Tapas

[chml]

I've ended up volunteering to make tapas for 7-8 people tomorrow night. Does anybody have any go-to dishes they'd recommend?

Thanks

[willetttiger]

Potatas bravas
Chorizo cooked in red wine
Homemade hummus
Tiger prawns sautéed in white wine sweet chilli sauce and garlic
Moule mariner
Squid with homemade tartar sauce
Tempura veg with dip

[JeffreyD]

If you don't plan it properly you'll be cooking all night.

So if it's a kitchen style gathering then that won't matter but if they are all sat down and you are working like a galley slave that could get annoying

I'd be going
Plenty of nice crusty bread
Boquerones
cold meat/cheese platter
Tortilla

Fresh Chorizo in cider
Lentil stew

And then either mixed fried fish, mussels/clams, or a couple of chopped up chickens roasted until crispy with a paprika rub

most of that can be done in advance the than the mussels, fried fish and chorizo


Personally I'd do the first bit then do a large paella style rice dish with some shellfish and chicken in and put it in the middle for people to tuck in.

[21TonyK]

Croquetas in all forms, particularly chorizo and cheese or ham, salt cod and capers works really well
Gambas pil pil
Calamari
Good tortilla
Stuffed peppers (jarred)
Albondigas
Empinadas
Quality marinated olives
Patatas Bravas

Massive bowls of aioli made fresh with roast garlic

[thebraketester]

Papas arrugadas

Dead easy to make and really tasty.

[Castrol for a knave]

Ah, tapas

Thought it was a thread on tapirs, our ungulatory friends.

As you were.

[ReverendCounter]

Castrol for a knave said:

Ah, tapas

Thought it was a thread on tapirs, our ungulatory friends.

As you were.

Just googled, don't think you can get tapir tapas. Maybe something new to try, OP?

[Riff Raff]

Lots of the things mentioned above require a bit of previous to pull off. Some are main dishes rather than tapas. My Mrs is quite good at tortilla de patata, but she's been doing it for 60 years (is Spanish), and it takes a good while to do. And a crap tortilla is really crap.

So, if it were me I'd go out and get hold of a cheese. Manchego for preference. If you can get hold of some, jamon, (air cured ham). Iberico tastes better than Serrano, but costs a lot more. Then a chorizo or two. Spicy, not 'dulce'. I can get chorizo de Navarra and de Leon in my local supermarket and they are pretty good. Then some salchichon (french saucisson is basically the same ), and any other 'embutidos' you can get your hands on. I really like longaniza, but you don't see it very often over here. Same with morcilla, which is a rice based black pudding. (That needs fried though). Anchovies are really popular in Spain, I like them served on cogollos (little gem lettuce will do fine for that). Asparagus (the white ones in jars or tins) with ali-oli will also work.

All that can just be cut and served cold. You can fry any embutido and serve with a fried egg or two. Whilst at the frying pan, if you can lay your hands on some small thin green peppers you could do pimientos padron.

If you buy enough of the stuff listed you won't have to do much cooking at all.

[Riff Raff]

Tortilla de patata. 57 eggs......

This is what you need to do to impress your friends.

[omniflow]

As mentioned - Croquettas - make a thick béchamel stir in some finely chopped iberico ham, leave to cool, then form into small sausage shapes, flour, egg, breadcrumbs, shallow fry gently because they can explode.
Chorizo cooked in red wine - really really easy
Tortilla - it's not that hard really. Look on Youtube for Bar Nestor on Fantastic Places to Eat - watch how he does it - it's not THAT hard to replicate - although I don't think mine was as good as Nestors. They key is a decent non stick pan, the right size and right shape - and also not to cook it too much - the inside still needs to be slightly runny
Pan fried foie gras on small pieces of toasted baguette - might be a challenge to source this at short notice
Padron peppers, fried in olive oil or roasted - then sprinkled with salt
Garlic mushrooms
Fried prawns with garlic and chilli
Iberico ham - just make sure it's been out of the fridge for at least an hour before you serve it.

[21TonyK]

omniflow said:

Look on Youtube for Bar Nestor on Fantastic Places to Eat

I used this method and blew the Spanish side of my families mind... really is the best way, my addition, a couple of extra egg yolks.

[MarkJS]

Gambas Pil Pil, Chorizo in Cider or red wine, Patatas Bravas, Manchego & Iberico ham are pretty much all you need. Plus a Tortilla maybe.

[chml]

Thanks all. Some great bits there and some stuff to do in the future.

Went for:

Patatas bravas
Chorizo in red wine
Chicken in white wine and cream
Garlic mushrooms
Gambas pil pil
Scallops
Calamari
Bread and meats

Nothing adventurous but everybody seemed to enjoy it.

Going to try the croquettes and tortilla next time!

[andrewjamesroberts]

Padron Peppers!

[eps]

21TonyK said:

Croquetas in all forms, particularly chorizo and cheese or ham, salt cod and capers works really well
Gambas pil pil
Calamari
Good tortilla
Stuffed peppers (jarred)
Albondigas
Empinadas
Quality marinated olives
Patatas Bravas

Massive bowls of aioli made fresh with roast garlic

All of the above plus...

Pinchos Morunos

[21TonyK]

eps said:

21TonyK said:

Croquetas in all forms, particularly chorizo and cheese or ham, salt cod and capers works really well
Gambas pil pil
Calamari
Good tortilla
Stuffed peppers (jarred)
Albondigas
Empinadas
Quality marinated olives
Patatas Bravas

Massive bowls of aioli made fresh with roast garlic

All of the above plus...

Pinchos Morunos

Forgot about those! By coincidence I have a large pork fillet to use up.