If I ask any tourist what are the dishes that most likes the kitchen of our country, secure that their response would be the word Tapas. And is that all domestic and overseas we enjoy with this way of eating as ours, the eat tapas, tapas and rations. For this reason and since we're talking about eating tapas, these are the nine best recipes to be the Kings of the tapas.

Spain has always had a reputation of being a place where we can eat well, not only to eat the best dishes in great restaurants, but also in bars, restaurants menu, sales of road and other popular spots, in which portions the lids and skewers are our hallmark. You know what are our most popular dishes, which we have chosen as most representative of our gastronomy and today, we will show you our best recipes so you prepare tapas like no one else.

Nine recipes from tapas to be the Kings of the tapeo

A few months ago we told you about ten dishes that had been elected in Madrid Fusión as that defined our cuisine and obviously some of them have to be on the list, although others, so ours such as the paella, have not included them in the category of caps, as they are more like a dish,-although in many of our bars cover paella is a tradition in the aperitif or Vermouth on Sunday.

1. anchovies in vinegar

It is undoubtedly one of tops most frequent in our country. Whether alone with garlic and parsley, accompanied by a few olives, or served with salt-cured anchovies with the beautiful name of this cover which is called marriage, pickled anchovies are a cover we can do very easily at home.

• Ingredients for 4 people: 1 kg of medium-sized anchovies, vinegar of wine, olive oil, garlic and parsley oil
• Preparation: Clean the anchovies well and remove boneless loins. Wash each tenderloin with water and dry it. Bleed in soaking in cold water and a few cubes of ice for 2 hours so they are well white. Let soak in a marinade of water 1/3 and 2/3 of vinegar for 1 hour. Freeze to avoid risk of anisakis. After thawing, dress the anchovies with oil extra virgin olive, filleted garlic and chopped parsley. Which are not consumed at the time you can save well covered with olive oil to keep it fresh, without drying, for six or seven days.

Link | Recipe for homemade pickled anchovies

2 clams

If your guests bring a few clams marinara like these and a good bread so they can get wet Sauce to your liking, you'll have all cattle so that you choose the Kings of tapas.

• Ingredients for 4 people: 600 g of clams, 1/2 onion, 1 clove of garlic, 1/2 chili pepper, 1 tablespoon of flour, 1/2 tablespoon sweet paprika, 1 tablespoon of tomato, 1/2 glass of sherry, 1 leaf of laurel, abundant parsley, water and extra virgin olive oil
• Preparation: Leave the clams soaking for 2 hours changing the water every half hour. Open the clams steamed and book. Prepare a sauce finely simmer onion, chilli and garlic, add the paprika and flour and make a paste or roux. Add Sherry and stir until the alcohol evaporates. Add the tomato sauce and water have opened clams previously wash and reduce for 5 minutes. Put the clams in the sauce and cook another 3 or 4 minutes, until the sauce is to our liking

Link | Clams marinara recipe

3 garlic prawns

"To me what I like about prawns in garlic is the aceitillo moje" always says my friend Marko, an American who always choose this cover when we went out to eat tapas and dishes. And it is true that this popular portion, has a sauce so delicious to almost be richer than own shrimp. Another option is to prepare the prawns in oyster sauce with which photo we have led this summary.

• Ingredients for 2 people: 400 g of frozen or fresh shrimp, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 splash of white wine, olive oil, salt, 1 chili pepper Cayenne
• Preparation: Peel the prawns removing head, feet and tail and pulling the body clean. Put the shrimp in a bowl and cover with water, and conun splash of white wine and allow to stand for two hours. In a clay pot, put some olive oil with Chili heat and Brown the cloves of garlic laminate. Add drained shrimp, increase the heat and add a little broth where they have been soaking. Season to taste and put out the fire, covering the pan for a couple of minutes to leave to be with the remaining heat.

Link | Gambas Al ajillo

4. Spanish omelet or omelette

Pincho de tortilla, tortilla quarter or one-eighth of the lease, is the usual and indispensable cover in any bar in the Spanish territory. So you have to know how to do it well because who knows cooking the tortilla, can go where you want it will always be well received. You can make the recipe with onions or no onions, or if you are more daring, make the tortilla of a great chef as Sacha Hormaechea, who taught us to prepare your omelet for foreigners.

• Ingredients for 4 people: 4 medium-sized potatoes (approx. 700 g), 2 onions (300 g), 6 M eggs, salt, olive oil
• Preparation: Prepare the caramelized onion following these instructions to do so easily without adding sugar. While the onion cooks, peel them potatoes and cut them into thin slices, making sure that all they are uniform in size. Leave in water for 15 minutes. Without giving time to the oil is heated, add the potatoes and FRY very slowly, from an oil almost in cold. They thus confitarán instead of Brown. After ten minutes increase heat to get some of the potatoes to get more chips. Drain well and go to a bowl. Beat eggs and mix with the potatoes, adding the caramelized onions (in your case). Curdling tortilla leaving in the skillet a few minutes - depending on the taste of the guests-turning to curdle the flipside.

