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.
You’ll have to visit me here in Spain! I do a warm chorizo which I invented myself, and it is dead easy!
Gently fry the sliced chorizo until nearly ready. Then pour in one glass of red wine and let that cook down. Transfer to a small Tapas dish and serve lukewarm.
Good morning from sunny California. I live in the United States and my favorite tapas dish is garlic mushrooms. Can’t wait to make all of your tapas dishes for my husband and friends.
Hi Nagi,
I live in Sacramento, California. It is so hard to choose just one favorite tapas! I would have to say my one of my favorites is Potato and Chorizo Empanadas.
As I read this, I haven’t even had breakfast yet! Blame it on being a late riser in Western Canada!! These recipes look great and the marinated mushrooms and olive dishes really appeal to me as does the omelette. I’ve not heard of white anchovies and am not sure they are available here but am going to seek them out.
Thanks for all your great recipes Nagi.
Hi Nagi! Greetings from the USA–I love getting inspired to cook by drooling over all your lovely dishes! I agree with a previous comment that choosing one favorite tapas food isn’t possible! Although, I love grilled shrimp, so I’ll go with that. Thanks for all the inspiration!
Hi Nagi! I’m Rachel and I’m fairly new to your blog and am having fun browsing through all of the delicious recipes here. I’ve tried several already over these past two weeks. Getting ready to make your brownies today. My kids can’t wait!
I’m in the United States and I love all kinds of tapas (I really love paella!). I’ll be trying your garlic shrimp tapas recipe very soon. 😀
P.S. 5 star rating for sure! Somehow only four are showing up under my comment (should be five).
I live in the United States, favorite tapas dish would be Gambas, any style!
hi nagi! i live in the us and my favorite tapas is garlic shrimp and then dipping crusty bread in the garlicky goodness left in the bottom of the cooking vessel! yummmmmmmm 🙂
I just finished lunch and your post has made me ravenous. Now I was born in Italy but I live in the United States and I was a Spanish major in college. So I LOVE Spanish food and the ham looks so very tasty! Your marinated mushrooms look so very good and your omelet sounds divine but if I see shrimp on a plate I’ll grab those. Anyone who gets a prize is darn lucky but even those who don’t win a prize — we’re still winners cuz we get to be friends with you. Dozer is adorable. I wouldn’t have left without him either 🙂 Have a great day!!
Hi, Nagi, My favorite would have to be the mushrooms. Anything with garlic and mushrooms combined is wonderful! Your columns are just so much fun, but also have learned a lot from them. Keep up the good work.
garlicky shrimps hands down the best tapas dish ever. I live in Jordan
All of these look delicious!! I live in the US and would have to pick croquettes – I’ve tried chicken croquettes and mushroom croquettes – can’t pick which I love more!
These look great. Making the shrimp and chorizo pronto.
Your Mom’s blog is awesome. Japanese food is something I love but besides miso soup and some miso stir frys that my college Japanese roommates taught me, I haven’t done much. Her photos are so very elegant. Headed back over to obsess. 🙂
All your Tapas recipes sound wonderful! I live in US & my favorites are garlic mushrooms & garlic shrimp ( too hard to decide). I would love to win a paella pan. I’ve never made it but with the pan I’d love to try it. Thanks for the giveaway.
I live in Toronto, Canada.
Jamon Iberico would be my favourite. Too expensive to buy outside of Spain usually and really only tastes good in Spain 🙂 Also, Pa Amb Tomaquet. So simple yet so satisfying!
(I’m actually heading to Spain in October and was doing some trip planning and saw your post in my email. A sign from the universe me thinks!)
I’m in the U.S. and the chorizo is always my favorite too!
Hi Nagi, I love your recipes and thank you so much for all of the amazing dinner idea’s! I live in Brooklyn, New York and my favorite Tapas is by far the garlic shrimp!
All this Aussie needs is some marinated olives (orange peel non-negotiable) and a chunk of fresh bread to be happy 🙂
Hi, Nagi! I’m in Virginia (U.S.) and my favorite tapas are anything with cheese and cold meats. 🙂 I’m so glad stumbled across your blog a few months ago. Everything I’ve made has been fantastic!
Yum! Everything looks delicious and I want it all. My favorite tapas dish would have to be anything with cheese. Hot, cold, room temp, anything with cheese is perfect in my book! Greetings from the USA. I love your recipes and now subscribe to your mom’s page. I can’t wait for her recipes.