Spanish cuisine is quite diverse, and the local dishes vary depending on what region you are in. Spain actually is divided into seventeen autonomous communities, which are kind of like states in the U.S. I live in Catalonia, and the local food has Mediterranean characteristics because of the geographical location. For example, you often see a lot of seafood, olive oil, tomatoes, nuts and garlic in the dishes here.
Spain has a special tradition called tapas culture. Tapas are essentially small plates of food that you share with friends or family that you are eating with. I would say they are the size of small U.S. appetizers. Tapas are definitely a big part of socialization here in Spain since they are meant to be shared. Most of the dishes I will be sharing below are tapas!
I have tried a variety of tapas, so I will list them below.
A tapa local to Catalonia is pa amb tomàquet, or bread with tomato. That is the name in Catalan, but in Spanish it would be pan con tomate. It is toasted bread rubbed with tomato and drizzled with olive oil and salt. The key is to not have too much tomato, just enough for the flavor.
Another tapa I tried is pulpo a la gallega, an octopus dish flavored with paprika and olive oil that is typically served with potato.
