How I Served 25 People with A Low Budget
My breakdown of serving plantbased tapas during an after-work gathering. Serving for a large group of people with a minimal budget. Creativity in the lead, by maximizing all the resources available.
Photo taken by the author
A couple of weeks ago, at the co-living place where I live, one of the owners opted to host an after-work gathering at our place. Normally this would be at the co-working that he owns as well, every now and then he looks for a different spot for some variety. As an addition I suggested to prepare healthy tapas, simply because it’s delicious and suits an event like this. Tapas are very well known in Spain, one of the food traditions that it’s famous about. We agreed and a few minutes later the invitations were sent out. No plan, no strategy, just go with the flow. I love what moments like these bring forth, it asks for creativity to get the most out of it. Exactly what this event needed as well. Informing everyone at the house, getting some ingredients in, the whole food preparation, it all needs to be done. While my mind tried to steer in certain directions, I now have the calmness to let this pass by and stay open minded. After informing everyone living at the house, one of the guys came toward me the night before. Totally absorbed in his own emotional state of being, he proposed to help me with the preparations. After a “yes, I’ll take this into consideration” from my side, an uninterrupted overflow of ideas and plans followed. About three minutes later, I requested him to stop, and wait for the next day. Planning ahead is not really my thing, the most beautiful experiences and creations pop up in the moment. With that in mind I went to sleep.
Friday morning, after breakfast, a woman at my house asked me to join her to a village nearby to do some shopping. A gift from heaven, with shops perfectly suited to buy high quality ingredients for a fair price. Off we went, with her giant dog Berto in the trunk of the car. As most of the times when shopping, I notice what attracts my attention, and go with that. Not to many thoughts about it, in the end these are single ingredients to create with, nothing more, nothing less. I left the shop with some fruits, vegetables, and a pack of chickpea flour. The woman herself brought a couple of ingredients as well, that she was willing to share with the community. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned in Spain so far, than it’s that sharing freely with each other still exists. For me, more than ever before. This was just one tiny example of generosity that I experience every day. It’s incredible, since the wages in Spain are beyond low. Most people hardly manage to cover their monthly bills. And yet, sharing food, arts and creativity, music, and conversations is what brings them all together.
Photo by the author
Creating Plantbased Tapas with What’s Available
Back home I started preparing with the ingredients in stock. Five minutes in, the guy from the evening before came upstairs, after his night shift. Similar to earlier, his behavior was out of control, this time in a different way though. He started sneezing and couldn’t stop it for a minute or three. All his food suggestions were parked aside, the cold he had caught took all of his attention. Another gift from heaven, I had all the space and time for myself to prepare and come up with tapas to create. Something that unfolds on the go, pressure from outside only forces me to rush through, which often doesn’t benefit the outcome. Later in the day, he and his girlfriend had recovered a bit, and offered their help once again. All the dishes were mostly prepared already, and only the execution had to be done. A perfect fit, since they’re really good at this! Most of the guests walked it around 19:00, and I wasn’t finished yet. Long story short, I could use some help. It’s amazing how puzzle pieces fit together, the moment you’ve let go of any expectations. The delay gave everyone some time and space to unwind from their workweek, to get a tour around the house, and to share their experiences. This continued for the rest of the evening, a treat with a group of creative and artistic minds together.
The dishes created in the moment:
Mango carpaccio (shortly sauteed with smoked paprika) with honeydew melon and a guava-blackberries dressing.
Peanut sauce, made with soy sauce, tamarind paste, garlic, ginger, lemon, and spices (left top of the photo).
Ras el Hanout potato and curry sweet potato wedges, both oven roasted.
Plantain and mango chutney, a hint of cayenne, garlic & onion, tamarind, and spices.
Chickpea flour flatbread, with garlic and fresh mint.
Azuki and black beans falafal variant, made with chickpea flour, fresh mint, and spices.
Sprouted buckwheat avocado mint dressing, with coconut cream and grated ginger.
Chickpea hummus, with Provencal herbs, lemon, and sesame seeds.
Green olives as a snack on the side.
Treat of the day: carob brownies, made with oats, pumpkin seeds, cayenne powder, fresh carob pods, and raw cacao (no photo available).
Getting the Maximum Out of a Minimal Budget
With relaxed music in the background, interaction was the main outlet. Sharing thoughts, ideas, and experiences out of mutual interest is nice to participate in. One of the women who visited shared her perceptions on creating and creativity. She mentioned that the originality stood out for her with the tapas, like this is original, this is creation. A beautiful way of looking that broadens my perspective. Upfront I had my doubts if I would have enough to serve everyone, in the end there was so much left that I could enjoy the following days as well. Funny how it goes with not knowing what to expect. Afterward, the people that joined helped with cleaning up and leaving the terrace and kitchen in a clean state. The next day, I received a question from the man who initiated the after-work. Curious about what I had spent and if the costs were covered. I had no idea myself, a quick calculation brought me to about 16 or 17 euros in total was what I needed to serve around 25 people (kids included). Quite a surprise for the both of us, given the fact that about 40% of the food was left over afterward. Somehow situations like this get the best out of me. Time to share the journey I took to make this possible.
