Tapas

Fonseca ● Go ● Simbulan ● Villegas ● Mejia

[ TAH-pahs ]

● Appetizers that usually accompany SHERRY or COCKTAILS

● Form an entire meal and can range from simple items such as olives or cubes of ham and cheese;

cold omelets, snails in a spicy sauce, stuffed peppers and miniature sandwiches

What are tapas?● Tapa = to cover

● A slice of cheese or ham placed over a drink to keep flies out, to hide the smell of bad wine, and to prevent the wind from blowing any dirt that might spoil the wine

● The “cover” does not only protect your drink but also helps to slow down your drinking

● Designed for people to be able to pick the items off one by one, so are therefore small and easily edible.

● A variety of small savory Spanish dishes, often served as a snack with drinks

● “Tapear” – to go from bar to bar for tapas and drinks

● Commonly eaten standing up at small tables or even upturned barrels

● Eaten ahead of the meal while having a drink with friends

● Tapas bar = Tasca“Anything can be tapas as long as it is small and

served with your drink.”

Tapas either are of…● Cosas de picar (“things to nibble”) – finger food

● Cheeses, ham and sausage, omelette, bunuelos (fritters) montaditos , empanadas, bocadillos and boquerones

● Pinchos are tapas eaten with a utensil (like banderillas, decorated toothpicks that get their name because they look like the darts used in a bullfight)

● Cazuelas (little dishes) – comes with sauce and cooked in earthenware cooking plates● Albóndigas (meatballs) or shrimp fried with garlic

King Alfonso X“The Wise”

● 13th C. – reigned over Castille● Became ill and had to regularly

sip some wine with small appetizers

● Once he recovered from illness, he decreed that no wine was to be served in any of the taverns in Castille UNLESS the wine was served with something to eat

AceitunasOlives with a filling of either bell pepper or anchovies

BacalaoVery thinly sliced salted cod, which is usuallyserved with bread and tomatoes

Chorizo al vino blancoSlowly cooked sausage in white wine

Mejillones Rejillenos

Spicy stuffed clams

Calamares a la romana

Queso co achoasCured Manchego with anchovies on top

Modern Evolution

● Introduction of new ingredients and cooking techniques brought upon by globalization

● Tapas served worldwide would often reflect their country’s produce

● Evolved through the reinvention of traditional dishes using new methods of cooking● Molecular gastronomy

"Traditional cuisine that does not evolve will disappear. Traditional Spanish cooking is in

constant evolution and it is in its best moment. Without traditional cuisine, we would not have the

distinctive modern cuisine that we see in Spain today.“

~ José Andrés

Cantabrian anchoa with a dollop of smoked tomato sorbet and sardines

Regional Differences

● Catalonia – rich, heavy relies heavily on pork and also provide the specialty of small, sautéed land snails, eaten fresh from the shell

● Basque Country – tooth-pick pierced pintxos on pieces of bread with a different size of toothpick, determining its price:● Simple short stick – lowest

cost tapa (a slice of cheap ham or Spanish tortilla)

● Plastic sword or long, elegant stick – higher end sample (a cut of steak cooked in whiskey)

● Drink is often served with only a small amount of beer or Txacoli

● Andalusia – lightly fried seafood, hosts tapas influenced by Morocco (heavy, chickpea stew served in small, dark brown pottery bowl)

● Madrid – land of roasts, produces Manchego● a slice of Spanish tortilla with

a dollop of garlic mayonnaise or a stuffed bell pepper, cooked with a thick tomato sauce

Sources

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/spain/tapas.htmhttp://spanishfood.about.com/od/discoverspanishfood/a/SpanCuisineGenl.htm

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/food/foodie/2008/September/Tapas.html

http://worldvillage.com/tapas-small-plates-an-interesting-historyhttp://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/tapas-101/http://lasbuenasmigas.blogspot.com/http://www.gastronomiaycia.com/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/encyclopedia/definition/tapas/2433/http://www.melhotornot.com/movida-aqui-level-1-500-bourke-st-melbourne/