Easy Spanish Tapas Recipes

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!!

4.75 from 134 votes

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5 Easy Tapas Recipes

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

1 hr

 

Create your own tapas bar at home! These are easy to make and can be prepared in advance so you can be eating and drinking with your friends rather than scurrying around in the kitchen! Tapas dishes are typically served with generous amounts of olive oil - fantastic for mopping up the flavours with bread. But feel free to cut back on the oil if you prefer! I recommend marinating the olives for 24 hours to allow the flavours to infuse.

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Spanish

Servings: 6

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

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)

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.
2. 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.
3. Sprinkle with parsley and red pepper flakes if using.

Garlic Mushrooms (Note 1)

1. Halve or quarter the mushrooms, depending on size.
2. Follow Garlic Prawn steps, except cook mushrooms instead of prawns. Cook the mushrooms until they are golden.

Chorizo

1. 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)

1. Combine ingredients in an airtight jar. Refrigerate for 24 hours - no longer than 48 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Spanish Antipasto

1. Bring cheese to room temperature. Place on platter with ham and anchovies.

To Serve

1. 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

1. Garlic Prawns & Garlic Mushrooms - Making this with garlic infused oil is the safest way to cram in garlic flavour without getting burnt bits of garlic (bitter!). To smash garlic, I crush it with the side of my knife so it bursts open but mostly holds together.

2. Garlic Prawns, Mushrooms & Chorizo - To make ahead, make the garlic infused oil then set aside (for prawns & mushrooms). Then cook just before your guests arrive - this part is quick. Cover loosely with foil, transfer into heatproof dishes and keep warm in the oven at 80C/175F for up to 30 / 45 minutes. Because they are in so much oil, they stay lovely and juicy, just toss briefly before serving and garnish with parsley.

3. Chorizo - make sure you get RAW chorizo, not the chorizo that is already cured that can be eaten without cooking it (it's like salami).

4. Marinated Olives - Seed in olives are better than seedless. In Australia, we get better quality olives over the counter at delis, rather than in jars. I couldn't find good Spanish olives, so I opted for plump Kalamata and Sicilian green olives. Don't worry if they come pre marinated or in olive oil, just drain then use your own marinade. If the olives come in olive oil, I still prefer to use my own because the olive oil used in delis for olives usually isn't the most flavourful. But it's optional for you!

CAUTION: Do not consume olives (or anything) with raw garlic after 3 days because minced raw garlic goes off after 3 days (even in the fridge in oil).

5. In keeping with the Spanish Fiesta theme, I served this with La Mesa y Los Amigos which is a Tempranillo from Rioja in Spain!! It's a medium bodied dry red that is really smooth to drink, with a subtle hint of spice and I think it pairs beautifully when served with a wide variety of food like a Tapas spread! It's incredibly great value at just ~A$12 per bottle from Dan Murphy's but tastes like a $20 bottle. It's a gem of a find!

Giveaway CLOSED! Winners announced shortly.

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. 

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Suffice to say, I never made the other two puppy visits.

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