I think it’s safe to say that we’ll all be missing bars, restaurants, holidays abroad, the list goes on. Whilst we understand the reasons why and I can’t stress how these are really the LEAST of problems going on in the world right now, I’m still a firm believer in making the most of a bad situation. Quite frankly, I thought my household could use some cheering up this week. My answer to doing that was cooking some good food and having some drinks together.
Today I’m bringing you 3 quick tapas recipes inspired by the tastes of Italy, Greece and Spain. We have Greek Meatballs with Tzatziki, Rosemary & Garlic Potatoes and Easy Bruschetta. As always, feel free to jump straight ahead to the recipes.
They also go perfectly with this elderflower margarita cocktail, the recipe you can find here: http://annacooksthings.com/2020/06/non-alcoholic-elderflower-margarita/
Now, to label these as ‘tapas’ is not entirely accurate as these are not traditionally Spanish snacks. Nevertheless, they are delicious and perfect for a lazy Sunday with family or happy-hour-at-home. I’m a firm believer in cutting corners, so I don’t like to make anything too complicated for you or for me. Serve as they are for a nice snack, or supplement with salad, meats, cheeses etc for a larger meal. You need to do a bit of preparation in advance but not very much. The beauty is you just bang these in the oven when you’re ready to eat! No juggling with pans and no last-minute faff.
Greek Meatballs with Tzatziki
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 250 g Lamb mince
- 250 g Pork mince
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- Handful of Fresh Mint
- 1.5 tbsp Cumin
- (Optional) Feta and sliced cucumber to serve
Tzatziki dip
- 300 g Thick Greek Yogurt
- 2.5 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2.5 tbsp Olive oil (recommend the garlic flavoured one)
- 50 g Mint
- 50 g Cucumber
Instructions
Meatballs
- Preheat an oven to 160 degrees C fan / 180 C conventional oven. In a bowl, break the lamb and pork mince up with a wooden spoon. Chop up the mint and add to the bowl with the olive oil, cumin and a pinch of salt and pepper. With clean hands, mould the mixture together with your hands until everything is well combined
- Roll the mixture into meatballs, small enough to pick up with fingers or on a cocktail skewer. Heat some oil in an oven-proof pan and add the meatballs to get some colour. Once browned on one side, flip over to the other and repeat the process.
- When brown on both sides, place the pan of meatballs in the preheated oven for 5 minutes with foil over the top to ensure they are cooked all the way through. At this point, they are ready to eat but you can pop them in the fridge until later on and reheat them on 180C fan / 200 C conventional oven for 12-15 minutes. You'll want to put these in around 5-7 minutes after the potatoes. Serve with crumbled feta, sliced cucumber and extra mint
Taziki Dip
- Finely chop the mint and grate the cucumber. Add to a bowl with the Greek yogurt, garlic oil and lemon juice. Stir together and season with salt and pepper to taste. If it's too thick for your liking, add a small drop of water. Serve alongside the meatballs and potatoes.
Rosemary Garlic Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 kg New / Baby Potatoes
- Dried Mixed Herbs
- Garlic olive oil
- Fresh rosemary (optional)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Wash the potatoes and drain in a colander. Add to a pan of water and bring to the boil with a pinch of salt, cooking for around 15 minutes. Keep a close eye on these – you want them to be tender when you stick a knife in but not so soft that they fall apart or to mush. Drain immediately once cooked and leave to cool
- Chop the potatoes into halves or quarters depending on the size. Tip the potatoes into a large baking dish and drizzle with a good glug of garlic oil until evenly coated. Add a good pinch of salt and LOTS of mixed herbs along with some fresh rosemary.
- You can pop this in the fridge until later on, or place straight into a hot oven for 15-20 minutes (180 C Fan / 200 C conventional oven) until crisp and golden. Serve alongside meatballs and taziki
Easy Bruschetta
Ingredients
For the bruschetta
- Loaf of good crusty bread, such as ciabatta or baguette.
- Drizzle olive oil
Topping Idea 1 – Hummus and Roasted Veg
- Shop-bought hummus
- Ready to roast Mediterranean veg (can be found in most supermarkets, cook these in advance and pop in fridge until ready)
Topping Idea 2 – Pesto and Sundried Tomato
- Shop-bought pesto. Link to homemade nut-free: http://annacooksthings.com/2020/06/easy-peasy-nut-free-pesto/
- Jar sundried tomatoes
Topping Idea 3 – Tomato and Avocado
- Small punnet of cherry tomatoes, chopped
- 2 Avocados, sliced
Instructions
- Do this bit in advance: Slice the crusty bread into rounds, drizzle with olive oil and pop into an oven at 180 C Fan / 200 C conventional oven for 5-10 minutes or until lightly toasted. You can do this in advance – don't worry about serving this cold
- To serve: When you're ready to eat these, top with whatever you want. Drizzle with olive oil and a good pinch of sea salt
So there you go, those are my 3 quick tapas recipes. I hope you enjoyed these recipes and they leave you hungry for more, if you did give it a like or drop us a comment!
Until next time
Anna