These tasty bites can be a luscious lunch or a tempting appetizer. Choose the sweetest variety of cherry tomatoes, red or yellow, available.
Yields 8 tartlets
Looking for a grain-free wrap to replace pitas or tortillas? This sheet pan hack is so flavorful you may never go back! It gets its goodness from sweet onions and salty Parmigiano-Reggiano. You can also cut the cooked sheet into shapes to top burgers or enjoy on their own as snacks. Bookmark this one for next autumn: Cut into rounds to make delicious toppers for French onion soup (use any sweet onion when Vidalias are out of season).
Makes 3 wraps
This makes a satisfying lunch and a great appetizer for your next get-together. I love the tangy, fruity taste of sumac, a spice that’s finally getting the attention it deserves. If you’ve got the grill on, drizzle olive oil on the bread and toast over the coals.
Yields 4 lunch or 8 appetizer servings
This rich dish can be served as a light main course or as an appetizer. Popular in Santiago, it’s traditionally baked in a ceramic vessel from the nearby town of Pomaire, famous for its burgundy-colored clay.
Serves 4
Besides its great taste, halloumi holds its shape well under high heat and, unlike beef, chicken, and other proteins, it takes only as long as the vegetables to grill so all the ingredients on your skewers will be done at the same time.
Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as a main dish
These bites make an elegant appetizer. For the sweet potatoes, choose long rather than rounded ones to get the most slices from each. Keeping the brie refrigerated until needed makes it easier to cut.
Yields 16 bites
This Catalan twist on bruschetta is simple and delicious. Choose the ripest tomatoes you can find. If available, Sungold cherry tomatoes make for a tasty and eye-catching tapa.
Pinchitos, skewers of highly spiced meat, are the highlight at barbecues across many areas of southern Spain. Though this recipe features beef, it’s equally good with chicken, pork, and lamb. To make pinchitos without turning on the grill, you can sear the meat in a Dutch oven and then place it on skewers to serve as a finger food, or plate right out of the pot. This recipe can be doubled or tripled for a large group.
Serves 6
This is one of my favorites, and it involves no cooking and minimal prep. At its center are cured meats from the unique black Iberian pigs. The star of the show is jamón Ibérico, a cured ham with wonderful flavor. I also love chorizo Ibérico, cured sausage redolent of garlic and pimentón; salchichón Ibérico, similar to chorizo but without pimentón; and lomo, cured pork loin. Save room for Spanish cheeses, which run the gamut from mild-yet-flavorful Manchego to nutty-and-buttery Idiazábal to Cabrales, an intense blue. While these Spanish delicacies may not be as ubiquitous as French brie and Italian prosciutto, they are readily available at many gourmet shops and online specialty purveyors.
Serves 8
This sweet-and-spicy treat is irresistible—perfect for a party or afternoon nibble. Note: All bolded spices are included in the new spice collection from the T. J. Robinson Curated Culinary Selections.
Yields 6 to 8 servings
Melbourne-based foodie and olive oil authority Melissa Wong shared two of her dumpling recipes with me on my most recent trip to Australia for the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club. The shrimp-and pork-based dumpling recipe is available in the current Pressing Report included with our latest Ozzie olive oils. Here is her meatless version. Tailor the filling to your tastes by adding more veggies like diced shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, or jicama. Please click here to join now so you don’t miss my sumptuous trio of Oz oils shipping now.
Serves 8 to 10
Bored with shrimp cocktails featuring ketchup and horseradish sauces, we decided to develop a recipe that celebrates fresh shrimp’s brininess. Taking our inspiration from dirty martinis, we roasted shrimp with a simple marinade to concentrate their flavor, then served them with a unique cocktail sauce featuring brined olives and the umami-rich Australian condiment Vegemite, available on Amazon (feel free to sub in Worcestershire sauce or Marmite as desired).
Serves 4 to 6