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!!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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.
Caitlin U says
Hi Nagi,
I live in London and I absolutely love your blog! I have just moved to the UK from my hometown in Melbourne and the first thing I did with my new work email was sign up again for your blog. My favourite spanish tapas is Pan Con Tomate – I do my own version using crisped out flat bread and lots of garlic and olive oil with the juiciest tomatoes I can find. I would absolutely love to win your giveaway 🙂 Thanks for organising it!
All the best,
Caitlin
Dorothy Dunton says
Hi Nagi! What a fabulous display of wonderful foods! It is hard to pick a favorite, but I’d have to choose paella because it has so many good things things in it! I have a “recycled” paella pan…a tapas restaurant we used to go to in MI was offering their well seasoned paella pans and their basic paella recipe for $25.00 and you know I couldn’t pass that up! Between you and Claire paella is going to be dinner soon!
Nornee says
I’m in the US, and I always order the garlic shrimp and patatas bravas! Thank you!
Sarah says
Firstly, can I say – what a beautiful post! The photos look just incredible especially the flatlays. All the food looks so inviting!
I live in Melbourne and my favourite tapas dish is the classic pan con tomate (good bread with grated tomato and olive oil). Yum!
PS your mom’s blog rocks! I literally sat down and read the whole thing today! 🙂
Dhanya Samuel says
I live in Melbourne as you already know and I love love love Spanish food. Just as you said, it is one of the best cuisines to feed a crowd. And while I do make and enjoy all the dishes you have mentioned, I have never tried out these wines. So weekend shopping at Dan Murphy’s for sure. Oh yes…even though it kills me to pick a favourite, I will go with the chorizo because Spaniards do it best.
Carsten Petersen says
I live in Denmark! I have many favorites, but marinated olives is a must have when getting tapas. When i travelled in spain, we often got a small bowl of olives before the main meals at restaurants, as an appetizer. So delicious
Caitlin says
I live in Canada and I love marinated olives!
Elizabeth says
Hi Nagi, I live in Indonesia, and my favorite tapas dish is probably seafood paella!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
You will NOT believe what I posted yesterday!!!! Seriously, we are getting scary!
I love white anchovies. We have a daily farmers market about an hour south of us and they have the best marinated anchovies. I could eat the whole pot by myself!!!!
Gambas al ajillo and gambas pil pil are my favourite tapas! I always always order those!
My in-laws arrived from Spain today so this is even more perfect!!! Although I guess they might be after non-spanish food! 😉
Still I am looking forward to your churros recipe!!!! YUM!
Michele says
Hi Nagi,
My favorite tapas foods are the Spanish Omlette and marinated olives. I live in the US but spent several yeas in Australia (Perth and Sydney). Reading your blog brings back a lot of good memories.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Nagi says
The Spanish omelette is SO GOOD!!! I swear it must be one of the best omelettes in the world! 🙂
Sj Dc says
I live in India and just 1 tapas dish!!!! There’s a reason they’re so tiny! Though i love anything they do with eggs and cod, I love a grilled octopus I sampled in Barcelona that was beyond delish!
Tammy Gonzales says
Oh yes I forgot about grilled octopus – wonderful!!
Nagi says
Oooh! Grilling is my FAVE way with Octopus! 🙂
Carol Veron says
Hi Nagi,
My favourite tapas food would be fried green olives and croquettes with finely chopped chirozo (too hard to pick just one dish).
I live in Sydney and your regular food updates have saved me on so many occasions for what to feed the family.
The biggest winner has been your beef steak marinade – I have made it every Sunday lunch for the last three weeks and everyone is impressed.
Thanks so much, Carol
Nagi says
Croquettes…..I dream of croquettes. Never met one I didn’t love. Japanese ones are INCREDIBLE!!!