Spanish cuisine is a product of its rugged terrain, ideal for growing olive trees, grape vines, and raising small animals like pigs and sheep. It's also influenced by the various populations that occupied the Iberian Peninsula over the years: the Roman Empire brought olive oil, mushrooms and wine, and the Moors' 700-year occupation contributed Middle Eastern flavors like almonds and saffron, for example. Spain's conquest of the Americas was equally influential, bringing ingredients that we think of as central to the Mediterranean diet - potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers - to Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. 

Perhaps more than anything else, Spanish cuisine is built around a strong sense of community and social eating. People from small towns to big cities regularly gather in tascas, or Spanish bistros, to meet, chat, enjoy a drink or two, and share delicious samples of regional specialties called tapas (pictured above). The word tapa literally translates to lid in Spanish, and it used to describe the small pates of food that servers would place on top of glasses of wine to protect them from flies. Flies are no longer a problem in Spanish tascas, but tapas plates are still central to Spanish culture. They can range from a simple plate of homemade pickled olives or tender seasonal vegetables to a sample of a stew on the dinner menu. Here are a few more examples of what you may find on a tapas table:

There are really no rules to tapas: they are meant to be fun, inspiring, and always different. Tapas served in larger portions make excellent meals, but Spaniards know it can be hard to pick just one or two dishes from endless fantastic options. In big cities like Madrid, people often hop from tasca to tasca to sample different dishes over the course of an evening (tapear is the Spanish verb for this). Season, geographic region, and skills of the chef all factor into what tapas will be served, and the possibilities are endless. Some tascas even claim that they never serve the same tapas twice!

Get inspired by the spirit of Spanish communal eating and try making one of the dishes below to share.