TAPAS, PINTXOS and RACIONES
So delicious
Spanish tapas are a part of Spanish culture and lifestyle. Everywhere you go in Spain, you will find bars and restaurants serving tapas: Small delicious plates of hot or cold food. Tapas is essentially a style of eating and socializing rather than a form of cooking.
Nope! Stop looking; there are no tapas recipes!
To look for tapas recipes is useless: Anything in the world can be a tapa; From a few slices of ham to some spoons of stewed beans or even a tiny serving of paella.
But there are two kinds of tapas: The free little tapa that many bars serve free when you order a drink, and the tapa you order yourself. It is common to keep the variety of tapas visible in the bars, so you just can point at the one you would like to try. The tapa you order yourself is usually a little bigger than those you sometimes get for free when ordering a drink.
Tapas routes festivals in Marbella, San Pedro Alcantara and Estepona
For more than a decade, the tapas routes, Rutas de la Tapa in Marbella, San Pedro Alcántara and Estepona, are already some of the biggest events to promote local gastronomy. The dates vary from year to year and are not the same in all locations. The tapas route includes many local bars offering their best tapa and beverages at a fixed price during a weekend, inviting locals and tourists to visit and discover local businesses in the historical city centres of these popular destinations on Costa del Sol. The fun is trying a different tapa in different bars.
In Northern Spain tapas are pintxos
In the north of Spain, the traditional appetizers are called pintxo (pincho), and it is also a kind of tapa. To describe a pintxo, you could say that it is a slice of bread with a lot of food on the top and a toothpick or skewer to keep it all together. The toothpicks and skewers are often used to count the number of pintxos that have been eaten when it is time to pay the bill.
You can often order 1/2 portion or a portion where tapas are served. The word tapa (lid) comes from the Spanish verb tapar, “to cover”. Originally the tapa was served on a small plate, covering the ordered beverage.
Almost every Spanish bar, and most restaurants, also have tapas. But the difference in price and quality may vary much. Would you like to try these small typical Spanish appetizers? Avoid the tourist restaurants and look for Spanish bars where you will find the best tapas and the best prices.
Examples of popular tapas (Spanish – English): Aceitunas – olives, albóndigas – meatballs, almejas – clams, boquerones – anchovies, boquerones en vinagre – vinegar marinated anchovies, calamares fritos – fried squid, caracoles – snails, champiñones – mushrooms, chorizo – strong smoked sausage, ensaladilla rusa – creamy salad of boiled vegetables with mayonnaise, gambas – shrimp, jamón – ham, magro en salsa – pork in sauce, croquetas – croquettes, tortilla de patata – Spanish omelette, pimientos asados –grilled peppers, salpicón de marisco – seafood cocktail, mejillones – mussels, and many more.