Link | How to make potato with onion omelette

5. scrambled eggs

A few eggs broken or scrambled as it says the chef of Casa Lucio, served over potatoes fried and adorned with ham are one of the best memories that are those who visit Madrid and pass this madrileño restaurant that has succeeded with a simple and tasty dish.

• Ingredients for 2 people: 2 eggs, a beautiful potato, 50 g finely cut ham
• Preparation: Cut the potatoes into slices using the mandolin. FRY until crispy. Fry the eggs, leaving them over the potatoes. Add a few slices of ham and break eggs. If you prefer, can do with eggs poached or boiled eggs at low temperature rather than with fried eggs.

Link | Eggs at low temperature with potatoes and ham

6 Octopus

• Ingredients for 4 people: 1 Octopus 1kg and 1/2, 4 medium-sized potatoes, 1 onion, a few leaves of laurel, salt and salt flakes, sweet red pepper and extra virgin olive oil
• Elaboration: Freeze the Octopus so that its fibers are broken and so it is more tender. Once thawed cooked in water boiling with an onion and a few Bay leaves. Put and take 3 times in the water and leave to cook for about 30 to 40 minutes depending on the size. Snip the legs into slices. Cook cortaas in boiled potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika and add a bit of olive oil. Serve very hot.

Link | Recipe for Octopus Galician style

7 bocadillo of squid in batter

Squid in batter, - curiously because Madrid has no coast - are one of the most sought after covers in the capital. Whether in format of ration, in format of Cap with two or three breaded rings or the more classic, in the form of snack, squid love to both locals and visitors to Madrid.

• Ingredients for 4 people: 2 squid, flour batter, for salt, lemon
• Preparation: Clean the squid, cut into slices or rings, and dry thoroughly. (This is the key). Season lightly with salt and pass them by wheat flour or flour with egg type Yolanda or rebocina. Place over a colander to shake well all the flour leaving them with a light batter. FRY in olive oil very hot in batches are made quickly and crispy on the outside.

Link | Portions of snack: Squid in batter

8 patatas bravas

One of my friends always asks patatas bravas, go where you go and in any province of Spain. I said, for her are your reference to know which category has a bar, depending on the quality of this as usual top throughout our territory. The most famous are the brave Docamar bar, and make them really simple. Importantly, the brave do not carry tomato or ketchup.

• Ingredients for 4 people: 3 medium-sized potatoes, 3 tablespoons of salsa brava, oil extra virgin olive, salt and a bit of parsley to decorate. For the sauce: 1/2 onion, 1/2 tablespoon of paprika, one tablespoon of cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons flour and 500 ml of chicken stock
• Elaboration: To make the sauce, chop the onion very fine and pochrla in a pan with 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Let that be making very slow and until you take color, add the cayenne pepper and the paprika. Incorporate the flour, Cook a minute and when it emulsifies the oil gradually add chicken broth as when doing a veloute (a kind of white sauce in which instead of milk used broth). Cook for ten minutes and blend sauce in a blender after passing through a fine mesh strainer so that it is perfect. Fry the potatoes cut into irregular pieces and cover with the sauce.

Link | The definitive recipe for patatas bravas

9. homemade croquettes

For me, the croquettes are perfect cover since it can be eaten with the hands, is perfect for dosing and distributing and always - or almost always - they are very good. We can make croquettes with many ingredients, ham, chicken, minced meat, fish, mushrooms, sautéed vegetables. Here are 19 croquettes recipes so you can choose which you like.

• Ingredients for 4 people: 2 liters of whole milk, butter 130 g, 160 g of wheat flour, 20 g of onion, 50 g of chicken breast, 80 g of serrano ham, 50 ml of bottom of meat, 2 fresh eggs, bread crumbs
• Preparation: Melt the butter over low heat and Brown very chopped ham to make it go Browning. Besides, sauté the chicken breast cut into pieces with an onion so that it slightly sweeten the chicken. When the breast is made onion is removed and crushed the breast in a robot to leave as sawdust. Add 50 g of that chicken butter with ham and also add flour stirring until a roux that initially will be thick. Toast the flour and gradually add milk while working the white sauce until it is soft and light. Francis Paniego adds a bit of meat stock for more flavor. Finally turns the bechamel in a source and when it cools form croquettes on passing them in breadcrumbs, egg and breadcrumbs frying in batches in oil very hot again.

Link | Francis Paniego croquettes recipe

No doubt this list is short since we could add another bunch of tapas that succeed with our family or our friends. However, we are confident that with these nine recipes for tapas, if you make them with care and follow the recipes, you will undoubtedly be Kings of tapas. Anyway, we'd love to expand this list with which we suggest you, if you have a moment and leave us them in the comments.