Spanish Tapas: Less is More

Spanish Tapas: Less is More

A lot of our travelers at our Madrid Food Tours, are surprised when we tell them that indeed, “less is more” in Spanish food. There are two factors, one, if you have good quality ingredients, you want to savor them and not cover them with spices or extra ingredients, you are looking to taste the essence of that ingredient. The second factor is the less ingredients to concoct, the less hassle really, right? “Live to work or work to live.”  Whenever you ask a local to give you a food recipe, they usually forget to mention onion, onion is a given in Spanish recipes, kind like garlic for Italians.

One clear example of the simplicity and flavorful of Spanish food are the Chicken wings at a typical Madrid Tapas bar. Some years ago, we organized a private Madrid Tapas Tour for a family from Michigan. The parents had warned us by email that one of their teenage kids, was not that food adventurous and had requested chicken wings, not something we usually offer in our Madrid Tapas Tours though… You can’t always go wrong with chicken wings, right? The wings arrived on the table, and the kid looked pretty surprised, that first of all, they were whole, and not split into two pieces like in the States, and most importantly simply fried in olive oil and not battered.

I then offered to pour some lemon and they asked for tobacco, I asked them to give them a chance as is, “plain” “less is more” and the whole family agreed, after their first bite, they were amazed how much flavor and juicy the chicken wings actually were. The kid even mentioned how they were the best wings he had ever tasted. Welcome to Spanish food, simplicity is key.

One thing we have to admit is that our Paellas, are not as simple, that is usually the exception to the rules, with chicken, pork, veggies, seafood and shellfish.

We hope you enjoyed this little example of the secret to Spanish Tapas. Join us on one of our many Madrid Food Tours, and we guarantee you will not be let down, by “less is more.”