There are many recipes of the Spanish gastronomy that are known internationally, but the most popular are undoubtedly the tapas mentionned in this article. Spanish tapas are a typical Spanish appetizer or starter. Tapas bars can be found in every Spanish city, and each has its own specialty! They range from easy, quick and cheap to the more elaborate for a more gourmet crowd. 

In Spain, eating tapas is much more than just a good dish for a cheap price. It is a social ritual.

Are you also a fan of tapas? Read this article to travel to Spain directly from your kitchen!

1. Patatas bravas
2. Tortilla
3. Croquetas
4. Calamares a la romana
5. Empanadillas

Patatas bravas

Patatas bravas is a very typical Spanish dish. It consists of fried or boiled potatoes accompanied by a spicy sauce.

And even better, this dish is very easy to make! Here is what you will need to cook it for 4 people: 4 medium potatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, half an onion, 1 tablespoon of hot paprika, 1 dash of white vinegar, 50 grams of fried tomato, half a table spoon of flour, 100 millilitres or chicken or ham stock, salt, vinegar and olive oil!

First, you'll need to heat a little oil in a casserole. Once it is hot, add the finely chopped garlic cloves and onion. Season with salt and pepper and stir until the onion has softened a little. Then, add the hot paprika and stir for about 5 seconds. Then add the splash of vinegar and stir again for another 20 seconds. Once this is done, add the tomato sauce, stir again and cook for 5 more minutes.

Then, add the flour in order to give texture to the salsa brava. Mix everything again and leave to cook, always over a moderate heat, for about three minutes.

Once this is cooked, add the stock. Mix all the ingredients together again and then blend the sauce. It should be rather liquid but with a certain texture. If it is too thick, add a little more stock.

Once you have your salsa, it is time to get started with the potatoes! Peel the potatoes and cut them into large chunks. Patatas bravas are usually served in large chunks. Fry them in plenty of oil for about 10 minutes, until they are golden brown and crispy. Once cooked, remove them and place them of absorbent paper. Add a pinch of salt and after a couple of minutes, serve them on a plate, add a few spoonfuls of your salsa brava and they are ready!

There is no original recipe for this dish, some people say that the most original ones do not have tomato but only paprika.

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Tortilla

There is an ongoing debate in Spain about the tortilla and whether or not it should have onions, however, it does not change at all how the tortilla should be made. 

Luckily, the recipe for this dish is easy, however, it may get messy! All you will need is 500 grams of potatoes, 1 onion, salt, extra virgin olive oil and 5 eggs. Now, the number of eggs you add to your dish depends on how you like your tortilla, it can be more or less than 5 eggs, that depends on your taste! 

First you'll need to peel and wash the potatoes, cut them and the onion in thin slices. Put them in a frying pan and cover with he oil. Cook them until they become golden. For the tortilla to be juicy, it is important that the potatoes are well done and confit, because there is nothing worse than a tortilla with half-raw potatoes. 

Then, once they are ready, remove them from the pan and let them drain. Break the eggs in a large bowl, and add the potatoes and onion into the bowl, add a little salt and mix it all together.

Finally, you'll have to cook the tortilla, and this is the tricky part! First, heat some oil in a pan, once it is hot enough, pour everything into the pan. Spread it well throughout the pan and shape it around the edges. When you notice that the bottom is set, put a plate or lid on top of the pan and quickly turn it over. Put the pan back on the heat and slide the uncooked side of the tortilla from the plate to the pan. Leave for a few more minutes,  2 or 3 minutes, more if you like it curdled and less if you like it more juicy. And then your typical Spanish tortilla will be ready!

Croquetas

There are endless possibilities about the flavor of your croqueta. However, the recipe does not change depending on the flavour. The recipe is easy, however, it is quite long and messy. You'll need 1 litre of whole milk, 100 grams of flour, 100 grams of butter, nutmeg, 250 grams of Serrano ham, salt, pepper, eggs and breadcrumbs to finalize the croqueta!

Start by making a good bechamel sauce. Fry the flour in butter and a dash of oil. Gradually add the milk until the desired texture is achieved. Season with salt and pepper and add nutmeg. Adding nutmeg is optional.

Then, add the ham cut into small pieces and leave to cook for about 12 minutes.Once the dough is ready, put it on a tray and cover ir with cling film and leave it to cool down in the fridge. 

Once it is cooled enough, it is time to roll the croquettes. Take some dough, make the shape of the croquette and dip it in egg and breadcrumbs. Once you have all your raw croquettes, fry them in plenty of olive oil and transfer to absorbent paper to remove any remaining oil.

Making these takes some time as you have to wait for the dough to cool down, but, it is super easy!

Calamares a la Romana

One of the tapas that cannot be missed in any self-respecting Spanish bar, especially in the south of Spain, is calamares a la romana, and the best part is, they are, like other tapas, super easy to make.

You will need to have 500 grams of squid rings, 2 eggs, 100 millilitres of milk, 100 grams of flour, 1 lemon, bay leaf, olive oil and salt,

First, take the fresh squid and clean it well. Then marinate it by adding lemon juice, a dash of olive oil and a bay leaf all together for about half an hour.

Then, to do the breading, separate the yolk from the egg white and mix the yolks with the flour to make the squid crispy. Then add the milk, and finally, beat the egg whites, when they are stiff, add them to the rest of the ingredients.

Dry the marinated squid on absorbent paper, pour the oil into the frying pan and let it heat up. After, soak the squid well in the mixture and, when the oil is heated enough, add them one by one until they turn golden brown.

Finally, as you remove them from the pan, dry them on absorbent paper and place them on a dish with a piece of lemon and a sauce such as mayonnaise or garlic mayonnaise.

It is also very typical to eat them in a sandwich! In which case you will just have to place inside the bread and add some mayonnaise.

If you wish to know more about traditional Spanish dishes and where they are best served in Spain, click here.

Empanadillas

Empanadillas are part of the most traditional Spanish tapas, they are also deeply rooted in countries like Argentina or Chile. The Spanish version is a smaller format of the empanada, although empanadas are only cooked in the oven and empanadillas can also be fried. There are many different ways to make empanadillas and with different ingredients, this article will give the recipe for the most traditional one: tuna, egg and tomato.

In Spain you can eat them in most bars where they are usually served as an appetizer along with the drink you order. But, you can also make them easily and quickly at home. Here is how:

In order to cook empanadillas, you will need the dough for the empanada, which you can also make yourself, 2 tins of tuna in oil, q fresh spring onion, 3 hard-boiled eggs, half of a clove of garlic, tomato sauce or fried tomato sauce, 1 egg, oil, salt, white sugar and to preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

First, cut the onion into small pieces and chop the clove of garlic and fry them in a frying pan. Add tuna to the pan and sauté it with olive oil.

On another side, boil 3 eggs until they are hard. Once they are hard, chop the 3 eggs and add them to the frying pan together with the fried tomato sauce and the rest of the mix. Add a pinch of salt and a pinch of white sugar.

When it is cooked, spread your dough on the table and put a spoonful of the filling in each one, not too much so that they do not break when baked.

Close them so that the filling does not come out and brush the surface with beaten egg, place them on greaseproof paper and bake until the surface of the pastries turns golden brown. 

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