recipes / Tapas

Tapas, Antipasti and Meze

Here you’ll find inspiration, tips and ideas for meals made up of delicious small dishes and delicacies you’ll love to share with the people you care about.

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Flavourful small dishes

Tapas means “lid” in Spanish and originates from Andalusian bodegas, where a slice of bread or air-dried ham was used to stop flies from falling into the wine glass. Today, tapas is a strong Spanish food tradition of small, flavourful dishes served in smaller portions that together make up a varied meal. A beloved thing has many names: the idea of putting together small dishes—and the simplicity with which they’re prepared and presented—can be found throughout the Mediterranean. While Tapas is the Spanish term for delicate small dishes, the Italian kitchen uses the equivalent term Antipasti—while a third term, Meze, is used in the Middle East. Fittingly, this Persian word “mazzeh” means: to taste. And whatever the name, Tapas, Antipasti and Meze are all delicious bites and little treats that even the most discerning palates would hate to miss out on! The similarities between Spanish tapas, Italian antipasti and Middle Eastern meze are far more important than the differences. At the heart of these ethnically inspired dishes are shared ingredients such as ham, cheese, sausages and bread, olive oil, and vegetables like tomatoes, aubergines, peppers and garlic.

Tapas is a meal made for sharing

Tapas is perfect for sharing and creates a cosy, relaxed atmosphere at any get-together.
A delicious selection of small, flavourful dishes to share is a wonderfully social way to meet up and eat together. The menu can include everything from cheese and charcuterie to fish and seafood, vegetables, bread and much more. It’s easy to have something for everyone. The varied flavour palette and the different colours and textures make tapas an exciting culinary experience, where you’re introduced to different flavour combinations. Tapas is full of umami and depth—and above all, lots of flavour. Even a simple tapas menu can impress your guests and is always a safe winner, whether it’s for a party, a dinner or a cosy evening at home. Tapas is food you’ll love to share with the people you care about.

Tapas is easy and simple to prepare

They do something truly special around the Mediterranean—especially when it comes to sharing a good meal in a wonderful, relaxed atmosphere. Tapas is in the “superb” category if you don’t feel like standing and sweating over a hob or oven. Preparing and serving tapas can be kept simple and easy. That makes the meal more effortless, so you have more energy to be present with your guests. Tapas naturally slows the pace and creates the perfect atmosphere for conversation. Tapas is easy to love, and the flavours and aromas of Mediterranean small dishes can, for example, bring back lovely holiday memories from more southern latitudes. Here’s a bit of inspiration for how you can effortlessly serve a delicious tapas menu for the people you care about.

Exquisite sides and toppings for Tapas

Zelected Foods offers a wide selection of delicacies and specialties based on authentic flavour experiences from the Mediterranean region. We’ve drawn inspiration from tapas in Spain and antipasti in Italy to meze in Greece, Turkey and the Middle East, and from there developed a range that makes it easy to add exactly the right flavour to a tapas menu.

Based on the best ingredients and authentic recipes, we’ve put together a wide selection of tapas accompaniments, including pesto, olives, crispy bread specialties and sun-dried tomatoes, as well as grilled artichokes, peppers, marinated vegetables and other treats like Truffle mayonnaise and Onion chutney. That gives you plenty of opportunity to explore an exclusive range of the finest tapas delicacies.

Bread is probably the most important tapas element, because it’s used to scoop, dip or spread the various accompaniments that typically go with a tapas menu, such as olive oil, pesto and aioli. That way, bread both carries flavour and plays a key role in the meal. Feel free to serve different types of homemade bread, such as a classic crispy baguette that pairs beautifully with air-dried Serrano ham and cheese, while a softer focaccia can be perfect for heartier tapas elements like pesto or chorizo. Ready-baked tartlet shells and crispy salty snacks like crostini and grissini are also ideal for the tapas table. Crostini are small, twice-baked crispy bread slices made from wheat or rye, and are perfect for serving with different toppings or dips. Crispy grissini sticks come both plain and with sesame seeds or rosemary, which add an extra dimension of flavour and a rustic texture. Grissini are great for dipping, wrapping with ham, or serving as part of a cheese board. Bouchees are small, light and crispy pastry shells that are ideal for filling with salmon, prawns, chicken or vegetables. They’re ready-baked and easy to prepare—and guaranteed to impress your guests.

