Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain [Paperback]

Penelope Casas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 1985

More than 300 wonderful tapas recipes (traditional Spanish appetizer dishes). Offers carefully selected menus to make the work easy and to ensure a beautifully balanced array of delicious, unusual and colorful dishes. 8 pages of full color photos.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Tapas are more than savory appetizers. "They represent a style of eating and way of life," says Penelope Casas, whose Tapas: the Little Dishes of Spain presents more than 300 recipes for the mouth-watering morsels. "So very Spanish, yet adaptable to America," she says, "they cross the line into what we think of as first course or main course dishes."

In chapters such as Tapas in Sauce; Marinades, Patés, Salads, and Other Cold Tapas; and Tapas with Bread or Pastry, Casas provides a definitive selection of the traditional Spanish bar food--dishes to pass out at a gathering, to serve on a buffet, or to make a party of. Readers wishing an introduction to this versatile food, and the culinary culture in which it thrives, will want this bestselling book.

The recipe array is vast. Sauce or ragout-like tapas include Shrimp and Mushrooms in Almond Sauce, Scallops with Cured Ham and Saffron, and Veal Meatballs in Spicy Chorizo Sauce. Endives Filled with Salmon and Shrimp Melon and Apple Salad are two examples of the many tantalizing cold tapas. Prawns Grilled with Garlic Mayonnaise, Lamb Brochettes, and the Three-Layer Omelet, a mixed-egg and vegetable tortilla, are hot-from-the-stove, show-stopping tapas. Including eight pages of color photos, a glossary of ingredients, menus, and a list of recommended Spanish tapas bars, the book is a complete tapas tour. Cooks at all skill levels will find dozens of these tasty little morsels to make and enjoy. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly

Tapas are to Spain as pasta is to Italya fundamental culinary form of unending variety. And with Tapas, Casas (The Foods and Wines of Spain) continues to do for Spanish cooking what Marcella Hazan has done for Italian. Tapas are appetizers of every descriptionfinger food and salads, marinades and pates, tarts and toasts, beans, sauced dishes, even some soups. The author provides recipes for a tempting selection of dishes that conveys Spain's love for all types of seafood and sausage, potatoes and peppers, saffron, garlic, paprika and green sauce. Since tapas are, by definition, little dishes, quite a few recipes require a disproportionate amount of work per ounce, and one should get used to lists calling for -cup strong chicken broth or two tablespoons peas. Suggestions for tapas menus are listed, as are leading tapas bars in Spain. BOMC Cooking & Crafts Club and QPBC alternate. October 22
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1 edition (September 12, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394742354
• ISBN-13: 978-0394742359
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #661,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #90 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > European > Spanish

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure trove of tapas from all over Spain, March 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain (Paperback)

A wonderful introduction to Spain's colorful and exciting "little dishes," this attractive cookbook provides the reader with an extensive range of tapas from many regions. The dishes described are as versatile as they are delicious, and although some are rather time-consuming, most are not complicated. A glossary of ingredients, shopping information, hints on techniques and utensils, tips for throwing your own tapas party, and carefully planned menus for a variety of occasions make this a very useful guide.

Also recommended: If you love tapas you will love mazzas, the "little dishes" of the eastern Mediterranean, a stunning selection of which is included in Sonia Uvezian's latest and greatest cookbook, "Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen." This extraordinary volume should be added to every food lover's "must" list!

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one, April 14, 2003

By 

Billy J Saunders Jr (Brandenburg, KY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain (Paperback)

I've been looking for something like this for a long time. All recipe titles are displayed in English and Spanish. Ingredients and directions are displayed in English and converted over to the U.S. standards of measure. This is very helpful. If you have ever tried to convert a full recipe from metric to U.S. you know what trouble that can be. Recipes are very authentic of the Spanish Tapas I have ever had in my short 4 years of living in Madrid. Recipes are easy to follow and to understand. Includes helpful hints to make cooking and clean up a lot easer. For Example: The correct way to turn over a tortilla with out making a mess.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Tapas" has been a staple in our house for years!, April 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain (Paperback)

Tapas are always a hit with guests. For parties, I usually choose a few tapas that can be make beforehand (ie, the maninated tapas) and then serve a couple of hot tapas that require last-minute preparation. Nothing could be easier! Favorite recipes include garlic shrimp, tortilla, those delicious bite-sized meatballls and marinated shrimp. I enthusiastically recommend this book!