Nearly five centuries ago, Spanish explorers began making forays into what eventually would become Arizona. Now, their cooks finally are catching up.

In the East Valley, as in metro areas across the United States and around the world, Spanish restaurants are springing up to introduce diners to a suddenly red-hot cuisine.

“Spain is such a great food country,” says chef Aaron May, who opened Sol y Sombra in north Scottsdale in 2006 and plans to open another Spanish restaurant, Leche, in Old Town Scottsdale in March. “Food is just as important there — if not more — than France or Italy.”

Spanish food, long overshadowed by that of its European neighbors, certainly seems to have captured the culinary world’s attention.

In Restaurant magazine’s annual poll of top chefs, restaurateurs and critics, Spain’s El Bulli has been named the world’s best restaurant for the past three years.

El Bulli’s Ferran Adriá is considered by many the world’s greatest chef, and countryman Paco Torreblanca is regarded as perhaps the world’s best pastry chef.

And northern Spain’s Basque region is “where in Europe I would go right now if my sole agenda were to eat,” writes New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni.

• Related: Small tapas play big role in Spanish cuisine

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In Spain, food is a big deal. And also a small deal.

Tapas, or small appetizers, are almost synonymous with Spanish cuisine.

“It’s important to understand the concept of tapas, small plates that are meant to be shared in a bar setting,” says Claudio Urcuioli, chef de cuisine at Prado in Paradise Valley. “It’s just one or two bites.

“They’re interesting because you have many different flavors based on seafood, the meat, cold cuts, the cheeses. You can have 10 different tapas and that can be your meal.”

Tapas can be cold, such as olives or cheese, or hot, such as meatballs or fried squid. Some tapas are offered in larger portions as entrees, but most are not.

“I wouldn’t serve a tortilla de patata, which is the famous potato omelet from Spain, as an entrée or an appetizer in the restaurant,” says Urciuoli, who spent a month in southern Spain to prepare for Prado’s opening. “We use it just as a little bite to tempt the palate.

“The same with a rustic bread and a nice boquerone, which is white anchovy. Very delicate. I wouldn’t use it as an appetizer. I’d just use it as a little bite with an olive maybe.”

• Related: The reign of Spain: Country’s cuisine is red-hot in the East Valley

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