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.
Hi Nagi. I’m now living in Melbourne after 10 years in Dublin. You can’t beat Croquetas de Jamón from a tapas bar in Barcelona. Love your blog
Ni Nagi,
I live in Australia, and It’s convenient that the prize pack revolves around paella, because I absolutely love it! My favourite is chicken paella with a lot of fresh tomato.
Hello, I’m in Washington state in the US. I can’t pass up the chorizo! This all looks wonderful!
My favourite alternates between the garlic prawns and the chorizo (depending on what is in my mouth at the time!)
Please keep the fantastic recipes coming ?
I definitely plan to Kelly!!! 🙂 N x
I just joined up for emails and have made many a fan of your baked ziti recipe!! have made it 3x for the fam, once for a monthly gathering my mom has with her friends and am making it again for a rehearsal dinner party for my niece’s wedding on Friday. yay for a great recipe. Can’t wait to make the tapas when we get home. Love from Washington state, USA!
Oooh that Baked Ziti is wicked! 🙂 So glad you enjoy it as much as I do!!! 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi, I live in Nambucca Heads NSW. While it is very hard to go past garlic prawns, I am fascinated by the taste and texture of salt cod – it’s delish. Love your site, thanks for the inspiration. Sharon
Oooh! Good ol’e Nambucca Heads! 🙂 I really enjoy salt cod too, pity it is hard to find! 🙂
I live in Australia – Garlic Mushrooms would be my favourite as it has 2 of my most favourite ingredients – Garlic and Mushrooms, although garlic prawns and Spanish omelette are all good as well. Definitely going to try your Spanish omelette recipe
Hey Nagi, Ian from the Hunter Valley NSW here.
My favourite tapas is anything with prawn and chorizo – As far as Spanish cuisine goes, you just cant beat these flavours!
I live in Oregon! What a wonderful giveaway and site you have by the way 🙂 I’m a sucker for anything with cheese, so I love the idea of cheese and olives (on a stick is fun :))
I live in the United states. My favorite Tapas dish is spicy pork empanadas with red sauce.
I live in the United States and I love marinated olives!!
Hi Nagi,
I live on Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada…..What perfect timing! I’ve just been invited out to a girls night of wine and appy’s! My favorite? hmmm if I have to choose just one it would be garlic prawns but I’ll be trying them all on Thursday 🙂
Love, love, love your recipes, found you on Pinterest about 6 months back and have not had to look anywhere else for delicious quick and easy dinner idea’s. As a working full time and mother of two, your 15 minute meals are fabulous! Even the kids say, mmmm this is good mom, is this one of Nagi’s 🙂 You’re easy version of Thai Spice I am Prawn Pad Thai is our favorite, actually it’s on the menu for tonight!
I’ve never had any of these but they sound so good I can’t wait to try your recipes, especially the garlic prawns and garlic mushrooms. The Spanish omelet also sounds divine. I live in California, USA
Hi again Nagi,
It’s really tough to choose which dish is my favourite but, at a push, it would be the Prawns/Shrimp. I’m a serious protein lover. BTW, I live in Canada and thoroughly enjoy every recipe you’ve shared. Reading the recipes and drooling over the gorgeous photos is almost as fabulous as eating the end results. Thanks so much for sharing your culinary gift.
Hi Nagi! I love Tapas… anything bite-sized is right up my alley. I’m from the good ol’ USA, but my favorite tapas is very simple… Cancha. It is maize chulpe that is heated and “popped” like popcorn, but it doesn’t get all white and puffy. It’s kind of like those kernels at the bottom of the bag that pop, but not really. They are crunchy and salty and delicious!
!Manos plano, los camarones! Pero, tengo que decir, se mira bien el tortilla, y pienso talvez lo se va mi favorito nueva.
Soy de los Estados Unidos, y vivo in Virginia. Como cada vez- La comida mira como si se puede comer lo de la pagina!
I am crossing my fingers Nagi! I definately want to do this as a whole for my in-laws some day!
Hello Nagi.
I live in Brazil and just love a plate of jamon, cheese and olives!
Hi from CA in USA Always luv the prawns and chorizo—go tasty and traditional I always say LOL
Hello from the U.S.! My go-to tapa is patatas bravas, for sure!
It’s high on the top of my list too! 🙂
Hola from Spain! 🙂 I looove marinated olives and I think they are the best! However one of the most interesting tapas I have tried so far was burrata tapas in Madrid’s tapas heaven – Mercado de San Miguel! Burrata cheese on a slice of bread topped with anything really (salmon, arugula, jam, nuts,…) Yummy!