Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Recipe 7: Spanish Tortilla

So one of the things I've been trying to do before this baby gets here is organize my recipes. (Terribly important stuff, I know--but something that I suspect will drop WAY down the priority list once this little one arrives!) I have so many recipes on my computer alone and have been trying to at least get them grouped into categories. At any rate, I recently ran across this recipe for Spanish tortilla and was thinking it might be fun if our group tried a Tapas-y theme. I was thinking we could each take a stab at the tortilla and then do whatever other companion dishes struck our fancy. Curious to see what everyone comes up with!

1 cup olive oil
4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8" slices
Coarse salt
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 large eggs

1. Heat the oil in an 8- or 9-inch skillet and add the potato slices one at a time to prevent sticking. Alternate potato layers with the onion slices and salt the layers lightly. Cook slowly, over a medium flame, lifting and turning the potatoes occasionally, until they are tender but not brown.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl beat the eggs with a fork until they are slightly foamy. Salt to taste. Remove the potatoes from the skillet and drain them in a colander, reserving about 3 tablespoons of the oil. Add the potatoes to the beaten eggs, pressing the potatoes down so that they are completely covered by the egg. Let the mixture stand 15 minutes.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved oil in a large skillet until very hot. Add the potato and egg mixture, rapidly spreading it out in the skillet with the aid of a pancake turner. Lower the heat to medium-high and shake the pan often to prevent sticking. When the potatoes begin to brown underneath, invert a plate of the same size over the skillet. Flip the omelet onto the plate. Add about 1 tablespoon more oil to the pan, then slide the omelet back onto the skillet to brown the other side.

4. Lower the heat to medium. Flip the omelet 2 or 3 more times (this helps to give it a good shape) cooking briefly on each side. It should be slightly juicy within. Transfer to a platter and serve hot or at room temperature.

Okay, adding this recipe just to get the juices flowing! It's from the same person who gave me the tortilla recipe and apparently goes really well with it. But feel free to do whatever you'd like!

Gambas al Ajillo

4 SERVINGS

4 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 to 2 pounds small or medium shrimp
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons dry sherry
4 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
Paprika, to taste
1 dried red chili, cut in three pieces
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon minced parsley

Heat the oil and butter in a skillet. Add the shrimp and garlic and sauté over high heat about 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice, sherry, paprika, chili pepper, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately, preferably in the cooking dish.

3 Comments:

Blogger Kate said...

Getting those recipes organised, sounds to me like you are nesting. This is a fab idea I love tapas.

18 April, 2006 13:07  
Blogger Elaine said...

num num! definitely try the bacon wrapped dates. Wrap and secure with toothpick. Put in oven at 450F for about 10 min, turning once. You can make a maple cider or balsamic vinaigrette. So good! Can't wait to get started on this.

18 April, 2006 13:11  
Blogger Jer said...

Excellent. I have two girlfriends coming for the weekend and I'll make both the tortilla espanola and the gambas for lunch on Saturday with a little sangria. Good stuff.

18 April, 2006 23:36  

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