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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the spiritual concept, see Tapas (Sanskrit); for the Spanish film, see Tapas (film).

Tapas
Puntillitas — a battered and fried baby squid form of tapas
Origin information
Country of origin:	Spain
Dish information
Course served:	Appetizer
Serving temperature:	Hot and cold
Main ingredient(s):	Virtually unlimited

Tapas (IPA: [ˈtapˌas]) is the name of a wide variety of appetizers in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or warm (such as puntillitas, which are battered, fried baby squid).

In North America and the United Kingdom, tapas have evolved into an entire cuisine. In these countries, patrons of tapas restaurants can order many different tapas and combine them to make a full meal.

The serving of tapas is designed to encourage conversation because people are not so focused upon eating an entire meal that is set before them. Also, in some countries it is customary for diners to stand and move about while eating tapas.

Contents 1 History 2 Etymology 3 Tapas in Spain 3.1 Common dishes 4 Tapas in North America and the United Kingdom 5 Tapas in the Philippines 6 Venetian Cicchetti 7 External links 8 References

[edit] History

According to legend^{[citation needed]}, the tapa tradition began when Castile's King, Alfonso X of Castile or Alfonso the Wise, recovered from an illness by drinking wine mixed with small dishes between meals. After regaining his health, the king ordered that taverns were not allowed to serve wine to customers unless the beverage was accompanied by a small snack or tapas. The word became a kind of loophole in the law to allow drinkers to imbibe alcohol.

According to The Joy of Cooking, the original tapas were the slices of bread or meat which sherry drinkers in Andalusian taverns used to cover their glasses between sips. This was a practical measure meant to prevent fruit flies from hovering over the sweet sherry. The meat used to cover the sherry was normally ham or chorizo, which are both very salty and activate thirst. Because of this, bartenders and restaurant owners began creating a variety of snacks to serve with sherry, thus increasing their alcohol sales.^[1] Soon the lowly tapa (from tapa derived the verb tapar, "to cover") became as important as the sherry.

Tapas evolved over Spain's history through the incorporation of ingredients and influences from many different cultures and countries. The east coast was invaded by the Romans, who introduced the olive and irrigation methods. The invasion of the North African Moors in the 8th century also brought olives to the south, as well as almonds, citrus fruits and fragrant spices. The influence of their 700-year presence remains today, especially in Andalusia. The discovery of the New World brought the introduction of tomatoes, sweet and chili peppers, maize (corn), beans and potatoes. These were readily accepted and easily grown in Spain's micro-climates.

[edit] Etymology

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Tapa means "lid" or "cover" in Spanish. There are several explanations for the etymology of "tapa":

• A commonly cited explanation is that an item, be it bread or a flat card, etc., would often be placed on top of a drink to protect it from fruit flies; at some point it became a habit to top this "cover" with a snack.
• It is also commonly said that since one would be standing while eating a tapa in traditional Spanish bars, they would need to place their plates on top of their drinks in order to eat, making it a top.
• Some believe that the name originated sometime around the 16th century when tavern owners from Castilla-La Mancha found out that the strong taste and smell of mature cheese could help disguise that of bad wine, thus "covering" it, and started offering free cheese when serving cheap wine.
• Another popular explanation says that the king Alfonso XII stopped by a famous venta (inn) in Cádiz (Andalusian city) where he ordered a cup of sherry. The waiter covered the glass with a slice of cured ham before offering it to the king, to protect the wine from the beach sand, as Cádiz is a windy place. The king, after drinking his wine and eating the tapa, ordered another sherry "with the cover"

[edit] Tapas in Spain

In Spain,^[2] dinner is usually served between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. (sometimes as late as 12 midnight), leaving significant time between work and dinner. Therefore, Spaniards often go "bar hopping" (Spanish: Ir de tapas) and eat tapas in the time between finishing work and having dinner. Since lunch is usually served between 1 and 3 p.m., another common time for tapas is weekend days around noon as a means of socializing before lunch proper at home.

It is very common for a bar or a small local restaurant to have 8 to 12 different kinds of tapas in warming trays with glass partitions covering the food. They are often very strongly flavored with garlic, chilies or paprika, cumin, salt, pepper, saffron and sometimes in plentiful amounts of olive oil. Often one or more of the choices is seafood (mariscos), often including anchovies, sardines or mackerel in olive oil, squid or others in a tomato based sauce, sometimes with the addition of red or green peppers or other seasoning. It is rare to see a tapas selection not include one or more types of olives, such as manzanilla or arbequina olives. One or more types of bread are usually available to eat with any of the sauce-based tapas.

In Madrid, León, Asturias, Extremadura, and in parts of Andalucia, when you go to a bar and order a drink, you will often get a tapa for free. In León, a city in northwest Spain, an entire zone known as the Barrio Humedo is dedicated to tapas bars each serving their own unique dish served free with a corto (small beer) or glass of wine. Sometimes, especially in Northern Spain, they're also called pinchos (spelled pintxos in Basque) in Navarre, the Basque Country, Cantabria and in some provinces like Salamanca. They're called that because many of them have a pincho or toothpick through them. The toothpick is used to keep whatever the snack is made of from falling off the slice of bread it is attached to and to keep track of the number of tapas the customer has eaten. Differently priced tapas have different shape or size toothpicks. Tapa price ranges from 1.00 to 1.50 euros. Another name for them is banderillas (diminutive of bandera "flag"), in part because some of them resemble the colorful spears used in bullfighting.

In Andalusia, tapas can be "upgraded" to bigger portions, equivalent to half a dish (media ración) or a whole one (ración). This is generally more economical when a tapa is being ordered by more than one person. The portions are usually shared by diners, and a meal made up of raciones resembles a Middle Eastern mezze or Chinese dim sum.

