Top 20 Hot Tapas
20 delicious 'hot' tapas from Granada

Serrano Ham Croquettes

Mmm! Hot tapas! Now this is where some restaurants and tapas bars really do come into their own. Top tapas bars and restaurants have a bar area tailored for serving hot tapas, usually situated somewhere between the beer pumps and the Serrano ham you will find an astonishing collection of bain marie's under heat lamps containing simple recipes from shell fish, salsas, pork ribs and crispy pancetta. Every morning the chef will prepare a batch of enormous tapas ready for the bar staff to dish up onto small plates with every beer you buy.

With hot tapas there is no limit to the possibilities of recipes on offer; tapas being small plates of food can be dished up from large pans of a specific recipe. One of the local favourites is clams in tomato salsa - always served with bread. A sign of a great bar or restaurant is even though they may have up to ten separate dishes simmering away the staff always make sure you receive something different.

So here we have our own top 20 hot tapas from the village of Orce, this list is by no means exhaustive simply a collection of the best traditional tapas the bars and restaurants have to offer.

One thing about tapas is that they are served as a matter of course with every alcoholic drink you buy, in other countries and indeed other areas of Spain where the tradition has died out the bar staff's role is to serve beverages, in most tapas bars in Granada the tapas are dished first while the drinks are pouring - this way everything arrives at the same time. Superb service.

A big thanks to the chefs and staff at "La Mimbrera" and "Bar Salero" in Orce village for sharing these recipe ideas and answering our foodie questions. We were of course, happy to sample too!

© Copyright 2008 Orce Serrano Hams - www.orceserranohams.com