tapas, tapas, tapas

It looks like tapas are becoming a very common formula all over the world. Just a few weeks ago, while in Barcelona, we made a really nice and fun tapas incursion.

We started with croquetas, which were the real deal: consistent and full of flavour.

The fried "boquerones" were an extremely surprising joy. Nothing to compare with the more traditional ones "en aceite", which are still fabulous.

Tomatoe carpaccio was a genuine discovery: tasty, refreshing and perfect to combine with all the tapas coming along.

A "pintxo", but not a "moruno" one, brought some more traditional attributes, even if its flavour rather was a contemporary result.

Smoked fish has not necessarily a shocking effect, but I think this time it did twist the initial expectations in a very positive way.

Cava is unavoidable for me while in Catalan territories. This one, a 2009 Privat Nu, was an organic one and even if it wasn't as mind blowing as Recaredo, our new exploration was a totally successful one.

Back to our instinctive fish preference, some sardines "en escabeche" brought a quite colourful plate to the collection.

Often the word sandwich does not mean anything to me. But when it has jamón ibérico de bellota (acorn) things can change radically.

This simple eggplant with honey was another jewel of our tapas moment of the month, or should I say the year?

I love chocolate and I love virgin olive oil, but I usually don't mix them. Now I know they can both work extremely well, and even more with a pinch of salt on top of it.

Ice cream is another all time favourite. In this case there was no complexity at all. A pure "corte", the same way it was served when I was a little kid. I'd say this is a classic within the Spanish dessert context.

An iced coffee (café con hielo) is a perfect ending in a hot summer day, especially if missing some hours of sleep. It really helps me dealing with the afternoon in a more active way. This wasn't an exception.