Every week I go for a hike or 3, in the hills of La Herradura, I started doing this back in July. Since the first day, I walk into all kinds of surprises. A friend of mine invited me once to go for harvesting wild plants. It’s always a question what there’s to find when I go for a walk. Turns out that there’s a lot that nature has to offer. Using an app for scanning plants (like Seek from iNaturalist that I use) is very welcome. Simply take a photo, and let the scanner do the rest. Look online if a plant or fruit is edible or has some medicinal benefits and try it out. The dry riverbeds in La Herradura are loaded with fresh mint and amaranth, and much better quality than you can find in any supermarket or fruitshop. Every couple of 100 meters there’s a carob tree, a sweet fruit with chocolate like flavor, I have it in stock as a healthy snack. The flavor is incredible and the nutrients highly beneficial for the digestive system. In the whole area there are a lot of fruit trees. Most of them as a part of a fruit farm, and occasionally growing on the side of the road. Almost all the times that I go for a walk there are fruits left on the side of the road or on the trails. A free gift from nature. Besides that, there are a couple of wild leafy greens that grow like weeds, but are actually not. For example the common mallow, wild amaranth, and nasturtium (also known as capuchina, Indian cress, or monk’s cress). Common mallow has a slimy texture like okra, amaranth tastes a bit like spinach, and nasturtium has a sharpness like watercress.
Photo by the author
With the gifts of nature, I had the carob pods, mint, guava, mango, and avocado covered. As well as some wild herbs and spices I found along the way. I love to explore nature with hiking, and this is a unexpected bonus that comes along with it. Buckwheat, azuki beans, and black beans I already had in stock, as well as all the spices. At the shop in the nearby village I bought some potatoes & sweet potatoes, garlic & onion, plantains, and chickpea flour. The woman I was with brought raw cacao, oats, olives, and sesame seeds with her. She also provided the tamarind and soy sauce that I used for the peanut sauce and chutney. The pumpkin seeds and coconut cream were left behind by people that lived in the house before. I had 10 euros in cash with me, which I spent for my own purchases. Not all the ingredients were used fully, but the buckwheat, beans, and spices I already had levels it out. With the ingredients that the woman provided (a fraction from the packages was needed), it adds about 6 or 7 euros. Making a total of 16 or 17 euros maximum. Eventually it would have been enough to make tapas for at least 40 people. If you would have asked me upfront to make a calculation, I would have never come to this number. Rather a multitude of this, around 60 euros minimum. It’s incredible for me time after time, how many can be done with little effort, be utilizing available resources to the fullest. This is one of many examples since I’ve been in Spain, and probably a good summary of my journey here so far.
In a restaurant, a brunch like this would cost around 25 to 30 euros a person. Serving a group of 40 people means 1.000 to 1.200 euros income in total. Sounds like a profitable business model, using a budget of 16 to 17 euros. Even with all the costs in consideration with running a restaurant.
How to treat yourself and others with delicious ‘tapas’ by maximizing your resources:
It’s easy to go to a bakery and buy some baguettes to share. It’s even more easy to make your own flatbread. Pick a flour to your liking (oats, buckwheat, fava bean, chickpea, they all work). Add some flavors, like salt & pepper, garlic, herbs like mint, cilantro, or parsley, and spices if wished. Mix the dry ingredients, and start adding lukewarm water bit by bit, until you’ve got the right consistency (a bit thicker than pancakes batter). Bake like pancakes in pan, with a good pan (cast iron, non-stick) no oil is needed. It saves a trip to the bakery, money, and tastes way better.
Beans and greens soak up water when you sprout or cook them. 100 grams of dry chickpeas becomes 300 grams of chickpeas when soaked or cooked. Chickpeas, lentils, and mung beans you can use raw (sprouted), as well as grains like oats, buckwheat, and quinoa. Moreover, they mix very well with herbs and spices, and the flavors change when baking or roasting.
When you’re on a walk or hike, look around you what nature has to offer you. It’s often much more than you think upfront. A lot of plants are edible or you can use them for herbal infusions, skin care, and tinctures. Beware of the amounts, since your body is not used to this at the beginning. Add little by little. If you don’t have the luxury to do this a lot, consider a herbal garden to pick from.
Healthy brownies are easy to make with raw cacao. Use fresh carob pods (take out the seeds!) or carob flour to create a sweet flavor. Add a binder, like oat or buckwheat flour, to make the right consistency. Combine with some additional flavors, to give the brownies a characteristic taste. Ginger, mint, coconut, cayenne, maca, be creative! Mix and blend in a kitchen machine, by adding water bit by bit. When the dough is strong enough, transfer it to a dish and leave in the fridge. Brownies like these need no baking, they can be eaten raw.
Potatoes and sweet potatoes are easy to get and able to absorb water as well as other flavors. Oven roasted wedges or fries are just an example of many options. A mashed potato puree/ spread is easily made. Also, a (sweet) potato curry tastes great! Or think about (sweet) potato sandwiches, as an alternative to add toppings and dips like hummus. Cut the (sweet) potato in 1/2 cm slices, put on a grill, in the oven, or roast in a pan, until a fork goes through easily. Serve directly with toppings to your liking.
Sauces, spreads, and chutneys are like the cherries on a cake. Depending on if you’ve got a theme, you’re options are limitless. In this case, the tapas were quite Mediterranean and Middle Eastern oriented. A peanut sauce, hummus, chutney, and something refreshing like a plantbased yoghurt with mint or cilantro are great. For spreads and chutneys, keep the basics simple, by using creamy ingredients, like nuts/seeds, avocado, chickpeas/lentils, or whole grains. Go along from there, by adding what you’ve got available.
Most of the times, there’s no need to go the store with a shopping list. Start by looking at what you’ve got available already. And see what you’re able to create with that. It saves you a lot of time, money, and energy, and brings out the best of you when it comes to creativity. In a lot of cases, adding less is more. In other words, combining 3 or 4 ingredients that are complementary to each other is enough to form dishes that are delicious and full of flavor.