Spanish Tapas Menu
Tapas—made with garden-fresh vegetables and herbs—are just right for a light summer supper or a casual get-together with friends.
By Susan Belsinger
August/September 2008
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Garlic toast, fresh tomato salsa and herb-marinated olives make easy, healthful tapas.
iStockphoto.com/Rohit Seth
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Recipes:
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As one story goes, the practice of serving la tapa began when a Spanish innkeeper placed a piece of bread atop a glass of wine or sherry to shield the beverage from fruit flies. (The Spanish word tapa comes from the verb tapar, which means "to cover.") In time, weary travelers and hungry imbibers began to nibble on the bread covering, allowing the enterprising innkeeper to charge a bit more for the topping. Eventually, the tapa became something more—ham or cheese were served with the bread, and some eateries even began placing the tapa on a saucer atop the wineglass.
Another tapas tale relates that a very ill King Alfonso of Castile improved by taking small sips of wine and little bites of food during his recovery. When he was well, he proclaimed that all tabernas (taverns) should serve small portions of food with their wine.
One final chronicle tells of King Alfonso XII (another King Alfonso), who ordered sherry at an inn in the windy city of Cádiz. The waiter covered the cup with a slice of ham before serving it to keep beach sand from blowing into it. After drinking the wine and eating the tapa, the king requested another sherry "with the same cover."