Tapas menu - help please!

[ImNotReallyHere]

I've invited my DM and DB for lunch at the weekend as a treat for my DMs birthday. I've said I would make tapas but I'm beginning to think I've bitten off more than I can chew. I'm not a great cook.

Any suggestions for a menu for 6 people. 5 meat eaters and one vegetarian? Ideally with some things that can be made ahead/ shop bought so I only have to make a few things when they arrive.

So far I was thinking of having a selection of cold meats/ cheese/ olives which can be shop bought.

Calamares - which I will have to make on the day
Tortilla

What else would you suggest?

Forgot to add, DB is the vegetarian and he likes spicy food.

Lots of ideas here.

www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/collection/easy-tapas-recipes/

I’d do some bread/pan con tomate /bruschetta and salads with that (a lettuce salad, and maybe roast veg)

Meatballs? (Buy or make ahead)

Everyone seems to love patatas bravas and that is easy too

The stuffed peppers (with goat cheese/feta) that you can buy are v popular too

It's Spanish week at lidl, you could buy ready made there. I would make patatas bravas and chickpeas in grilled peppers for the vegetarian.

If you can get to lidl they currently have their iberian selection on, so you could buy quite a bit of ready made food from there. The breadsticks with sunflower seeds in are gorgeous!

Dates wrapped in bacon are easy to prep ahead and cook when ready. Mini meatballs. Potatas bravas. Garlic prawns. Mini chorizo. Olives, dips, Manchengo, cold meats all good. Pre made paella? Mini chicken skewers? You want bits that are easy to prep ahead, and not too faffy. Lidl is a good shout if Spanish week.

Thanks all. Some great ideas.

I'll definitely add potatas bravas to the menu. I could make the sauce the night before and just heat up so less faff on the day.

I might scrap the tortilla as last time I made one it was a disaster so probably need one more meat and one more veggie tapas.

We do have a Lidl near us so will go and have a look tomorrow. That's good timing. Will also look for the breadsticks.

Morrisons have perfectly acceptable calamari.

I would also recommend morrions for deli tubs of olives/ marinated anchovies/ stuffed peppers etc and Spanish omelette.

Large meatballs in tomato sauce can be made ahead.

you can buy tortilla in most supermarkets - normally near the olives etc. just cut it into small squares

You can buy tortilla in Sainsburys or Morrisons etc. Just put it into a frying pan and it's done.

Barred chicken with honey sauce, goats cheese with caramelized onion, black pudding with caramelized onion, garlic and cream potatoes, chorizo in red wine, rocket with spiced beef lightly sprinkled with a hard cheese, garlic and chilli prawns, thinly sliced and grilled aubergine with mozzarella.

*battered not barred

Tapas can be a bit fiddly but it is lovely. Buying in is a good way to manage some things so good bread, olives, a small meat board and some manchego with Membrillo paste as a start.

I would also consider:

Goats cheese fried with honey (Jose Pizarro recommends it with beetroot "crisps" alongside) - but does need to be done at last minute.

Padron Peppers - most supermarkets sell them. Fry them just before people are due to arrive and lay out with the bread/olives etc.

Tortilla (I think they're not too difficult to make and I sometimes cheat by placing them under a hot grill for the last few minutes rather than carefully turning them over. It does rely on an oven pan.

Chorizo friend with peppers and red wine - can be done in advance and left in the pan to heat up before serving.

Calamari or prawns are great if you're up to cooking those at the last minute.

Oh, and you can get decent pre-made Churros and chocolate sauce for dessert these days!

Most supermarkets do ready made tortilla - we regularly by this from Tesco. I see someone is saying there is a Spanish food special at Lidl- previously they have had the ready made tortillas in different flavours - eg with spinach or chorizo .

We've just returned from Spain and one thing we enjoyed was different flavour croquettes - with ham / fish or spinach.

What about a platter with different meats and cheeses (separate plates) eg Serrano ham and chorizo , manchego cheese

I like the different flavour olives you can get in tubs too

Lots of great ideas.

Padron Peppers - most supermarkets sell them. Fry them just before people are due to arrive and lay out with the bread/olives etc.

Can these be made in advance? Or are they served hot? They are coming 2 hours before I serve lunch so I'm worried I'll have too much to do at the last minute but I think veggie DB would like these.

Chorizo friend with peppers and red wine - can be done in advance and left in the pan to heat up before serving

Could this be made the evening before and reheated do you think?

I LOVE tapas but it's a pain to prepare. To me tapas is about having lots of little bits to make the meal.

I would have:

Olives / cheese / spanish charcuterie / bread with oil and tomato
Tortilla
Garlic prawns
Meatballs in tomato sauce
Chorizo in red wine
Patatas bravas
Tenderstem with tahini and tapanade
Vegetarian paella
Calamari

@ImNotReallyHere

Lots of great ideas.

Padron Peppers - most supermarkets sell them. Fry them just before people are due to arrive and lay out with the bread/olives etc.

Can these be made in advance? Or are they served hot? They are coming 2 hours before I serve lunch so I'm worried I'll have too much to do at the last minute but I think veggie DB would like these.

They should be served warm so don't have to be made 10 seconds before you eat but ideally not hours either. I'd consider them a good thing to snack on while you're all sitting around rather than part of the main meal. So if they're coming at 12:00 and you're planning to eat at 13:00, I'd cook them at 11:45 and have them out to nibble on while you're having a pre-meal drink.

I've fried padron peppers for tapas (halved then fried in olive oil and added a sprinkle of salt at the end) then had the leftovers the next day. Hot is obviously nicer but they are still delicious cold.

@ImNotReallyHere

Chorizo friend with peppers and red wine - can be done in advance and left in the pan to heat up before serving

Could this be made the evening before and reheated do you think?

I imagine so. I haven't done it that way myself but have done it in the morning when people are coming over later that day. I am lazy and tend to use cured chorizo but suspect if you're doing it the day before, using proper chorizo sausage would work better as it wouldn't dry out overnight in the same way that cooked cured chorizo probably would.

Chorizo in red wine or sherry takes less than 5 minutes
Just fry it with no oil and then once the slices take on a bit of colour turn off the pan and deglaze it with the booze. Then serve with a bit of fresh parsley on top

This all sounds delicious. You could do garlic mushrooms for your DB? That would be easier than paella. I agree with everyone who has said shop-bought tortilla. I think there is a lot you can prep in advance or eat cold, but you will probably need 15 mins in the kitchen before serving to do prawns/mushrooms/chorizo which would all be nice sizzling hot.

The anchovies from Lidl are better than sex

I lived in Spain for a year as a student and LOVE tapas. Croquetas are a must for your menu :)