We have already said a lot about salmorejo, which wins our award for best cold soup ever. But we have been enjoying a wide variety of other Spanish tapas, small dishes to share. We love the idea of tapas because we always struggle to make up our minds about what to order. With tapas, we can eat everything! Indeed, we have only eaten two meals in Seville that weren’t tapas (both paella). So here are our picks for the best of the best.
Spinach and Garbanzo Beans
The vast majority of Spanish tapas are meat-heavy, or fried, or both. So let’s start on the lighter side. As you might expect, it’s spinach and garbanzo beans aka chickpeas. But somehow, it tastes much more complicated. Sometimes the dish focuses on beans, sometimes greens. And sometimes it’s very liquidy. We love ’em all!
Grocery stores in Seville sell jars of pre-cooked garbanzo beans; most online recipes use these. Throw in a big bag of spinach, Spanish olive oil, minced onion and garlic, tomato puree, and a ton of cumin, paprika, salt and pepper, and you’re done. We love this on a cooler day, but frankly, we order it every time it’s on a menu. And we usually have some of our own in the fridge. (When we make it, we add sherry vinegar and garnish with Marcona almonds…)
Albondigas, especially de Choco
Who doesn’t love a meatball? Our very favourites are made of cuttlefish (choclo) and shrimp, served in a spicy sauce. But the meat meatballs are also spectacular (usually a mix of pork and beef).
Ham
Somehow, we haven’t yet done a post on Spanish ham (though we have photographed, and eaten, many hams). Ham is a way of life here, practically a religion. Jamón Serrano and Ibérico are both excellent, but the second one is something special, particularly the world-famous Ibérico de Bellota, whose pigs are fed solely on acorns. These cured meats are aged for longer than prosciutto typically is, and they’re also sliced thicker.
Tortilla
This one is confusing if you are thinking south-of-the-US-border: tortilla here is an egg and potato dish, sometimes with minced onion (food controversy here). Once again, the ingredient list is misleading: simple, but amazing! We’ve had it fancied up with pepper and/or cheese, but also plain. Served at room temperature, this dish soothes the soul.
Croquetas
This is the generic name for a variety of deep-fried nibbles. Every place in town has its own recipe, but croquetas normally contain a form of meat and cheese, with a thick breading. We think the very best ones – or at least the most unusual – are made from ox-tail, which has a chewy consistency (in a pleasing way).
Artichokes
A seasonal delicacy. We always order these, wherever we are (you may remember our Roman artichoke frenzy last year). Our favourite version here is grilled, with herbs. (Don’t tell the Italians, but these are possibly as good or potentially even better than theirs.)
Patatas Bravas
Why brave? Apparently, because of the sauce, which is paprika-based with chili (Spanish ‘bravo’ can mean fierce). Blows are exchanged, not by us, about whether tomato is a necessary part of the sauce or an abomination against nature. We are also told that both of the pictures here are patatas mixtas, because they contain aioli as well as brava sauce.
Eggplant/Aubergine, all Ways
Again, this is a vegetable we adore. Most often, Spaniards deep-fry it, and sometimes they serve it with black honey (above). But there is also a healthy, grilled option (below).
Bacalao
Salt cod is popular all around the Mediterranean; it’s cod (or another white fish), salted and dehydrated, then rehydrated. We like it best with a red pepper sauce, but they do all kinds of great things with it here!
Olives
These often come free with drinks. But they’re so good they deserve a mention, and if they aren’t free, you should order some. They’re usually green, often a mix of different kinds. Spaniards love olives, and are deeply knowledgeable about dozens of them. Indeed, most Spaniards have at least some family land somewhere, and usually a small olive orchard.
So there you have it – ten Spanish tapas we love! Which are your favourites?
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