Making tapas at home a cinch if you reduce your favorite recipes

"A Spanish chef," quipped Rodolfo Guzman, head chef at Jaleo at the Cosmopolitan.

But seriously …

Guzman’s actual answer is far more encouraging.

"Tapas is anything you do in small portions," he said.

For inspiration, home cooks need only consider the multi-cultural offerings at tapas restaurants across the valley.

"You can make anything tapas," said Edgar Montesdeoca, chef/owner of Barcelona Tapas & Bar on Southern Highlands Parkway. "Just choose small portions."

If you really want to keep it simple, Montesdeoca suggested buying ravioli and making a cream sauce with roasted tomatoes, basil, chicken stock and cream, and sprinkling them with Parmesan cheese.

Or make 1-ounce goat-cheese balls and coat in flour, eggwash and panko mixed with ground almonds. Deep-fry for about 1½ minutes and drizzle with balsamic reduction and honey.

Yalile Fajer, manager of Firefly on Paradise, suggested spreading toasted brioche with a little aioli and topping with a marinated artichoke heart, basil and roasted red pepper.

When cooking at home for his friends during the summer, Guzman likes to take pieces of Belgian endive and top them with orange segments, a dressing made with roasted garlic blended with olive oil, shallots and shallot vinegar, then goat cheese, almonds or walnuts and microgreens or chopped chives and parsley.

Julian Serrano, executive chef of Julian Serrano Tapas at Aria and Picasso at Bellagio, suggests going with what you know.

"The first thing is to do something that you’re familiar with," he said. "You can do anything that you want, as long as they are small portions."

Serrano suggests making paella, which can be prepared ahead and popped into the oven at the last minute so you can talk with your guests.

"I think it’s just a matter of setting your mind right and saying basically everything can be served small," said Hubert Keller, executive chef of Fleur at Mandalay Bay. "If you have a great recipe for coq au vin, use that recipe; you know it’s going to be good. Maybe just buy chicken legs or just the thighs, put those in the same recipe and display them so every guest has the same size."

Fajer pointed out that tapas are good for stand-up events, and suggested simple dishes on small plates; "have something that is really simple to grasp."

Jack Tarr, trainer at Nittaya’s Secret Kitchen on Rampart Boulevard, said traditionally there are four or five pieces on a tapas plate to be shared by two to four people, with about three shared plates per person in the party.

"I would definitely tell people to try to vary the tapas," Tarr said. "You can try a whole bunch of different flavors. You don’t want them to blend; you want them to pop. Don’t be afraid to try new things. That’s what’s cool about tapas, where you’re not afraid to cook a variety of new things, because they’re small plates."

Keller suggests pulling out "those little saucers that you have that you never use because you never serve coffee. And little coffee cups, espresso cups; here we serve our onion soup in a little shooter. It becomes exciting.

"Instead of a big platter of meatballs, make the balls a little smaller, use the same sauce, and present two little ones on a fun little plate. They’re amused by it, and the flavor is there."

STUFFED PIQUILLO PEPPERS WITH MUSHROOMS AND GOAT CHEESE

For filling:

Extra-virgin olive oil for sauteing

4 ounces diced shallots

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 pound mushrooms (crimini, shiitake or portabella, or a combination), diced

1 ounce brandy

1 pound fresh goat cheese

6 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

12 jarred or canned roasted piquillo peppers

For the tomato sauce:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small green pepper, diced

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 ounces small carrots, diced

1 1-pound can whole plum tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

Italian parsley leaves for garnish

To make the filling, heat the oil in a saute pan. Add shallots and cook until transparent. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook until the liquid evaporates. Add brandy and cook until the brandy evaporates. Remove from heat and reserve at a cool temperature.

After the mushrooms have cooled, mix the goat cheese, cream cheese and mushrooms in a bowl. Mix very well and, using a spoon, fill the peppers. Reserve.

To make the tomato sauce, heat the oil in a pan. Add the garlic, green pepper, onion and carrots and cook until they are caramelized. Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper and cook about 35 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain and keep cool until ready to serve.

To serve, put two filled peppers on each plate and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Heat the tomato sauce in a pan until very hot. Spoon sauce over peppers and garnish with Italian parsley leaves.

Serves 6.

— Recipe from Julian Serrano

HUEVOS ESTRELLADOS

1 russet baking potato

3 ounces fresh Spanish chistorra chorizo, or Latin American chorizo (see note)

2 cups canola or vegetable oil

Sea salt or kosher salt to taste

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil (Spanish preferred)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Wash the potato and cut in ¼-inch batons for french fries.

