In the early evening hours throughout Spain, restaurants and bars begin serving “tapas,” tasty bites of interesting cheeses and canapes.

It’s a festive atmosphere as neighbors stroll the streets visiting with friends and stopping at favorite restaurants or bars for a glass of wine and something to nibble until dinner late in the evening.

As in Spain, tapas have become trendy in many American cities. Some restaurants here have a wonderful selection of tapas. But it isn’t necessary to go out to eat to enjoy them. Tapas are simple to make at home, and tapas parties are a perfect way to entertain friends at a patio party during the mild spring weather.

The origin of tapas is unclear. In Spanish, the word means “top” or “lid,” which may explain why in Spain they are often served on small plates balanced on the tops of wineglasses.

Mark Helms, executive chef at Tapa the World in midtown Sacramento, says it is likely that the Spanish custom of covering a wineglass with a small dish began centuries ago as a way to keep fruit flies out of wine.

“Eventually, someone probably put almonds, olives or cheese on the plate, and tapas as we know them today were born,” Helms says.

Gradually, tapas turned into a friendly competition among Spanish bar owners. What started out as a complimentary piece of cheese or a few almonds became potato tortillas, squid in tomato sauce, snails in garlic butter, shrimp sauteed in white wine or piquillo peppers stuffed with cheese. Today, tapas are nearly a culinary art here and in Spain.

“They are similar to appetizers, but a bit more substantial,” says cooking instructor Dionisio Esperas, who teaches several tapas classes each spring at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op and the Shallots Cooking School in the Nugget Market in Vacaville, Calif.

“In Spain, dinner is traditionally eaten late in the evening, so it is customary for bars to serve tapas in the early evening with wine or cocktails to keep people from getting so hungry,” Esperas says. “Here, tapas are generally not served on small plates covering wine glasses. Instead, we serve them on platters or in small bowls, and guests serve themselves. They can be something as simple as Spanish olives, toasted almonds or sauteed shrimp served before a main course, or they can be an entire meal.

“In the springtime, when people tend to prefer lighter meals, it is fun to do a tapas party with selections served in courses and ranging from small bites of Spanish cheese to more substantial fare like small tarts, skewered pork or beef and finishing with something sweet,” Esperas says.

Logically, the ingredients used for tapas are those commonly found in traditional Spanish cooking, such as almonds, chorizo, serrano ham, hazelnuts, peppers, saffron and smoky paprika. In Spain, recipes vary by region, but they nearly always include nuts, olives and cheese, along with crusty bread that is used to soak up juice and sauce.

Some tapas are fried in a batter like a fritter. Others are saucy mixtures similar to stew or shrimp in a wine sauce. Often they include some sort of seafood, such as anchovies, shrimp, sardines, squid, caviar or smoked salmon. Sauce is often olive oil or a rich tomato sauce.

“The most popular tapas at the restaurant are traditional items, such as rock shrimp sauteed with garlic, white wine and butter,” says Helms of Tapa the World. “We serve them in cazuela (earthenware dishes). We also have lamb, chicken and beef.

“Vegetable tapas are also popular,” he adds. “One we have on the menu for just a few weeks in the spring is a piquillo pepper that we sear in olive oil and sprinkle with salt. It’s very simple but it has a wonderful flavor.”

“However you choose to serve them,” Esperas says of tapas, “they should be savored slowly while lingering with a glass of wonderful wine.”

Lori Friedli, the wine and cheese manager at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, recommends several selections of Spanish wines to serve with tapas.

“Oro de Castilla Verdejo ($14.99) is a white wine that is full of tropical fruit flavors and the aromas of mango and grapefruit,” Friedli says. “It is a light and refreshing wine with a good body and a long finish. It is perfect with shrimp dishes.”

Another refreshing wine to serve with light tapas, such as asparagus wrapped with smoked salmon, is Can Vendrell ($16.99), an organic cava brut.

“It is a champagne-style sparkling wine, with a classic yeasty nose,” Friedli says. “The slightly dry body opens up to crisp pear, zesty green apple and almonds.”

With a spicier dish, such as stuffed piquillo peppers, Friedli recommends Verasol ($7.99).

No tapas party is complete without Spanish cheeses.

Friedli’s recommendations are imported queso de cabra, a pasteurized, semisoft goat’s milk cheese with paprika-rubbed rind; manchego, a raw sheep’s milk cheese aged 12 months; Drunken Goat, a pasteurized goat’s milk cheese aged in red wine; and Serra da Estrela, a creamy, handmade sheep’s milk cheese from Portugal.

And, of course, you need a selection of los postres (desserts).

Flan is Esperas’ recommendation.

