Tapas: How did Tapas Started?
Couple of days back, I tried to prepare some Spanish dishes for my family’s gathering. I read through few Spanish recipes book to find some cooking ideas and spotted some Tapas recipes which I had included as my Spanish menu. I have also updated AllSpanishRecipes.com with one of the tapas recipes I tried, Olives with Orange and Lemon. Please feel free to try it out.
Just out of my reading, I thought it is good for me to share some information about tapas. And, I would like to start out with question on how did Tapas started out? Below is the information I have gathered.
No one knows exactly how tapas came about, but the story goes that during an official visit of King Alfonso XIII to Cadiz, the King stopped into a bar with his entourage and ordered a fino (dry sherry). A strong wind had picked up and the bartender placed a slice of cured meat over the King’s drink. When the King asked why, the bartender explainde that he had placed the ‘tapa’ (lid) so that the sherry would not be filled with sand. The King liked the idea so much that he ate the ham and ordered another sherry, with the tapa. Seeing this, the King’s entourage ordered the same. In the future, as the King traveled across the country ordering his sherry with a tapa, the tradition spread.
I will be writing more about tapas culture and of course, adding in more tapas recipes. Do visit our Spanish Tapas Recipes for more tapas recipes.
Please feel free to let me know if you have any good articles or Spanish recipes that you would like to share with the readers here. Thanks.
Nice tapas recipe.. I was looking for a healthy recipes with olive oil for my son. Thank you so much and appreciate your effort of writing a website on Spanish recipes. I will definitely visit allspanishrecipes.com often.
Hi Anne,
It feels good to find new friend who is also into Spanish recipes. Thanks for the feedback.