Tortilla Española with Smoked Bacon – and TLC!

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The secret ingredient? TLC!

You know by now that I love magical dishes born out of the simplest of ingredients. One that I return to time and again is the Tortilla Española – the Spanish Omelette. The basic version has just 3 main ingredients – potato, onion, eggs. But there’s a 4th magic ingredient that must go into the mix – TLC – or Tender Loving Care.

The Three Amigos... on their own, they're nothing!

Each element must be selected with TLC - there is nowhere for inferior ingredients to hide in this classic dish. If you know the hens personally, so much the better! The tortilla must be prepared with patience - a hall-mark of TLC - and it must be served with reverence. TLC will make all the difference between a ‘so what’ snack and a meal fit for the Gods.

In this version, I’ve added smoked bacon. For the veggie option, obviously leave out the bacon... although in Spain, bacon/ham isn’t considered to be meat ... so you might still be served the bacon version as 'vegetarian'...

 Serves 2 hungry people

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
100g of smoked bacon, diced
1 onion, chopped
500g potato, diced into 1cm cubes
approximately 25 strands saffron soaked in 1 tablespoon boiling water
5 large eggs
½ teaspoon fine table salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Tortilla - Spanish for "Just what I wanted!"

1                 Heat the olive oil in an 18cm (7 inch) frying pan over a medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until opaque then remove from the pan.

2                 Turn up the heat then add the onion and potato and stir until well-coated in oil. Immediately lower the heat to the minimum setting.  You want the potatoes and onions to cook without colouring. Cover the frying pan with a lid. After about 10 minutes carefully turn the contents of the pan so that the potatoes and onions cook evenly. Replace the lid and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, poke a cube of potato with a fork make sure it is cooked right through. If not, continue cooking for a few more minutes and test again.

3                 While the potatoes are cooking, break the eggs into a large bowl and beat with a fork until the yolks are just incorporated with the whites. Strain the saffron liquid into the eggs, discarding the strands. Add the salt and black pepper.

4                 Once the potatoes and onions are cooked, add them to the bowl of beaten egg and mix until every piece of potato is well-coated. Then pour the mixture back into the frying pan and cook gently without a lid for about 20 – 25 minutes.

5                 When there is no longer any liquid egg on the surface, slide a spatula around the edges of the omelette to make sure it isn’t sticking. Then cover the pan with an inverted plate and carefully up-end the pan. Gently slide the tortilla back into the pan to finish cooking the other side for a further 2 – 3 minutes.

6                 This is good hot or cold, at any time of the day or night. Cut into thick wedges for a substantial snack and serve with a green salad. You could also cut it into cubes and impale with cocktail sticks for an excellent finger food.

Variation: Non-traditional... I love to add some smoked salmon in place of the bacon. No need to cook the salmon in advance. Simply add it to the egg mixture at the same time as you mix in the potatos and onions. Tortilla Española is also really good with this ‘Fierce’ Tomato Sauce.

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Crainquebille Potatoes – a tummy hug like no other!

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Crainquebille Potatoes - a saucy little side

We are turning our culinary backs on the potato. In Ireland and the UK, pasta and rice are replacing the spud as the national carbohydrates. Some of the reasons offered are “too much work”, “can’t do a whole lot with them”, “the family don’t like ‘em”

Too much work... Depending on the dish you choose, potatoes can be very quick or take hours to cook, but often the actual preparation time is minutes.

Can’t do a whole lot with them... Oh Ye of Limited Imagination!

The family don’t like ‘em... Related to the two reasons above. If you can’t be bothered to spend a few minutes preparing them and have absolutely no imagination beyond mash, mash and more mash, the family are probably sick to death of ‘em.
Potatoes can give you a tummy hug that you just cannot get from other carbs. Smooth, buttery mash is the ultimate comfort food but what a range of dishes you can make! Tartiflette... Tortilla Española  ... Patatas Bravas... Boxty... Pandy... the most amazing chocolate cakes, bars and truffles...  chips... Pommes Anna... Gratin Dauphinoise... Boulangère... I must have at least a thousand potato recipes on my shelves.

Crainquebille Potatoes are a side dish I love to serve with roasts and while the Gruyère topping is non-traditional, I think it adds to the dish.

Potatoes are social vegetables - often seen in the company of garlic, herbs and other party vegetables

For 6 servings you will need...

50g butter

2 onions (each the size of a tennis ball) roughly chopped

500g potatoes (prepared weight), diced into 2cm cubes

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, very finely chopped

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, very finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

400g tinned chopped tomatoes

¼ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

½ teaspoon salt

250mls good quality chicken stock

100g fresh breadcrumbs
50g Gruyère cheese, grated

Potoates, tomatoes, herbs, crunchy breadcrumbs, melted cheese = tummy hug

Pre-heat your oven to 200°C

1                 Melt the butter in a medium sauce over a medium heat and add the chopped onions. Cook without colouring for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent.

2                 Add the diced potatoes, herbs, garlic and chopped tomatoes, salt and black pepper and stir until well combined. Transfer to an oven proof dish, approximately 21cm x 21cm (8½” x 8½”) and 6cm (2½”) deep. Add the stock. It should barely cover the potatoes.

3                 Transfer to the preheated oven and bake at 200°C for 20 minutes. Then, turn down the heat to 180°C and continue cooking for a further 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and easily pierced with a fork.

4                 Remove from the oven and sprinkle with an even layer of breadcrumbs. Finally, sprinkle with Gruyère and return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and the cheese has melted. Mmmmmmm.

If like me, you love potatoes, here are two more of my favourite potato recipes...
 

Tartiflette with Chorizo - a swim across the bay is essential preparation

"In a moment of madness brought on by a rare glimpse of blue sky and sunshine, I went swimming in the Atlantic Ocean. The water was wild and breathtakingly cold, so when I say “swimming” I really mean a vigorous flailing of limbs in the direction of the shore, the main purpose of which was to avoid being swept out of the gorgeous little bay, next stop America.

There is only one dish to help the post-swim thawing process – a dish well known to skiers – and one which caused me a little anxiety - Tartiflette.

‘Patatas Bravas’ with Garlic Mayonnaise – Aioli! Ole!

“Growing potatoes couldn't be easier. Pop seed potato in ground, cover with earth, and forget for several months. ..Today, I am going to celebrate the crop Spanish–style, with Patatas Bravas, a tapas dish I first tasted in Barcelona. Crispy potato chunks are topped with a ‘fierce’ tomato sauce and a cool aioli (garlic mayo) on the side. It is traditional to have a chilled glass of wine or beer ready to quench the chilli heat.” Pin It