Monday, August 04, 2008

Tapas in the Spanish Way for a Summer Afternoon

For all the dog days of summer, there are also the gems – brilliant, balmy, seemingly-endless days filled with affectionate, caressing breezes. There is no clock ticking, no next appointment. The sun seems to shine forever, the family is gathered around the table after a long while, and the only real decision to be made is whether to refill the wine glass… again. A day perfect for a summer feast, made of simple ingredients – perfect for tapas in the Spanish way.



Briny marinated olives (Verdeho de Aceitunas) and sauteed Marcona almonds (Almendras Fritas) pair up with a fine, venerable Rioja …



Tomato-rubbed bread (Pan con Tomate) from Catalonia is topped with savory Serrano ham, Spanish anchovies and Manchego cheese …



White bean salad (Ensalada de Judias Blancas) is a colorful marinade of tiny bites …




Chilled white garlic soup (Ajo Blanco), the forerunner of gazpacho, is a cold, frothy puree of garlic cloves, almonds and breadcrumbs …



Peppery Spanish Blue Cheese is spiked with a touch of brandy …




Cod salad with tomato and onion (Esqueixada) is fresh with the flavors of the sea …




The classic tapas dish, Garlic Shrimp (Gambas al Ajillo) is spicy and pungent, the garlic cloves the consistency of butter …



Finishing with a classic, silky crème caramel …


We eat until we are truly content. At long last, the sun goes down, the evening fireflies emerge and we can begin to dream about the next summer feast.


©2008 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

5 comments:

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

I'm just this week putting together the menu for a tapas class I'll teach next April at RISD -- definitely going to rethink the menu now and incorporate some of these dishes. I could always use a sous chef.....

Unknown said...

Some great tapas photos! We have tapas almost every day with gambas al pil pil/chili garlic prawns being a favourite. Great thing is tapas are still free in the Granada province :-) Great blog!

Veron said...

Hmmn...yum! I love the serrano ham and the shrimp tapas!

Thistlemoon said...

PERFECTION. Those photos are great and you have some really nice presentation, not to mention tasty dishes going on there. Tapas is some of my very favorites!

~~louise~~ said...

~~~~~~~~~Exquisite~~~~~~~~~