Where to Start with Penelope Casas
Penelope Casas was born Penelope Politis on May 25, 1943, in Whitestone, Queens, New York, to Greek immigrant parents. She studied Spanish literature at Vassar College, graduating magna cum laude, and first visited Spain in the early 1960s as a study-abroad student in Madrid. There she fell in love with Spanish food and with Luis Casas, who was the son of her host family. The two married and spent the next fifty years together, dividing their time between New York and Spain. Casas began writing about Spanish food and travel for the New York Times, Gourmet, Food & Wine, and Condé Nast Traveler. Her first cookbook, “The Foods and Wines of Spain” (1982), was a revelation for American readers who knew almost nothing about Spanish cuisine beyond paella. Her second book, “Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain” (1985), was arguably the first large-scale introduction English-speaking readers had to the concept of tapas. She revised it in 2007 with fifty new recipes. She went on to publish six books on Spanish cuisine in total, including “The Foods and Wines of Spain,” “Paella!,” and “Delicioso! The Regional Cooking of Spain.” The Spanish government honored her with the National Prize of Gastronomy, the Medal of Touristic Merit, and named her Dame of the Order of Civil Merit. She died on August 11, 2013, at the age of seventy, leaving behind a body of work that fundamentally changed how the English-speaking world thinks about Spanish food.
Start here
Tapas (Revised): The Little Dishes of Spain
Penelope Casas · 247 pages · 2007 · Moderate
Themes: spanish tapas, traditional recipes, comprehensive reference, regional spanish cuisine
The book that introduced English-speaking readers to tapas. First published in 1985 and revised in 2007 with fifty new recipes, Penelope Casas’s collection remains the most comprehensive English-language reference on traditional Spanish small plates. It covers everything from simple marinated olives and salted almonds to elaborate seafood preparations and regional specialties.
Why Start Here
Casas spent decades traveling through Spain, eating in tapas bars from Galicia to Andalusia, and cataloguing the dishes she encountered. Her book reflects that encyclopedic approach. Where other tapas cookbooks focus on a curated selection of greatest hits, Casas gives you the full picture: the simple pintxos of the Basque Country, the fried fish of Cádiz, the cured meats of Extremadura, the rice dishes of Valencia. The revised edition adds contemporary touches that reflect how Spanish cooking evolved in the two decades between editions.
The recipes are written with an American home cook in mind. Casas explains unfamiliar ingredients, suggests substitutions where appropriate, and provides the cultural background that makes each dish meaningful. Her writing is clear and confident, shaped by years of experience as a food journalist for publications like the New York Times and Gourmet.
This book works particularly well as a reference that you return to over time. You might start with the simplest recipes and gradually work your way through more ambitious preparations. The breadth of the collection means you will never run out of new things to try.
What to Expect
A 247-page revised edition that balances tradition with accessibility. The recipes range from effortless (a plate of good olives dressed with herbs) to moderately involved (stuffed peppers, elaborate empanadillas). Casas organizes the book by ingredient type, making it easy to plan a tapas spread based on what you have available. Some specialty ingredients are called for, but Casas is practical about alternatives. The revised edition includes color photographs that the original lacked.