Speak the Culture: Spain: Be Fluent in Spanish Life and Culture

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1. Identity: the
   building blocks of
   2. Literature
   and philosophy
   3. Art and
   architecture
   4. Performing
   arts
   5. Cinema
   and fashion
   6. Media and
   communications
   7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
   the details of

Small is beautiful:tapas

A nibble here, a nibble there...thetapeo(tapasbar crawl)

is a social affair where friends, colleagues, even entire

families, stroll from bar to bar sampling the lip-smacking

likes of smoked cod,jamón serranoandtortilla(potato

omelette). Spain owes itstapastraditions to the hot,

insect-infested bars of 19thcentury Andalusia where

slices of bread were used to cover glasses of sherry:

tapa, meaning ‘lid’, is derived from the Spanish verb

tapar, to cover. In time, lumps of meat and cheese were

added to the bread. A more gentile account of its origins

dates back to the 13thcentury when an ill King Alfonso X

owed his quick and painless recuperation from an illness

to the regular sipping of restorative wine followed by

reduced portions of food. His recovery was so painless

that he decreed that taverns could only serve wine if

accompanied by a snack. Whatever its origins, today

you’re unlikely to findtapasserved up free with a drink,

but it is still a gratifyingly cheap way of soaking up

alcohol.

Boquerones fritos

Fried anchovies; the tiny ones are eaten whole.

Escalivada

Marinated vegetable mix featuring aubergine and red pepper.

Gambas

Prawns sautéed in the likes of garlic, peppercorn or chilli sauce.

Champiñones al ajillo

Mushrooms fried in olive oil with garlic and parsley.

Chorizo

The famous sausage served unadulterated in chunks or cooked slowly in wine (al vino).

Albóndigas con salsa de tomate

Meatballs in tomato sauce: a classic.

Let’s hear it for the little guys:tapasfavourites

Don’t discard your knife
and fork on the dirty
plate; you’ll be needing
them for the next course.

Keep your hands where I
can see them. This slice
of protocol may date
back to the days when
blackguards concealed
daggers under the table.

Generally, you don’t
need to tip in a
restaurant. The Spanish
might leave some minor
loose change behind,
but usually nothing more.

Three morsels

of dining

etiquette