Spanish

These small flatbreads serve the same purpose as bread sticks. They are crisp and flaky, and because of the olive oil (use your finest) and salty edge can easily be addictive. Based on centuries-old tortas de aceite, they are the specialty of young chef Enrique Dacosta, whose restaurant Poblet in Denia, Alicante, is the best regarded in the region. They are great with tapas. Instead of making bread dough for this recipe, I simplify by buying pizza dough from my local pizzeria, and the results are excellent.

Nothing could be more simple and down to earth than this tapa, but its appeal is universal. It originated in Catalunya, but can now be found all over Spain. In fact, I will never forget a breakfast of exceptional pan con tomate and steaming café con leche at an outdoor café overlooking the mountains of Granada in Galera, a town of cave dwellings. The recipe that follows has the advantage of last-minute assemblage, so the bread doesn't get soggy. Since ingredients are few, it goes without saying that the very best tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, and anchovies are essential. If last-minute preparation is not a problem, I suggest the even simpler traditional method of toasting the bread, rubbing it with a cut clove of garlic, then rubbing with a cut tomato, squeezing the tomato gently as you rub. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt.

We love hash browns for their delicious contradiction—the way the outer crunch of skillet–fried potatoes gives way to an inner creaminess. Throw in some nuggets of spicy Spanish chorizo (left over from Corn–Bread and Chorizo Stuffing ) and things only get better.

This is the classic country paella of Valencia, made with chicken and rabbit, and in snail season, cooked snails called vaquetas. Authentic paella should be made over firewood. Twigs from olive or orange trees are used for hot flames, and thicker logs are used for a slower fire. The trick is to have both at the same time, so that the meat and vegetables can be browned slowly, then the rice brought to the boil over the hottest part of the fire, then set over a lower flame. If you can't build a wood fire, a charcoal one will do. Valencian bachoqueta de herradura and Valencian garrofón (special green and flat green beans, respectively, from the region) were called for in the original recipe, but other green beans can be substituted, and cooked dried beans or lima beans can be substituted for the flat green beans. You can also have your butcher cut up the rabbit for you, if desired.

This tangy marriage of fresh tomato, cucumber, pepper, and onion is a summer favorite. The flavor of gazpacho improves if allowed to chill overnight, but thereafter this soup has a short shelf life because the tomatoes sour very quickly. It this best prepared no more than a day or two before it will be eaten.

Thanks to a few humble additions—sun-dried tomatoes, sweet smoked paprika, and leafy spinach—these saucy beans have real pizzazz. Best of all, the dish requires little more than a quick sauté and simmer.

Celebrate the last of the hot weather with a spirited, chunky gazpacho in the Mexican mode. Tomatoes give the soup their characteristic rich, rounded flavor, and tomatillos—an Aztec and Mayan staple—lend fruity tartness and great body.

Mint gives sprightliness to robust mackerel and mushrooms in a quick escabeche that manages to be both substantial and refreshing.

Garbanzos con espinacas Native to Iran, chickpeas were introduced in the eastern Mediterranean by the Greeks and Romans, but most scholars believe the Carthaginians carried chickpea seeds to Spain. Spinach arrived with the Moors. This classic pairing, from the kitchens of New Castile, began as a Lenten dish. In time, the combination was rounded out with the addition of salt cod and became an everyday dish, with the faithful sacrificing the salt cod during Lent. Today, the salt cod is sometimes replaced with a ham hock during the cooking of the beans and/or diced cooked ham to the finished dish. (If you opt to include the salt cod, be sure to omit the ham hock.) The stew is enriched with a picada of fried bread and garlic and is fairly thick and substantial. It may even be topped by fried or hard-boiled eggs.

Merluza en salsa de piñones Many Spanish fish dishes call for sauces made with almonds, hazelnuts, or pine nuts, sometimes in combination with tomatoes and saffron. While hake or monkfish is traditionally used for this Catalan dish, you can substitute cod, sea bass, flounder, or another firm white fish.

Pollo al ajillo Here is another popular al ajillo preparation. I use chicken thighs for this dish because they remain juicier and are more flavorful than breasts, but chicken wings also work well. If you like a little heat, add a pinch of hot paprika or cayenne pepper with the sherry.

The ideal summer dinner—without the labor required for the traditional Spanish version.

Talk about a sandwich with bravado: The bold flavors start with the smear of green-olive-flecked oil on the chewy, rustic rolls. Then come the layers of juicy sausages, piquant arugula, and piquillos. The fire-roasted sweet red peppers from Spain are well worth seeking out for their tenderness and subtle, smoky heat.

My mother and father were both good cooks, and both of them had definite opinions about how things should be done in the kitchen. But this dish was my father's—his alone—so my mother never said a word about it. I like to call it the "tripe of my father," aita being the Basque word for "father." It is a rustic family-style dish that satisfies the appetite and nourishes the soul. As you cook honeycomb tripe, it will throw off a lot of liquid, which eliminates the need for stock and flavors the sauce. Like most braises, this tastes even better the next day.

Bell peppers and cumin add sweetness and spice to this tangy tomato soup, but it's the pimentón that really pulls all the flavors together.

In this rustic marriage of land and sea, red-pepper flakes add just the right amount of heat to hearty potatoes and wonderfully tender octopus (from a can!)

Pollo con Frutos y Frutas Secas As this recipe demonstrates, Ferran Adrià, the alchemist chef of El Bulli, is as practical as he is inventive. It's adapted from the cookbook he dedicated to quick recipes that can be made with supermarket ingredients, and it features a store-bought rotisserie chicken that's deliciously doctored with a sauce of dried fruit, pine nuts, and port wine. Though you can whip the dish up in less than half an hour, the flavors are sophisticated enough for a fancy dinner party. If you'd like to roast your own chicken, so much the better.

Crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside, this pork tenderloin gets sultry flavor from smoked paprika, almonds, and Madeira.

These Mexican treats taste best when they are freshly fried (though we have given you some prep-ahead options), so make them when friends and family are gathered around for the holidays. Once the churros are made, everyone can get in on the action, dipping them in a choice of sugars and/or an easy warm chocolate sauce.

This recipe comes from Eben Freeman, bartender of Tailor Restaurant in New York City. Though sangria is typically made in larger batches, Freeman demonstrates that it can also be concocted right in the glass for a single serving. When it comes to ingredients, he eschews the fancy add-ons found in many recipes, instead sticking to a simple formula of Spanish wine (ideally a young Rioja), Spanish brandy, and lemon juice. If you prefer, sugar can be added to taste, and different light red wines, citrus juices, and brandies substituted.

Try to buy ripe tomatoes or let them ripen in a paper bag with an apple for two days.

In Spanish, escabeche refers to placing already cooked seafood into a marinade—a pickling of sorts—but this subtle shrimp salad is gentler than anything you might expect from the term pickled. Complemented by silky thin-sliced onions, the shrimp get their tender-firm texture from slow-poaching followed by marinating.

For this Spanish-inspired pasta, you break the dried noodles and cook them more like rice — the result is a silky mix speckled with crunchy almonds, smoky chorizo, and aromatic saffron.