Each April, Seville spends a week doing what it does best: eating, dancing, and staying up too late. The Feria de Sevilla fills the city with flamenco guitars, horse-drawn carriages, and rows of canvas casetas strung with paper lanterns — and at the center of every one of them is a table heavy with the flavors of Andalucía.

Step inside a caseta and the first thing to greet you is a feast for the eyes. Platters of jamón ibérico de bellota are sliced paper-thin right at the bar, the deep red flesh veined with ivory fat that melts the instant it touches your tongue. It's one of Spain's great treasures, and in Seville, it's served with a casualness that belies just how special it is.

Around it, a whole constellation of tapas appears. Ensaladilla rusa — Andalucía's cool, creamy answer to potato salad, with peas, carrots, and tuna bound in silky mayonnaise — piled high and dusted with parsley. Wedges of tortilla de patatas, still warm in the middle, the potatoes slow-cooked in good olive oil until they practically dissolve into the eggs. Bowls of briny Gordal olives. Little plates of salmorejo, the thick Cordoban cousin of gazpacho, topped with jamón and a drizzle of green oil. This is what Spaniards mean when they talk about tapas — not a menu category, but a way of eating that belongs to everyone at the table.

Every caseta has its own rhythm. A bottle of manzanilla or fino from nearby Jerez appears. Someone starts clapping. A grandmother shows a child how to arch her wrists just so. Plates keep coming — a little more jamón, a little more tortilla, another round of olives — and the afternoon slides effortlessly into evening. By the time the lanterns flick on and the carriages head home, you understand why sevillanos talk about Feria the way other people talk about falling in love.

At Despaña, we've spent years bringing the flavors of Andalucía to our own tables — and yours. Whether you're planning a backyard gathering or just want a taste of Seville on a Tuesday night, a few well-chosen ingredients can conjure the whole fiesta: a good jamón, a tin of Spanish tuna for your ensaladilla, a bottle of Andalucían olive oil to finish your tortilla, a handful of Gordales to pass around.

Pour yourself a glass of something cold. Put on a little flamenco. And let the Feria come to you.