Tapas

Tapas are finger food which originated in Spain. Dinner in Spain is usually served between 9pm and 11pm and therefore, Spaniards often go bar hopping and eat tapas in the time between finishing work and having dinner. The word tapa means lid or cover in Spanish. An item (be it bread or a flat card) would often be placed on top of a drink to protect it from fruit flies and at some point it became a habit to top this cover with a snack. The Formula 1 Grand Prix was held yesterday in Spain and much to my husband’s delight (he’s half Spanish), I decided to make tapas for the event. The following recipe is for Spanish Empanadillas. These little pies (featured in the middle of the dish) are part of the Moorish tradition in Spain. The Arabs first brought spinach to Europe and pine nuts and raisins are typical Arab flavorings.

Makes 20
recipe from The Spanish Kitchen

1/4 cup (25g) raisins
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb (450g) fresh spinach leaves, washed, drained and chopped
6 anchovies (canned), drained and chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup (25g) pine nuts, roughly chopped
1 egg, beaten
12 oz (350g) puff pastry

To make the filling, soak the raisins in a little warm water for 10 minutes. Drain well, then roughly chop. Heat olive oil in a large pan, add the spinach, stir, then cover and cook over low heat for about 2 minutes or until the spinach starts to wilt. Remove the lid, turn up the heat and cook until all liquid has evaporated. Add the chopped anchovies and garlic to the spinach and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute then remove pan from the heat and stir in raisins and pine nuts. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180c (350f). Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 3mm (1/8 inch) thickness. Using a 7.5cm (3″) pastry cutter, cut the pastry into 20 rounds. Place about 2 teaspoons of filling in the middle of each round, then brush the edges with a little water. Bring up the sides of the pastry and seal well. Press the edges together and brush with an egg. Place pies, slightly apart, on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes until puffed up and golden brown. Transfer the pies to a wire wrack to cool. They are best served while still warm but not hot.

The Culinary Chase’s Note: These were delicious! I wasn’t sure I’d like the combination of raisins and anchovies but after sampling these heavenly pies, my thought was, why haven’t I thought of this before??