Tapas Tuesday!

Tapas and Wine

Well, actually this was from Monday but I ran out of time yesterday and who doesn’t love a little alliteration….

It sounds ridiculous, but in all honesty, with all of the excitement around Tapas or “small plates” at restaurants around the city, I had never thought about it as a way to eat at home. But after Monday’s dinner, I realize how wrong I had been. Two weeks prior, a few buddies and I hit up Tia Pol on the West Side after a ton of encouragement over the years. It was frickin’ awesome and reminded me of the amazing meals Em and I had in Barcelona. So to continue the deliciousness I decided to work on a few tapas of my own.

Sardines, Fresh Tomato Sauce and Egg

Some were super traditional, like the charred shishito peppers (posted about these before) while others were a bit more fun. Take this sardine, hard boiled egg, and fresh tomato sauce dish as an example. I know it sounds a bit weird but the sweetness of the farmers market cherry tomatoes act as a perfect balancer for the fishiness of the sardines. With a little egg providing richness, honestly this was really awesome. With some roasted chickpeas and an heirloom tomato and ricotta salata salad rounding out the meal, it was truly a tapas success!

Heirloom and Ricotta Salata Salad

And you might be thinking, “I barely have time to cook one thing after work, and now you want me to cook 4!”. But with the exception of the tomato sauce that I made from the fresh tomatoes, nothing here took any real time! All of the preparations were simple and relaxing just like the bottle of rioja we enjoyed!