sourceIt'll be no surprise to you (especially if you've seen my foodie posts before) that I'm quite fond of a burger, or two, or anything with cheese involved too... me gusta mucho el queso! So today let's talk about tapas; something I'm fairly new to; but certainly something I'm keen to have more often. Even better if there's a glass of wine involved, right?Spanish Tapas, is the idea of having 3-5 smaller dishes rather than one big meal. Every time I've been to a tapas restaurant (not that I've been to that many...yet) I've left feeling full having enjoyed a variety of flavours. Being able to mix and match your dishes gives you so many options but if you're new to tapas, the menu can be overwhelming.
Here's what I'd recommend for your first tapas meal; patatas bravas - fried potato squares in a spicy tomato sauce are a safe bet, olives, chorizo, paella - there'll typically be a few to pick from, or the chef's special, then perhaps some chicken or prawns too. Jamón croquettes are wonderful breadcrumb coated parcels filled with ham and cheese, I'd highly recommend them too, if you're maybe not a fan of prawns or olives and want an extra dish.
Spanish food doesn't just have to mean tapas, there's plenty of recipes you can experiment with; Spanish Chicken, for example, paella, risottos with some chorizo and manchego cheese and a whole range of seafood dishes. Even just incorporating some iberico ham or chorizo into a dish can give it a Spanish taste if you're not ready to jump into a plate of prawns! Alpharooms have a great range of recipes to try out if you're looking for some Mediterranean flavours or of course, you could leave the cooking to someone else and go out for a Spanish meal!
