Pretzel – Chorizo and Pork Tapas

I had a bowl and could not stop. The crunchy, salty bite-sized mini shaped knots were addictive. I looked at them and wondered what made it hard to resist. Even further, I pondered if I could do a recipe with pretzels. So off I went to do my own ‘R & D’.

I found some amazing pretzel prattle. Did you know that pretzels were said to be created by Catholic monks who made them from leftover dough? This probably explains the pretzel’s knot, which was meant to represent the Holy Trinity. Later on, history tells us pretzels symbolized the marriage bond with reference to the phrase ‘tying the knot”. Just like most of you, I also always wondered about that phrase.

But let’s go back to the pretzel. National Pretzel Day is celebrated this month of April.  What started out as soft pretzels in the beginning  evolved into a batch of hard, crisp pretzels. Stories tell us of a Pennsylvania baker who accidentally left a batch in the oven too long and but resulted in the firmer pretzel version it is today.

Speaking of, let me tantalize you with my pretzel ideas. I wanted to serve some unique appetizers so these were perfect –  easy to do tapas, with a spicy pork chorizo filling bundled in a flakey puff pastry slider.

“Tapa” in Spanish means ‘to cover’ or else ‘to layer atop one another’, depending on the context. In this case, the tapas I put together were delightful bite-sized starters piled high with layers of flavors – spicy pork-chorizo filling, a lot of grated cheese, all stuffed into a small buttery slider. To make the assembly even more crunch-worthy, I topped the appetizer with mini pretzels.It was quick to do from start to finish. You’ll have plenty of time to pour the wine, relax and relish every bite.  So find a reason to celebrate. Start with National Pretzel Day and top the day with these tapas.

For the complete recipe of my Pretzel- Chorizo and Pork Tapas, head over to my guest post on Homemade Quirk. You’ll be glad I sent you – they have got some amazing books and cookbooks on the Quirk Books site, you’ll find it hard to leave!

* Attribution:  National Pretzel Day and pretzel history information was from Punchbowl.com

Hello, Friends! All the images and content here are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to use my photos or content without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write it in your own words and simply link back to this blog to give proper attribution. It’s the LEGAL thing to do. Thanks for your cooperation.