Viva la tapa!
We’re sitting on a cliff not far from Cadaques, somewhere in the no man’s land between Spanish and French Catalonia. The Costa Brava looks magnificent. Gnarly rocks aged by the turquoise waves of the Mediterranean plummet straight into the sea. Behind me is a dilapidated lighthouse where a large German shepherd sits looking as old and wise as the old light tower. The place is run by neo-hippies. Young kids, dressed in funky outfits, strange mullet haircuts and odd piercings. I sit on an old bench and table, the wood weathered by countless nights left outdoors. It has an odd texture of being both scratchy and smooth. The beer is cold and the sunset beautiful. Everything is bathed in orange light. What could be more perfect?
One of the neo-hippies comes up to bring us some bread. Crusty, hardy and sturdy bread. Hot and charred from the grill, the faint scent of garlic emanates from it invitingly. A clove has been rubbed against the crisp surface. A bowl of bright red tomatoes is set in front of me. Mashed to a thick pulp, glistening with dark green olive oil, little bits of sea salt and cracked pepper look like alien stars on a Martian red sky. I spooned the tomato pulp onto my bread and took a big bite. The juices ran down my wrists as the simple yet intense flavors exploded in my mouth. The crunch and coal of the bread, the slight waft of garlic and rich red, sun-ripened tomatoes drenched in heady olive oil. Yes. This is what is more perfect — singlehandedly the best pan con tomate in my life.
Spain is a place rich in cultural, historical and culinary heritage. The Iberian Peninsula, due to its geographical location, topographical peculiarities and unique history, has given birth to an extraordinary cuisine. Often referred to as the vegetable garden of Europe, the huertas produce some rather perfect tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, oranges … all year round. They have fat, happy, black-hoofed pigs that eat only acorns that produce some of the best cured meat you can find on the planet. At the same time they also have amazing seafood, some of the richest-tasting crustaceans found off the northern Atlantic coasts down to the more oily fish of the Mediterranean. Once in a while one is lucky to taste fresh angulas, the tiny baby freshwater eels from the Basque country that have a faint, delicate flavor. There’s a homage to their Moorish past with the addition of golden saffron that give their paellas that distinct flavor. Spanish cuisine is not for the faint of heart but for the adventurous, as bold flavors splash around in the dishes like quarreling, flamenco-dancing lovers. There’s harmony in chaos. It’s no wonder that the culinary world has for a long time shifted its focus from France to Spain in terms of haute gastronomy.
My grandfather is Basque. He ran away with some relatives during the Spanish Civil War. Stowed away on a boat from Marseille bound for Manila, they arrived with nothing but the angry vow never to return until Franco had passed. The war tore families apart. In the Philippines, in Kabangkalan on Negros Island, he made his own. My abuelo was a rather stocky yet well-built man. From the black and white photos that I stared at as a child, he had bushy black eyebrows and graying hair with a very square jaw line. There is one photo in particular where he is dancing with my lola, who was towering over him by a few inches, dressed to the nines in 1950s garb. They were happy. I never met him as he passed quite young, so my Basque roots have always been a faint mystery for me, like a gaping hole in my being. Being the youngest of five children, the Spanish traditions have somewhat disappeared over the years. When I went to live in Europe, I made it a point to discover a little bit more about Spain for myself. And it didn’t matter where I went, there was one thing I loved about it: the tapas.
Why settle for one dish when you can have many small ones? The practice is perfect for someone who has gastronomical ADD like me. I see a menu and I go nuts … I want to eat it all. And many times I want to eat it all at the same time! You see, Italian aperitivo is really a prelude, whereas Spanish tapas is a lifestyle. Tapas comes from the Spanish word “tapar,” which literally means “to cover.” Legend has it that King Alfonso the 13th was in Cadiz on a windy beach enjoying his free time. He ordered from the waiter a glass of wine. Concerned about the sand blowing in the wind, the waiter covered the wine glass with a thin slice of chorizo to protect it. The King liked the idea of having a snack with his drink so much that he ordered another glass of wine con tapa — with a cover! Taverns started serving these pieces of ham or bread to protect their glasses from flies and they noticed it pushed their clients to drink more. Nowadays, after work you’ll see friends come together or even neighbors wind down as they hop from bar to bar enjoying different pintxos and snacks.
When I finally revisited San Sebastian we would go to different places, each one serving their specialty. One place has amazing chorizo de bilbao, the other had piquillos rellenos de bacalao, the other place had smoked mussels soaked in olive oil … Spain for me is one whole tapas land. Seville and its salmorejo taken cold with a slick of olive oil, bits of hardboiled egg and jamon. You’re on a terrace, the sun is beating down on you and the bright fuchsia bougainvilleas glare at you, your caña slowly gets warm and the cold, thick tomato soup cools your flamenco-infused temper.
Madrid had for me the best tortilla de patata at some tavern where I saw a man expertly flip an enormous pan of tortilla. Then, of course, those pimientos de padron poppers where it’s like foodie Russian roulette as you chomp your way through a bowl, not knowing which will be the spicy one. In Barcelona, in some restaurant whose name I unfortunately do not remember, I had the best slivers of jamon jabugo with really marbled fat … to go to the extreme they added slivers of raw foie gras, Parmesan shavings and a drizzle of golden honey. It was like the best of European tapas on my plate.
Somehow I noticed that this “small bites, big eats” concept has difficulty taking off in the Philippines where people like to sit, turn up their elbows and dig into rice and ulam. Slowly, as the yuppies grow in number, the practices are changing. Eating is a moment of pleasure and an enjoyable social pastime. October being the Spanish month has a broad range of establishments offering tapas specials. I would make my way around the city trying specialties from different joints. I would start with the gazpacho, a plate of vela de lomo and flamed chorizo from Terry’s Delicatessen. XO 46, though it is a Filipino restaurant, their tapas menu carries a great albondigas. Why not go to an oldie but goodie, Casa Armas, and have some croquetas, alcachofas con jamon and tortilla de patata? After I would spice things up with El Cirkulo’s gambas al ajillo and if I’m feeling extra-ravenous, have our Pinoy pulutan of sisig as it’s the best in town over there. I would then go over to Greenbelt to eat some pulpo de gallego at Barcino’s and finish off at Tapella for their chorizo cooked in wine, which adds this amazing depth of flavor to the dish. Still feeling hungry and need your rice? Tapella has some nice mini-paellas to choose from, ranging from the classic to the creative.
It might just be the numerous draft beers or glasses of sangria, but every so often in Manila I’ll have that moment where I’ll bite into something so authentic that it’ll remind me of that moment in Cadaques. The lighthouse may not be there, but that Spanish feeling washes over me, making me forget all the years I spent in France and having that hot Basque blood flow through my veins. Viva España! Viva la tapa!
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Want to just stay put? Getting tired of running around? Tapella in Greenbelt 5 has “tapas flights” for P599 per person where you can “visit” different regions of Spain. Also on Oct. 26 they’ve come up with a tapas evening: for P1,200 per person there will be 40 different kinds of tapas with free-flowing wines, sangria, beer, iced tea and juice. For those new to the concept it’s a great way to start. For more information call 757-2710.
