If you find yourself in Spain around 3PM, you will notice how the people seem to disappear from the streets. You look into the small bars that line the streets and they are crammed with people eating, drinking, and socializing. You've discovered the Tapas Bars!
Tapas are small plates of really fresh and available foods like cured ham, seafood salad, almonds, fried croquettes, sauteed peppers, olives, or any freshly marinated or cooked seasonal item. The Tapas philosophy is centered around people meeting at their local bar, picking from a few options of food, having a drink, a laugh, then back to whatever it is they were doing. It is based around community and tradition and the freshness of the food is the main event.
The Tapas philosophy is similar to what we the Fork are trying to accomplish with our Fridge Market concept. We like the idea of really simple, fresh, and nourishing food options to help bring you and your family together while creating food traditions of your own. We realize that if you are a mother-to-be, you can't have a plate of Serrano Ham and a marinated seafood salad - but what you can do is take the lessons of the Spaniards and interpret them as your own. Tapas can be anything; a small plate of ravioli, braised chicken, cabbage, potatoes, etc. The idea is that the items are easy, the plates small, and the conversation rampant. Most of the Fridge Market recipes we've created are a lot like tapas and can be made in advance for quick and easy access when it is time to eat.
One of the Tapas in which we saw the most consistency from city to city was the basic salad, or ensalada! In America, salads are all about the dressing. That is the big question; I want the salad but what should the dressing be? In Spain, the concept of salad is about the ingredients. The result is a plate of beautiful tomatoes, olives, red peppers, tuna, onions, drizzled with a bit of olive oil, salt, and lemon. It comes out on a plate with two forks and you eat. The main event is the salad itself.
Below we've recreated a Tapas Ensalada Stork Fork style. While most of the tapas salads we saw came with marinated canned tuna on top, we've substituted canned wild salmon to ensure that the mother gets the proper Omega 3 intake, while cutting out some of the potential mercury. In reality, you can substitute any of these items to make it your own.
Tapas Ensalada (pictured is the original, with tuna, and sardines)
-4 tomatoes, washed, then chopped into one inch wedges.
-1/4 onion cut into slices
-6 Spanish Olives
-1/2 cup of canned wild salmon
-1/2 cup marinated roasted red peppers, chopped
-3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
-1 TSP salt (or 3 pinches)
-1/2 lemon squeezed
*One a dinner plate, place the tomatoes, onions, olives, and red peppers.
*Top it with the salmon.
*Drizzle the olive oil over top.
*Season with the salt and lemon juice.
*Serves 2-4.
Tapas Ensalada Food Fact:Stork Fork Tip:
*Salmon (wild, not farm raised) is a significant source of Omega 3, B12, Calcium, Protein, and Iron. Pregnant women need to be sure that they get enough Omega 3 in their diet via natural and synthetic sources. Salmon is one of the fish on the recommended list of safe fish to eat, though it is still recommended that you limit your intake to 12 oz or less of approved fish per week.
*If you miss your lettuce or other leafy greens, feel free to add it to this dish because during pregnancy we want to encourage eating leafy greens. The tapas concept is that it is about a small, simple salad to share among other items. You can make it your own just skip the ranch dressing and bacon bits.
COMING NEXT: TRAVEL EDITION SPAIN PART 3 - PAELLA!
Culture 
Travel Edition - Spain, Part Two