Remove the chorizo from its casing and cut into ½-inch chunks.

Heat the canola or vegetable oil on medium heat and fry the potatoes until light golden in color. Remove fries with a skimmer or tongs and place in a mixing bowl; season with salt to taste.

Place a little of the oil from the potatoes in a saute pan and cook the chorizo over medium-high heat. When it’s lightly browned, add the fries and toss well.

In a separate pan, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat and fry two of the eggs. Baste them with the oil as they cook; the yolk should be very runny and the white crispy. Drain the eggs of excess oil.

Place the potato-chorizo mixture on a plate and set the eggs on top. With a fork and sharp knife, cut the yolks so they run down through the potatoes. Top with the other two yolks. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

Serves 1.

NOTE: Serrano recommends www.LaTienda.com for the chorizo.

— Recipe from Julian Serrano

DATILES CON TOCINO

24 seedless dates

2 pounds sliced applewood bacon

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups breadcrumbs

4 cups blended olive oil

Wrap each date in a slice of bacon. Roll in flour, then beaten eggs, then breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil in a deep pan and fry the breaded dates until they are crispy and golden-brown.

Serve immediately.

Serves 6.

— Recipe from Julian Serrano

PAN CON TOMATE

(Tomato bread)

2 big ripe tomatoes (about ¼ pound)

Spanish extra-virgin olive oil to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

2 slices rustic sourdough bread, toasted

Cut the tomatoes in half. Place a grater over a large mixing bowl. Rub the open face of the tomato into the grater until the flesh is gone. Discard the skin. Whisk the olive oil into the bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To finish, spoon the tomato-oil mixture onto the toast. Drizzle with a little more oil. Serve.

NOTE: This is probably the national dish of Catalunya. Simple bread with tomato and olive oil. Very good with jamon or some Manchego cheese or even some boquerones or tuna.

Serves 4.

— Recipe from "Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America" by Jose Andres with Richard Wolffe

MAINE LOBSTER MACARONI AND CHEESE AU GRATIN

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

4 live Maine lobsters, about 1 pound each

White pepper to taste

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup finely minced shallots

¼ cup very finely diced carrots

¼ cup very finely diced celery

1 tablespoon cognac

2 tablespoons Port

White wine to taste

1½ cups plus 2½ tablespoons cream or half-and-half (divided use)

1 bouquet garni (see note)

1 egg yolk

8 ounces elbow macaroni or small pasta shells

3 tablespoons freshly grated Gruyere cheese

To prepare the lobster, bring 1½ gallons of salted water to a boil in a large stockpot. Add the vinegar and then add 2 lobsters, head first. Cover tightly with a lid and cook for 3 minutes. Remove the lobsters, drain and set aside to cool. Repeat with the remaining 2 lobsters.

Break the lobsters in two where the tail meets the body. Using scissors, cut the underside of the tail and remove the meat in one piece. Break off the claws, carefully crack the shells and remove the claw meat in a single piece. Cut the bodies in half lengthwise, and remove and discard the greyish, milky sand sacks located near the eyes. Remove the soft green strip of tomalley and dark green coral and reserve.

Season the lobster meat with salt and white pepper. Heat the butter in a large nonstick skillet and gently saute the lobster meat over medium heat for 2 minutes. Remove the claw meat and continue to saute the rest of the lobster meat for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the lobster meat to a work surface and let cool slightly. Cut the meat into ¼-inch-thick slices and set aside.

In the same skillet, saute the shallots, carrots and celery over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the cognac, Port, wine, 1½ cups of the cream, the bouquet garni and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Cover the skillet, remove from the heat and set the sauce aside.

Whisk the remaining 2½ tablespoons of cream in a small mixing bowl until thick. Fold in the egg yolk and keep refrigerated.

Cook the macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling water until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.

Preheat the broiler. Return the sauce to low heat and warm gently. Whisk the reserved lobster tomalley and coral into the sauce, and then stir in the cheese, lobster meat and macaroni. Increase the heat to high and quickly bring to a boil. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Divide the macaroni mixture equally between individual warm gratin dishes. Pour the reserved cream-egg mixture over the macaroni, and place the gratin dishes under the broiler until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

NOTE: A bouquet garni is a bundle of herbs either tied with string or wrapped in cheesecloth. A common combination is a bay leaf, thyme and parsley.

— Recipe from Hubert Keller

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.