[edit] Common dishes

Aceitunas

Olives

Albóndigas

Meatballs

Allioli

Means "Garlic and oil" in Catalan. The classic ingredients are only garlic, oil and salt, but the common form of it includes Mayonnaise and garlic. A very strong garlic paste. Served on bread or with potatoes, fish, meat or grilled vegetables.

Bacalao

Salted cod loin served very thinly usually served with bread and tomatoes

Boquerones

White anchovies served in vinegar (boquerones en vinagre) or deep fried.

Calamares or rabas

Rings of battered squid.

Carne mechada

Slow-cooked, tender beef.^[1]

Chopitos

Battered and fried tiny squid. Also known as puntillitas.

Cojonuda. (Superb female)

A kind of "pincho". It consists of a slice of Spanish morcilla with a fried quail egg over a slice of bread. It is very common in Burgos.

Cojonudo. (Superb male)

A kind of "pincho". It consists of a slice of Spanish chorizo with a fried quail egg over a slice of bread.

Chorizo al vino

Chorizo sausage slowly cooked in wine.

Chorizo a la sidra

Chorizo sausage slowly cooked in cider.

Croquetas

A common sight on bar counters and in homes across Spain, served as a tapa, light lunch, or a dinner along with a salad.

Empanadas or empanadillas

large or small turnovers filled with meats and vegetables.^[3]

Ensaladilla rusa

This literally means (little)Russian salad and is amde with mixed boiled vegetables with tuna, olives and mayonnaise.

Gambas

Prawns sauteed in salsa negra (peppercorn sauce), al ajillo (with garlic), or pil-pil (with chopped chili peppers).

Pimientos de Padrón

Small green peppers from Padrón (a municipality in the province of A Coruña in the region of Galicia) that are fried in olive oil. Most are very mild, but a few in each batch are quite spicy.

Pulpo

Pulpo means Octopus, and it is usually served in small chunks in the oil in which it was cooked. In its most basic form, salt is also added. Pulpo, as with many of Spain's seafood dishes, comes predominantly from Galicia due to the region's access to the rich resources of Atlantic Ocean.

Pulpo a la gallega (Octopus the Galician way)

This Galician dish, known both as Pulpo á galega (Octopus the Galician way) and Polbo á feira (Octopus the fair way) in Galicia, is served hot in the olive or vegetable oil in which it was cooked. The octopus pieces are seasoned with substantial amounts of paprika, giving it its recognisable red colour, and sea-salt for texture and flavour.

Pincho moruno

A spicy kebab-like stick, made of pork or chicken. Its name means 'Moorish Stick'.

Patatas bravas

Fried potato dices (sometimes part-boiled and then fried, or simply boiled) served with salsa brava, a spicy tomato sauce. Alioli is often served with it too.

Papas Arrugadas / Papas con Mojo

Canary Islands: Very small new potatoes boiled in salt water similar to sea water, then drained, slightly roasted and served with Mojo sauce , a garlic, spanish paprika, red pepper, cumin seed, olive oil, wine vinegar, salt and bread "miga" (fresh bread crumbs without the crust) to thicken it.

Puntillitas

Battered and fried tiny squid. Also known as chopitos.

Queso con anchoas

Castilla or Manchego cured cheese with anchovies on top.

Rajo

Pork seasoned with garlic and parsley. A variety with added paprika is called Zorza.

Solomillo a la castellana

Fried pork scallops, served with an onion and/or Cabrales cheese sauce

Solomillo al whisky, or al güisqui

Fried pork scallops, marinated using whisky, brandy or white wine and olive oil.

Tortilla de patatas, also known as Tortilla española

A type of omelet containing fried chunks of potatoes and sometimes onion. A variety containing vegetables and chorizo (similar to frittata) is known as Tortilla paisana.

Tortillitas de camarones

Battered-prawn fritters.

Stuffed Mussels (Tigres)

In Navarre, these stuffed mussels are called tigres ("tigers") because of their fieriness.

zamburiñas

Most renowned from the region of Galicia, zamburiñas are Chlamys varia, a type of scallop, which are often served in a marinera, tomoato-based sauce.

[edit] Tapas in North America and the United Kingdom

Upscale tapas restaurants and tapas bars are common in many cities of the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. In these establishments, a selection of tapas is typically served as a main course. As with any cuisine exported from its original country, there can be significant differences between the original Spanish dishes and the dishes as they are served abroad.

[edit] Tapas in the Philippines

The concept of Spanish tapas — eating little plates of food with alcoholic beverages — has a long tradition in the Philippines. But tapa in the Philippines has little resemblance to the original Spanish meaning of the word. Rather, it is a traditional dish of salt-cured beef that is similar to American-style beef jerky.

Filipino tapa (mostly made with beef, occasionally with venison or wild boar) is fried and eaten as a full meal, usually for breakfast with garlic-fried rice and fried eggs, along with a chili-vinegar dip.

Beef tapa may also be crisp-fried and served as a proper Spanish-style tapas with alcoholic drinks in Filipino bars and restaurants. There is also a sweet variant of tapa, with the sugar added last so as to avoid a burnt taste. Another variant is the sarciado-type (wet), which has strips of beef cooked in water, vinegar, and soy sauce and flavored with calamansi, garlic, and sugar

[edit] Venetian Cicchetti

Cicchetti refers to small tapas-like dishes that are served in ciccetti bars in Venice. Typically, Venetians eat cicchetti during the day, for lunch or late afternoon snacks.

[edit] External links

• About.com Guide to Tapas in Spain.
• El mundo de las Tapas. History and recipes in Spanish and English

[edit] References