‘Spanish’ cuisine is as richly varied as the cultural identities of Spain’s 17 regions, shaped by differing landscapes and climates. Jamón serrano, for example, is literally ‘mountain ham’, as higher altitudes and lower temperatures provide ideal conditions to cure it.

As a general rule, though, Spanish cooking is unpretentious and simple, based on the freshness of its ingredients, above all.

La Tasca’s Spanish restaurants combine many authentic regional tastes. So, you can tuck into a superb paella which is the envy of any Valencian kitchen, Manchego cheese from the central La Mancha region or seafood like spicy gambas pil pil which infuses fresh Andalucian flavours with heady Moorish spice.

Nothing says Spanish cuisine like tapas, the delicious mainstay of La Tasca’s menus. These bite-sized morsels – bursting with intense, zesty flavour – have a name derived from ‘tapa’ meaning a ‘cover’ or ‘lid’.

The origin of modern-day tapas is not truly known, but here is one explanation which we like: at the end of a hard day’s work, farmers and labourers would retire to their local ‘tasca’ for a well-earned drink, on top of which they would place a slice of bread to protect it from flies. Little by little, the innkeeper would provide titbits, like cured meats and olives, as an accompanying snack.

This edible lid was the start of tapas which we know today.

‘La paella’ is actually the shallow vessel in which this dish gently cooks, with the word being the Valencian take on the Latin ‘patella’ or ‘little pan’.

Its staple ingredient – rice – arrived in Spain with the Moors, early in the 8th century, growing popular among local peasants and land workers. They would cook it over an open fire, with onion, tomato and snails and eat from the pan with a wooden spoon. Duck or rabbit would feature on special occasions, even chicken among the wealthier Valencians.

By the late 19th century, ‘Paella Valenciana’ was known across Spain, with other regions beginning to create their own versions, adding fish, pork and the seafood for which paella is now best known.