While I was in Lanzarote, an island located in the Canary Islands, I sampled many new foods. There is no better way to do this here than through Tapas. I wrote this blog post to show you how to make tapas seafood dishes.
Tapas is famous in Spanish cuisine for being small plates of food, usually shared between a group of people. We ate in many restaurants, but also had homemade versions at home.
Below I have outline a few seafood based dishes.
Garlic Prawns
Famously known as Gambas al ajillo. Garlic prawns make for a fabulous starter or side dish.
Ingredients
200 gr prawns
4 cloves of garlic
olive oil
salt
*Prawns: We all know that fresh prawns are 10x better than frozen products, but we also know that not everyone has 1 million in their bank account. So if your buying frozen prawns just like me, don’t be ashamed of yourself, its all okay. One day you’ll buy fresh ones.
Instructions
Let the prawns defrost in cold water for a few hours before. I bought a packet that is sealed so I can put the prawns in it and place it under the water. If you put the prawns in water without a sealed packet, all the flavours from the prawns will transfer over to the water, the colour will change and the structure will be weak.
Cut the garlic in really thin slices. Like really thin!
TIP! If you don’t want the garlic taste to much like…. garlic… cut them 30 min before you want to make the garlic prawns, and soak the garlic slices in cold water. While doing this, mix them around a few times so all the slices have a change of letting that garlic taste go.
If you do this, dry the garlic slices with a towel and fry them on a low heat in a decent amount of garlic oil.
If you like garlic like I do, just fry them on a low heat in a decent amount of oil with the garlic. It is best to fry them in a frying pan.
Fry for about 1 minute, and put all the oil and garlic in a bowl.
Dry the defrosted prawns with a towel.
Put the pan you fried the garlic with back on the stove. Add a little of your home made garlic oil in and put the fire on 100%. Next add the prawns and fry them until brown.
Add the remaining garlic and oil to the pan and heat up. Add some salt and your done!
How to Make Tapas Seafood Dishes
Spicy octopus
Pulpo a la Gallega is an octopus dish with a little kick. It is famous in Galicia but has been spread across the entire country.
Ingredients
1 octopus
( I suggest you to buy a frozen octopus, this way you will avoid having to tenderize it by hitting it against the rocks or front door!)
1 large onion
Spanish sweet or hot paprika (depending on your taste)
Water
Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Take the octopus out of the freezer 48 hours before. Put it in a big bowl in the fridge so the water it releases doesn’t leak all over your fridge.
Rinse it under cold water to clean.
Fill a large pot (the bigest one you have) with water and the peeled onion. When the water starts to boil, grab the octopus and ‘scare’ in the boiling water. Grab the octopus by the head and put it and out, 3 to 4 times. You do this to prevent the skin of falling off.
Boil the octopus for about 45 min over medium heat. Prick the octopus from time to time to check how hard the octopus is. You’ll feel after time the octopus getting softer.
When the octopus is done put it on a platter and cool.
Cut it in pieces and sprinkle with paprika powder.
Done.
How to Make Tapas Seafood Dishes
Deep fried baby squid
Baby squid is way better than your typical calamari rings! The whole squid is deep fried and has so much more flavour than the rings.
Ingredients
Packet of baby squid
Salt
100 gr plain flour
1 lemon
Instructions
The baby squid is hard to get in the regular supermarket, so you’ll have to make some effort and visit the nearest Chinese shop and ask for them, or some sort of Asian shop will do.
Defrost them the morning you want to make them. Leave them all day on a plate in your kitchen out of the fridge. I know, its scary to leave seafood out of the fridge for so long but you need the amount of time to defrost the baby squid. If you leave them in the fridge they wont defrost at all.
If you have a deep-fat fryer, your life is to easy. Turn the deep-fat fryer on, and wait till its on 190 C*
If not, buy 1 L of sunflower oil (don’t think for a second to buy olive oil because it will taste like sh*t) and heat up in a frying pan. Put a good layer of oil in the pan, about 2/3 fingers thick. (2/3cm)
Put the flower in a bowl with the some salt.
Dry the baby squid and put them in the bowl with flour, cover them completely with flower and take them out. Take them in your hands and make a bowl with your hands. Sake a few times so you get rid of all the left over flour.
Fry in the hot fried pan until they are brown.
When they’re brown you put them on some kitchen paper to get rid of all the oil.
Put a little salt and lemon on them.
Done!
If you like Tapas as much as I do, check out my other blog post about making Tapas dishes. There’s something new for you to try!