Day 56 of quarantine. Yes, we're still doing plenty of cooking here at home during this pandemic. We've made so many dishes, desserts, and TAPAS. I honestly can't complain. It has actually been quite fun getting creative in the kitchen and making dishes that remind us of our travels abroad.
When visiting Barcelona in 2017, we made it a point to eat as many tapas as possible while exploring the city. Spain is home of the tapa, so we wanted to get the full Spanish cuisine experience. I'm pretty certain we experienced it to the fullest. We ate tapas for breakfast, lunch and dinner as our meals. We ate so many delicious tapas that it was nearly impossible to decide which one was our favorite. They were all unique and tasty in their own way.
Ever since we traveled to Spain, it seems as though we crave tapas all the time. There aren't many decent Spanish restaurants here in Salt Lake City, so resorting to cooking our own tapas was really the only option. Of course some Spanish recipes are more difficult than others, but there are a few that we have been successful in making in the comfort of our own kitchen. Barcelona quality? Maybe not quite...but pretty darn close!
1. Pan Con Tomate (Bread with Tomato): This tapa has the simplest ingredients and is by far the easiest to make. We eat Pan Con Tomate at least a few times a month because it's so easy and delicious. If you love garlic bread, this tapa is for you.
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| Pan Con Tomate |
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| Pan Con Tomate; Pescaditos with White Sauce |
2. Pescaditos Fritos (Little Fried Fishes): We ate Pescaditos Fritos a few times in Barcelona because we loved it so much. Luckily, it's another delicious and easy-to-make tapa that you can cook at home. It requires very little ingredients, preparation, and time to cook, so it's worth a try if you're curious, but perhaps a bit hesitant. If you're not into fish or seafood, don't worry. This tapa tastes far from fishy. Pescaditos Fritos are so subtle in flavor that you could eat it any time of day.
Eat It At Home: Try out this Pescadito Fritos recipe at home, and I'm sure you'll be wanting to make more: The Spruce Eat's Spanish Fried Anchovies. Side note: Be sure to find and use quality anchovies before making this tapa. Just like any other fish or meat, if you use poor quality, it won't turn out the way you were hoping it would.
3. Patatas Bravas: We have already made this tapa twice during our quarantine. Though it requires a bit more ingredients than Pan Con Tomate and Pescaditos Fritos, it is still fairly easy to make...and absolutely delicious. Since potatoes are the main ingredient in this dish, not only is it cheap to make, but it's very filling. In fact, when we eat this tapa, it's usually the only food we eat for our meal.
Eat It At Home: There are a few ways you can make Patatas Bravas. However, our favorite includes a tomato sauce topping. If you like the sound of a garlic tomato sauce topping, try out this recipe: The Wanderlust Kitchen's Patatas Bravas. You could then make your own aioli dipping sauce or topping. If you would rather do with out a rich tomato sauce topping, give this recipe a try: The Food Network's Patatas Bravas Home Fries with Roasted Tomato Aioli. The sauce is a combination of tomato and aioli. Since you have time, why not try out both recipes? You most likely already have all the ingredients on hand and since both recipes are so easy to create, you can have a taste test to find out which recipe is worth making again later.
There are so many Spanish tapas recipes out there that are worth making at home. In our home, we started with the simplest ones. The problem is, we loved them so much that we continue to make the same ones over and over. Our goal is to one day cook the infamous paella. From what we know, it can be extremely difficult to make at home if you don't have the patience, right ingredients, and equipment. However, we like the challenge and visualization of cooking this dish in our backyard with friends and family gathered together around the fire on a warm summer night (as the Spaniards do). We hope to make this reality once this quarantine is over. In the meantime, the two of us will stick to making some simple Spanish tapas in our kitchen while waiting for this pandemic to end soon enough to share our experiences and tapas recipes with our loved ones.
Safe Travels (In your kitchen for now),
Veronica