Pesto is an Italian classic that pairs beautifully with Spanish tapas. Pesto is a real flavour bomb that can turn even the simplest bread into a culinary masterpiece. It’s also the perfect match for ham, cheese and sausages. Try the creamy pesto varieties Creamy Basil Pesto, Creamy Pepper Pesto, and the sun-ripened Tomato Pesto. All Zelected Foods pestos are made from the finest ingredients, with a smooth, creamy texture and authentic flavour.

Mayonnaise is the king of topping dips. Try the delicious Truffle mayo, which can lift countless dishes to new heights. With its creamy texture and intense truffle flavour, it pairs perfectly with bread, cheeses and air-dried ham. Like our other special seasoned mayonnaises, it’s the perfect accompaniment to classic tapas.

Olives are a classic on a tapas table. The different varieties—from intensely flavourful Kalamata olives to the larger, milder green varieties—add an unrivalled richness of nuance to the tapas table. The salty, slightly bitter or spicy notes that characterise olives work well as a counterpoint to many other typical tapas flavours. Try, for example, the grilled green olives or semi-dried black olives, which with their intense flavour are sure to be a highlight on a tapas buffet—and perfect as a snack or in salads.

Grilled, marinated and pickled vegetables are essential to a refined tapas experience. They contribute a broad palette of colours, textures and flavours—from crunchy to soft, and from tangy to umami. Crunchy pickled cucumbers, grilled artichokes in oil, sun-ripened semi-dried tomatoes and grilled peppers help create harmony on the tapas plate. Pickled red onions are also excellent as a tapas side and can elevate many dishes. Also try the delicious Onion chutney as a topping for your tapas dishes. It’s perfect with cheese, meat, or as a dip for crisps and vegetables.

How to plate the perfect tapas menu

The variety on a tapas table—along with all the beautiful dishes and accompaniments—can be a feast for the eyes. But without any thought for visual presentation, it can easily turn into visual clutter. Be creative when plating tapas. Use interesting surfaces such as a large, beautiful wooden chopping board, rustic ceramics and small glass bowls. It’s not hard to create a beautiful tapas platter: use different small ceramic bowls for tapenades and pestos, or deliberately choose several in the same style. Small glass bowls can sometimes be preferable, as they show off the accompaniments’ often beautiful colours.

You can choose to put all the ingredients on the same platter or divide them into themes. Start by taking the cheese out of the fridge in good time—ideally 45 minutes before plating—so it can develop its flavour. Now arrange the individual tapas elements in relation to each other. Plate the cheeses on the board first. Then place accompaniments—not on top of the cheeses, but in small glass bowls beside them. Next, arrange charcuterie such as ham and sausages, and possibly pâtés, in portions. Garnish with delicious fruit, grapes, berries and nuts.
A beautiful presentation of the tapas menu is important. When you put visual aesthetics first, it tastes

Inspiration for easy tapas dishes

There are many different kinds of tapas: from the very simple tapas to tapas dishes that require a little more preparation. Below you can see elements of traditional, authentic tapas.

Bread in all varieties—ideally long-fermented homemade baguettes and focaccia.
Cheeses, preferably different types such as Manchego, fresh cheeses and blue cheese.
Hams, such as Serrano or Iberico ham.
Sausages, either air-dried or fresh sausages, such as fennel sausage, chorizo and the Catalan fuet sausage.
Fish: all kinds of tinned fish: tuna, mussels, anchovies.
Veg: olives, grilled artichokes, peppers, semi-dried tomatoes and more.
Fruit: grapes, orange, lemon, avocado and mango.
Snacks such as salted almonds, dates and nuts. Try, for example, dates wrapped in bacon and pan-fried.
Salads: all kinds of salads, for example a very simple tomato salad with balsamic dressing.
Marinated dishes: prawns, mushrooms, fruit and much more.
Pan-fried and deep-fried dishes, for example with fish, meat, potatoes, etc.
Stews such as meatballs in tomato sauce or delicious slow-cooked dishes full of flavour.
Soups of all kinds—cold and hot. Spaniards love soups.

Explore our serving tips and find inspiration for how you can easily create small, flavourful tapas dishes that spread a cosy atmosphere and spark excitement and curiosity among your guests.