Tapas & small plates recipes
The little dishes Spain is built on — croquetas, bravas, pintxos and the rest.
14 recipes
Aceitunas Aliñadas
Home-cured cracked olives dressed with garlic, herbs and a splash of vinegar are the quiet backbone of any Andalusian table. What makes them special is the aliño itself: a rough, fragrant marinade that turns plain brined olives into something you cannot stop reaching for.
Albóndigas en Salsa — Spanish meatballs in tomato sauce
Tapas-bar meatballs simmered in a gentle tomato-wine sauce. Soft, not dense: the trick is the panade (bread soaked in milk) and a calm simmer.
Boquerones
Fresh anchovies cured in vinegar until firm, silvery and bright, then dressed with garlic, parsley and good olive oil. A great boquerón en vinagre is clean and sharp, never fishy, and belongs on any proper tapas spread.
Croquetas
Spain's beloved croquettes wrap a thick, savoury béchamel of jamón in a thin, crisp crumb that gives way to a molten interior. Making the béchamel loose enough to be creamy yet firm enough to shape is the whole art.
Empanada Gallega
Galicia's great baked pie encloses a slow-cooked filling of tuna, onion and pepper in a sturdy yet tender crust. Sold by the slice from market stalls, it is best the day it is baked, warm or at room temperature.
Ensaladilla Rusa
The Spanish potato salad on every tapas counter binds tender potato, carrot, peas and tuna in a cool, rich mayonnaise. Made well, with a lightly homemade mayo and properly seasoned potatoes, it is far more than the sum of its humble parts.
Gambas al Ajillo — 10-minute garlic prawns
Prawns sizzled in garlic-chilli olive oil, served bubbling. The whole dish is about not burning the garlic and using enough oil — bread is mandatory.
Gilda
The original Basque pintxo and still the benchmark for all others: a single skewer that hits you green, salty and a little spicy in one bite. It takes under a minute to build and needs nothing more than good ingredients.
Migas
A shepherds' dish that turns stale bread into a savoury, satisfying meal, fried in olive oil with garlic and studded with chorizo and peppers. Born of thrift, it is now a beloved rustic plate, often finished with fried eggs or fruit on the side.
Pan con Tomate
Pa amb tomàquet is Catalan simplicity at its finest: crusty bread rubbed with garlic and ripe tomato, then anointed with good olive oil and salt. Everything depends on the quality of just four ingredients, so use the reddest summer tomato and the best oil you have.
Patatas Bravas — crispy cubes, real bravas sauce
Spain’s most-ordered tapa: fried potato cubes with a smoky, spicy tomato sauce and aioli. The oven method below gets genuinely crisp potatoes without a deep fryer.
Pimientos de Padrón
Pimientos de Padrón are little green Galician peppers flash-fried in olive oil until blistered and finished with coarse salt. Their fame lies in the gamble, since most are sweet and mild but every so often one hides a fiery kick.
Pintxos
Pintxos are the Basque Country's bar-top art form, small bites skewered on bread and lined up along the counters of San Sebastián. The classic Gilda, a skewer of anchovy, olive and guindilla pepper, is said to be the very first pintxo, named for its salty, spicy, green character.
Tapas
Tapas are less a single recipe than a way of eating, but a home spread is easy to pull off with a handful of classic small plates. Here is a simple trio that covers the range from cured to cooked without needing much time at the stove.
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