, it’s a sign 🙂 I am looking forward to hearing what you think about my paella!!
Where do i start Nagi it has to be anything with seafood especially prawns or squid.Then there has to be garlic and lemon,any croquetas especially if they have cheese in them.Living in the U.K. we don’t do tapas over here so i always check out yours to give me ideas.Thx Nagi xx
100% YES to all of those! N x
USA. I love anything with chorizo. So good. Spanish omelette are amazing too
Hi Nagi,
Thank you for sharing all your wonderful recipes. I have made many of them and they all turned out delicious! My favorite tapas is garlic mushrooms. I’m from San Francisco,CA and thank you so much for the fabulous giveaway.
Sunny San Fran! I adored SF, every similar to Sydney actually! In terms of climate, people, even the neighbourhoods! N x
Hi from the coldest town in Queensland (It snowed here last year)!! I love garlic mushrooms or garlic prawns on the rare occassions I get to the city and get to eat out. I am yet to make them myself but looking at your recipes above I will definitely be giving them a go!
Hi Nagi,
I live in Australia (NSW Central Coast). It’s so hard to choose a favourite tapas dish. It’s like choosing your favourite child! Today I’ll say flash fried crispy squid is my favourite. Yum!
I’m going to make your tapas feast this weekend.
Rhian x
Nagi – thanks for posting this Spanish feast. This time last year, my husband and I were just about to start our trip to Europe which included France and Spain. I am from Brisbane (a former Seattle-ite) and my favourite tapas recipe is the Spanish Tortilla. Which I can’t wait to make your version of! Looking forward to the French recipes to come.
That’s quite a spread that I could demolish very easily, yummo diddlyoh. You got me with that photo of Dozer, I literally melted through my chair, now I have to clean up the mess!
Hi Nagi, I live in Apopka, FL USA. Every single recipe that you have shared with us never fails with me. So it is tuff to chose my favorite, the winner is the Spanish Marinated Olives. Thank you sharing your gift with us and making me a better cook. Pets are great they leave paw prints on our hearts. Enjoy.
My favorite Tapas recipe would have to be the Garlic mushroom and then next the Garlic shrimp.
I live in Sacramento, CA and love getting your recipes. Thanks so much for showing the measurement in both USA and Australian. I have made several of your dishes and love them all.
Kathi