“It’s a caramel custard and it is the most popular dessert in Spain,” Esperas says. “A rice pudding or even a selection of small almond cookies will do quite nicely.”

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STUFFED PIQUILLO PEPPERS

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves 10

Piquillo, which means “little beak” in Spanish, is a very mild pepper. The best ones are fire-roasted, which gives them a smoky flavor. You can buy whole peppers in jars at markets that carry imported foods.

For the wine pairing, Lori Friedli, wine and cheese manager at Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, recommends Verasol ($7.99). She describes it as “stunning, seductive and light. This stainless steel-fermented grenache-syrah blend from old vines in Spain has bright cherry, raspberry, strawberry, earth and white pepper notes.”

17.6-ounce jar whole piquillo peppers

4 ounces fresh goat cheese

8 ounces fresh spinach wilted, or frozen chopped, thawed

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch nutmeg

½ cup tomato sauce

Drain the peppers and gently pat them dry, being careful not to tear them.

Combine the goat cheese and cooked spinach with the olive oil, sea salt, pepper and nutmeg in a small bowl. Carefully stuff each pepper with the mixture and place in a baking dish. Top with tomato sauce and warm in a 300-degree oven before serving.

Per serving: 81 calories; 4 g protein; 3 g carbohydrates; 6 g fat (3 saturated, 3 monounsaturated, 0 polyunsaturated); 9 mg cholesterol; 287 mg sodium; 1 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 68 percent calories from fat.

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GAMBAS AL AJILLO Y LIMON (SHRIMP WITH GARLIC AND LEMON)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 3 minutes

Serves 8 to 10

This quick tapas recipe can be served as an appetizer or a main course. It is best when prepared just before serving. The recipe is from cooking instructor Dionisio Esperas.

Lori Friedli, wine and cheese manager at Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, recommends Oro de Castilla Verdejo, a Spanish white wine, to serve with this dish. She describes the wine as full of tropical fruit, aromas of mango and grapefruit with a good body and a long finish ($14.99).

1 pound rock shrimp or prawns

Olive oil for sauteing

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

¼ cup white wine

Zest of 1 lemon, finely chopped

¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon butter

Sea salt and pepper

Clean the prawns, leaving the tails on. Heat the oil and saute the shrimp until just pink. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Add the wine, lemon zest, parsley and butter. Season with sea salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread.

Per serving, based on 10 servings without bread: 100 cal.; 9 g pro.; 1 g carb.; 6 g fat (1 sat., 4 monounsaturated, 1 polyunsaturated); 72 mg cholesterol; 126 mg sodium; 0 fiber; 0 sugar; 54 percent calories from fat.

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CHAMPINONES AL AJILLO (MUSHROOMS WITH GARLIC)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 6 minutes

Serves 8-10

Be sure to serve these tasty mushrooms with plenty of crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

3 tablespoons Spanish olive oil

2 pounds small mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed of stems

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ cup white wine

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley

Juice of 1 lemon

In a large saute pan, heat olive oil and saute mushrooms for 2 minutes on medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute for 1 more minute. Lower heat to medium, add wine and cook for 3 more minutes until mushrooms tender.

Season with salt and pepper and add parsley and lemon juice. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Per serving, based on 8 servings: 88 calories; 4 g protein; 6 g carbohydrates; 5 g fat (1 saturated, 4 monounsaturated, 0 polyunsaturated); 0 cholesterol; 74 mg sodium; 1 g fiber; 0 sugar; 48 percent calories from fat.

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PINCHOS MORUNOS (PORK TAPAS)

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves 6

Tapas are often served in courses. This recipe for pork tapas would be considered a main dish. Note: The prep time does not include the marinate time.

2 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into ¾-inch cubes

¼ cup olive oil

3 tablespoons ground cumin

2 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

¼ teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoons dried oregano

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Sea salt to taste

Lemon wedges for garnish

Combine olive oil, cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne, turmeric, oregano, garlic, pepper, parsley and lemon juice into a large bowl and mix well. Add pork cubes, cover and marinate for 2 to 4 hours.

Preheat the grill or broiler. Skewer pork cubes onto short wooden skewers, three pieces of pork to a skewer. Season skewers with salt, then grill or broil for 4 to 5 minutes per side until done. Serve hot with garnishes of lemon wedges.

Per serving, using lean pork tenderloin: 295 calories; 33 g protein; 5 g carbohydrates; 14 g fat (3 saturated, 9 monounsaturated, 2 polyunsaturated); 98 mg cholesterol; 180 mg sodium; 2 g fiber; 0 sugar; 48 percent calories from fat.