Tapas (Revised)

Book excerpt: Penelope Casas, who introduced the classic little dishes of Spain to American cooks more than twenty years ago, now gives us a splendid updated edition of that seminal book—with fifty exciting new recipes and eight full pages of new color photographs showing tapas in all their glory. Here are all the appetizer dishes that have long been a tradition in Spanish cuisine—mélanges of seafood in aromatic sauces; little ragouts of meat, sausages, beans; colorful salads and marinades; the omelets called tortillas that enclose a variety of tasty tidbits; banderillas, zesty combinations on skewers; and empanadas, savory delights encased in pastry. The new recipes Casas includes reflect the influence of the innovative cooking in Spain today—dishes seasoned with soy sauce or balsamic vinegar; ingredients wrapped in flaky phyllo pastry; accents of goat cheese and arugula; foie gras in elegant presentations. With Spanish cooking at the forefront of today’s cuisine, this “exceptional book by the leading American authority on the foods of Spain” (as Craig Claiborne dubbed it in 1985) is a must for every adventurous cook in America today.