Picture this, you have friends and family visiting from abroad and you want to impress them with an authentic Spanish tapas feast, but you don’t have a lot of time, and you don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen instead of socialising with your visitors.
So, what do you do? Luckily there are many traditional Spanish tapas dishes served in bars all over the country which take very little effort, yet are still delicious and look good. Here are some quick dishes you can make in a hurry without many cooking skills required.
Melon con jamón (melon with ham)
This is a very typical Spanish starter which makes a great tapas dish too. Simply cut some cubes of melon and buy some slices of jamón, then pin them together with a cocktail stick, it’s really that simple.
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Ensaladilla Rusa (Russian salad)
You’ll find ensaladilla rusa being sold in almost every tapas bar in the country and yet it’s so easy and quick to make. All you need is a tin of mixed vegetables or a bag of frozen ones – typically potatoes, carrots and peas and then stir these together with some tuna and slices of boiled eggs, then smother in mayonnaise. Top with olives for the finished look.
Gildas
Gildas are a staple in the Basque Country, but you’ll also find them in vermouth bars around Spain. It’s essentially a green olive, a salt-cured anchovy, and a pickled guindilla pepper skewered together on a cocktail stick. Serve with a glass of vermouth for a traditional appetiser.
Tomate aliñado (marinated tomatoes)
One of the easiest Spanish salads is tomate aliñado. It’s literally just slices of tomatoes, topped with a dressing of garlic, olive oil, fresh herbs and vinegar.
Queso de cabra con pimientos asados (goat’s cheese with roasted red peppers)
A great option for vegetarian visitors is this goat’s cheese with red pepper dish. All you need to do is cut a large slice of goat’s cheese and put it under the grill until it goes slightly golden, then top with roasted piquillo peppers. Most supermarkets will sell them in jars already smoked and preserved in oil.
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Pimientos de Padrón (Padrón peppers)
And speaking of peppers, one of the most classic tapas dishes you can order in Spain are pimientos de Padrón. They’re very easy to prepare, you don’t even need to deseed them or take off the stalks. Just fry them in some olive oil until the skins are slightly charred and then sprinkle with sea salt.
This is incredibly simple because you can buy packs of them at the supermarket. They’re simply anchovies which have been marinated in vinegar. This is another good one to serve with vermouth as an aperitivo.
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Pan con tomate (bread with tomato)
In much of Spain this is considered a breakfast dish – a toasted baguette half topped with tomato pulp and olive oil, but in Catalonia, it’s very much a tapas plate. Serve it the Catalan way by using pan de cristal (glass bread) and rubbing a garlic clove directly onto it, followed by the same with half a tomato. When you’re done, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Oh and call it pa amb tomàquet in Catalan instead and your visitors will be even more impressed.
Manchego con almendras (Manchego cheese with almonds)
Everyone loves Manchego cheese, arguably one of Spain’s most famous, so you can’t go wrong with simply cutting some slices and serving them on a plate. Place some picos de pan (mini bread sticks) and some toasted or fried almonds, whichever you prefer, and don't forget the jamón.
Pimientos rellenos de bacalao (Peppers stuffed with cod)
If you feel like you haven’t got enough peppers on the table yet, you can always buy some whole piquillo peppers in the jar and stuff them with a mixture of cod, milk, flour and onion, flavoured with a bit of nutmeg.
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Gazpacho/salmorejo
Another classic Spanish dish is of course gazpacho – a cold soup typically eaten in summer. All the vegetables in it are raw, so you don’t even need to cook anything. Simply chop green peppers, tomatoes and cucumber and place in a blender along with some olive oil, a splash of sherry vinegar and a garlic clove. Thin it out with water if it’s too thick and top with some small cubes of the same vegetables (minus the tomatoes). The other version is salmorejo which is from Córdoba. This is a much thicker version with addition of breadcrumbs. Top this with slices of boiled egg and ham.
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