A ‘tapa‘ is a ‘lid’ or ‘cover’.
Hailing from Spain, in the early days of tapas, a slice of
cheese or ham was given on a small plate and placed over your drink.
There are many myths about why this was done, some say it
was to hide the smell of bad wine and others that it was to protect it from
unwelcome flying objects like flies and dust.
I’m going with flying objects, I reckon I’d cotton on about
the bad wine if I was drinking it né?
Tapas has caught on like wildfire the world over and is fast
becoming a way of life in ours and many other cultures. It sways away from
pretentiously smart and stiff restaurants and lends itself to more rustic and casual
food.
It’s about many
tastes and flavours and is such an abundant and friendly way of eating. It’s
happy food.
When I think of tapas, I think of people laughing and licking
their fingers, enjoying the abundant bowls of colour and deliciousness in front
of them.
I think of intensely flavoured little bowls of yummy like patatas
bravas with chorizo and bruschettas. I can almost picture the taste of these spicy mussels and feel the silky hollandaise draped over this pan-seared trout on my tongue.
These aubergine slices are rolled over creamy goats cheese and
spiked with rich tomato sauce – couldn’t you just eat that right now?
The best thing about tapas is that anything goes, you don’t
have to stick to Mediterranean-style flavours at all, go crazy and make them
your own.
Here’s your chance to do just that and WIN awesome
Kalahari.com vouchers. We’re launching our newest and most delicious competition yet… food24’s tapas competition! So enter now and have some fun with food.
If you feel like venturing out on date night or with a couple of friends for a carafe of wine and some fabulous creations to share – we’ve rounded up Cape Town’s top tapas restaurants for you. Check out our list and also our reader’s comments.
Bon appetit!