I love impromptu. Rock up on my doorstep for a lazy weekend glass of wine and I will happily take on the challenge of feeding you dinner.
When I am feeding a crowd Mexican is 110% my go to, because everyone loves Mexican, but this weekend I’m branching out, getting my flamenco on and serving Tapas.
Tapas were, traditionally, a Spanish bar snack. They originated as a piece of bread that was used to cover your drink to stop flies getting in. This evolved to include a salty element like cheese, olives or sausage. The saltiness encourages you to drink more, all the better to line the publicans pockets ;)
Today Tapas can be pretty fancy and the snacks are often as important as the drinks themselves but without a doubt the combination of good food and a jug of sangria makes for a fun night with friends. You tapas can be hot, cold or a combination of both. Mr S thinks Tapas is the perfect dinner, otherwise known as little plates of stuff. Whilst tonight’s dinner isn’t an impromptu one, it doesn’t require a massive amount of effort and much of it is easy to pull together at the last minute.
You will notice that there are no photos yet, I’ll be sharing plenty of photos to instagram when I’m in the kitchen this afternoon if you are keen to see what I am up to. I’ll add photos to the post later. Most of the things I am putting together tonight are as much ideas as actual recipes that you can easily adapt to suit using what you have on hand.
Sangria
One of the key elements to tapas is your drink. They did, after all, come in to fashion in the bars of Spain. I haven’t met a sangria I didn’t like but feel free to accompany your tapas with any beverage of your choosing.
Sangria is essentially some combination of wine, fruit and booze. Start by soaking your fruit in the booze then add chilled red or white wine and a sparkling element like mineral water, sparkling apple juice or good ginger ale.
Depending on what my guests prefer I will make white sangria in summer and red in winter but a nice summery jug of white sangria is a good way to at least pretend its summer during the depths of winter.
Tonight’s sangria will be a blend of cinnamon, cardamom & orange infused vodka, Cointreau, freshly squeezed orange juice, red wine and sparkling mineral water. I’ll be adding orange slices and strawberries in to the mix.
Cheese/Olives/Meat platter
By far the easiest way to serve up tapas is to assemble a platter that your guests can pick at.
- Jamon is the traditional Spanish smoked ham and is served sliced paper thin, however prosciutto is often an easier to find and more cost effective alternative. Wrapping a slice of the salty meat around a wedge of rockmelon has become almost a tapas tradition.
- Manchego is a Spanish sheeps milk cheese that is perfect for your tapas platter. If you are looking for a second cheese a fresh goats curd is a perfect companion. Serve the curd drizzled with saffron infused olive oil and a scattering of chopped toasted almonds. Add a pile of oat biscuits to pile cheese on to, they might be more british in origin but they compliment the cheese with their wonderful texture and earthy flavour.
- Chorizo is your go to sausage. Buy the very best you can find. I buy mine from a couple of different butchers who make their own and steer clear of the mass produced ones you buy in the supermarket. There is just no comparison when it comes to flavour.
- There are so many different varieties of olives, why not fill some small bowls with a few different varieties? Add a few fresh pears or apples and some dried fruit like raisins and figs to you platter and perhaps a bowl of smoked almonds.
Grilled Vegetables
Grilled vegetables are amazingly easy to prepare. Capsicums and zucchinis are my go to but eggplant, asparagus (when in season), sweet potato and fennel all work well too.
Wash and slice your vegetables and toss in some olive oil with some pepper and salt. Grill on each side until tender and pop in to a large bowl.
You can now add a marinade to the vegetables to pack in some great flavours. Start with olive oil and vinegar then add things like garlic, chilli, fresh oregano or thyme, mashed anchovies or an infusion of saffron* made in warm water.
Serve vegetables at room temperature.
*Saffron doesn’t infuse well in oil by comparison with water so it is better to infuse it in a small about of water first then combine into the oil or marinade.
Try layering jamon or prosciutto on to a slice of grilled capsicum or zucchini and wrapping around a knob of goats curd.
Hot Tapas
- Create a hot tapas dish by frying off a couple of sliced chorizo sausages with a finely diced onion then adding a tin each of crushed tomatoes and drained chickpeas. Finish with slices if roasted capsicum and a scatter of chopped, fresh parsley. Add a pile of freshly sliced bread for mopping up the juice.
- For something more substantial roast or grill a couple of flattened chickens. Give them the over night marinade in bag treatment and they will be totally succulent.
- Sardines are in season right now and, although a little messy to prepare, they are completely worth it. Clean and butterfly the fish. Make a mixture of breadcrumbs, fresh dill, currants, pinenuts and diced fresh or tinned tomatoes with a little olive oil for lubrication. Roll the fillets around the stuffing and line them up in a baking dish. Bake until they are well cooked and starting to fall apart a little. Make extras to have the next day, they are fantastic mixed through spaghetti with extra olive oil.
- If you are feeling ultra decadent a slow cooked piece of pork belly would be amazing.
- If you want something a bit salad like to serve then (although it’s Italian) a panzanella salad of bread and tomatoes fits the bill or why not combine some refreshing wedges of watermelon with some lime soaked red onion, crumbled feta, olives and the leaves picked from a bunch of flat leaf parsely.
- Tonight I’ll be serving warm roasted cauliflower with currants and dukkah, inspired by this recipe that was being cooked up at the Adelaide Central Market last night.
Something Sweet to Finish
Something sweet to finish the meal is always lovely when you have guests, whether you have room for it or not! I am a little bit obsessed with local Adelaide Hills Corella pears at the moment. Pears work perfectly with something Spanish inspired because teaming them with flavours like cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate, almonds or hazelnuts and sweet dessert wine just makes them sing.
I haven’t quite decided what I’ll be serving for dessert tonight so you will just have to watch this space!
Alternatively you could save your cheese for the end of the meal and accompany it with fresh fruit, and a piece of top quality chocolate.
A dark chocolate mousse spiked with amaretto or Frangelico would be divine or why not introduce some orange flavours in to those easy peasy chocolate fondants for a jaffa flavoured twist. You can watch me make chocolate fondant here, I would add ¼ cup Cointreau or Grand Marnier to the mix with the fine zest from ½-1 orange (depending on how big your orange is) to give about 1 Tbs.
Whatever you choose to serve to end your meal a beautiful, sweet dessert wine is essential and perhaps some small cups of chilli spiked hot chocolate.
Don’t forget to follow along on instagram and check back tomorrow for photos and actual recipes from today’s kitchen adventure.
Tatum xx
