Dinner Party Menu: Tapas

One of my favorite types of restaurants are tapas restaurants. Tapas is a Spanish cuisine title for sharing small plates (similar to appetizers) around a table with a group of people. It’s a great way to try new dishes and eat smaller portions.

It’s a great menu idea when you have friends over because you don’t have to make an extravagant main dish or make large sides, instead you focus on appetizer portions and a mixture of ingredients all which can be made ahead of time or very quickly. The point of tapas is to savor great food and sharing with friends!

TIP:While many tapas restaurants serve menu items that have Spanish or Mediterranean influences, remember that it’s your menu and your party – you can choose your favorite dishes that work for you! Love those BBQ ribs? slice the portions. Love burgers? Make mini-hamburgers, you can easily create an array of Tapas your way.

Follow this great traditional Tapas menu below for your next gathering, you’ll be surprised by how fast and effortless, yet delicious your food items will be!

Marinated Olives

Ingredients:

1 cup (8 oz) black olives

2 dried red chiles

12 cloves garlic, minced

Red vinegar, as required

Dash of lemon juice

Directions:

1. Lightly crush the olives, without breaking them, and pour into a glass jar with a lid, discarding any oil produced.
2. Add the dried chiles and garlic, lightly shaking the jar to ensure equal distribution.
3. Pour in enough red wine vinegar so that the jar’s contents are entirely submerged.
4. Add a dash of lemon juice, seal the jar, and store at room temperature for several days (2-3 days), shaking the jar occasionally.

Spanish Empanadas

Ingredients (serves 6):

1/4 cup and 2 teaspoons shortening

1-1/4 onions, chopped

10 ounces lean ground beef

1-1/4 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika

1/2 teaspoon hot paprika

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1-3/4 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

2 tablespoons and 1-1/4 teaspoons raisins

1/4 cup and 2 teaspoons pitted green olives, chopped

1-1/4 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

salt to taste

5/8 (17.5 ounce) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed

Directions:

1. In a saute; pan melt the shortening and add the chopped onions. Cook the onions until just before they begin to turn translucent.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the sweet paprika, hot paprika, crushed red pepper flakes and salt to taste.
3. Spread the meat on a sieve and pour boiling water on it for partial cooking.
4. Allow meat to cool. Place meat in a dish add salt to taste, cumin and vinegar.
5. Mix and add the meat to the onion mixture. Mix well and place on a flat to dish to cool and harden.
6. Cut puff pastry dough into 10 round shells. Place a spoonful of the meat mixture on each round; add some of the raisins, olives and hard boiled egg.
7. Avoid reaching the edges of the pastry with the filling because its oiliness will prevent good sealing. Slightly wet the edge of the pastry, fold in two and stick edges together. The shape should resemble that of a half-moon. 
8.  Seal by twisting edge, step by step, between thumb and index finger, making sure to add pressure before releasing the pinch and moving on to the next curl. 
9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Place empanadas on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Be sure to prick each empanada with a fork near the curl to allow steam to escape during baking.
10.  Glaze with egg for shine and bake until golden, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Bacon wrapped Prawns

Ingredients:

5 oz jamon or thinly sliced bacon

24 medium to large uncooked, headless prawns, peeled

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 lemons, quartered

Directions:

1. Cut the bacon  into pieces which will wrap generously round the prawns.
2. Place the wrapped prawns down flat on a board and skewer them through the fattest part and the tail, making sure the jamón is firmly fixed. Season generously and drizzle with the oil.
3. On a high heat, griddle, grill or barbecue the prawn and bacon brochettes for 2-3 minutes on each side, so the jamón crisps up.
4. Squeeze over the juice of the lemon wedges and serve immediately.

Braised Chorizo (pork sausage)

Ingredients:

1 pound dried Spanish chorizo, pricked several times with a fork

1 bottle dry red wine, such as Rioja

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

6 sprigs fresh oregano, plus more for garnish

4 strips orange zest (each about 4 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide

Directions:

1. Place all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan. (Wine should come halfway up sides of chorizo.)
2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer, flipping chorizo once, until sausage is tender and liquid has been reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Discard oregano sprigs.
3. Cut chorizo diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices, and arrange on plates. Drizzle with braising liquid, and garnish with additional oregano sprigs.

Paella (Spanish Rice)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil

2-1/4 teaspoons paprika

1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

salt and black pepper to taste

1-1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch pieces

1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil, divided

2-1/4 cloves garlic, crushed

3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1-1/2 cups uncooked short-grain white rice

3/4 pinch saffron threads

3/4 bay leaf

3/8 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

3 cups chicken stock

1-1/2 lemons, zested

1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil

3/4 Spanish onion, chopped

3/4 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

3/4 pound chorizo sausage, casings removed and crumbled

3/4 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons olive oil, paprika, oregano, and salt and pepper.
2. Stir in chicken pieces to coat. Cover, and refrigerate.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet or paella pan over medium heat.
4. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, and rice. Cook, stirring, to coat rice with oil, about 3 minutes.
5. Stir in saffron threads, bay leaf, parsley, chicken stock, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer 20 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Stir in marinated chicken and onion; cook 5 minutes.
7. Stir in bell pepper and sausage; cook 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp; cook, turning the shrimp, until both sides are pink.
8. Spread rice mixture onto a serving tray.
9.  Top with meat and seafood mixture.

Tags: Appetizers, dinner ideas, dinner party ideas, dinner party menu, ethnic food, Spanish food recipes, summer ideas, Tapas recipe

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 20th, 2010 at 8:40 pm and is filed under Appetizers, BBQ ideas, Summer Parties, buffet menu, cooking recipe, dinner parties, dinner party menu, fun foods. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.