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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Leek Tart - a case for poireaux!

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I am the picnic’s most dedicated fan. I’ve been known to picnic in rain and snow. The weather doesn’t matter so long as I have a beautiful view, a dry place to sit and something delicious to eat.

A leek tart is perfect picnic food!

Excellent picnics have included:

·                    Glendalough in Co. Wicklow – bypass ‘picnic central’ near the car parks... try not to get distracted by picnic envy... there’s a thousand wonderful meals covering the wooden outdoor tables and spicy barbeque aromas rise into the air to tantalise... keep walking... find spot near lake... lay out picnic blanket. Eat, relax, sigh, and think “heaven!”

An unexpected companion at a recent picnic...

·                    Sittin' on the dock of the bay / Watching the tide roll away”, feet dangling in the water at the edge of Sausalito, with the obligatory ‘Californian’ on rye from a nearby Deli, a Coke and a smile.

Not a great day for a picnic but pretty view of Dalkey Island from Killiney Beach

·                    Hardboiled eggs washed down with red lemonade on Killiney beach, Co. Dublin, following a swim in cold, cold water with a view to rival the bay of Naples.

The best picnics are those shared. I wait with eager anticipation as the treasures concealed by picnic baskets are finally revealed and laid out on table or blanket ready to be handed around.

My favourite picnic items – apart from the obligatory nostalgia of hardboiled eggs dipped in sea salt – are pies and tarts. Sweet or savoury, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that they are simple and tasty - like this leek tart – or Tarte aux Poireaux if you want to get fancy. Crumbly pastry, rich savoury filling, great company - sunshine is optional. Buy decent ready-made pastry for even less effort, however the pastry given below is very well-behaved so even if you are a pastry virgin why not give it a whirl.

For 4 tarts you will need:

Shortcrust Pastry

110g plain flour

a pinch of salt

½ teaspoon paprika

75g butter

1 egg yolk

a little iced water

1                    Place the flour, salt, paprika and butter in a food mixer or processor and blitz until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.

2                    Add the egg yolk and as much iced water – a tablespoonful at a time - as it takes to bring the mixture together into a soft (but not sticky) ball of pastry.

3                    Flatten the pastry into a disc, cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Luscious leek filling

50g butter

450g finely shredded chopped leeks

4 egg yolks

200g crème fraiche or 200ml fresh cream

50g Gruyere cheese

½ teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

a further 25g Gruyere cheese for sprinkling over the top

1                    Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a gentle heat. Add in the shredded chopped leeks. Stir to coat the leeks in the melted butter, then cover and leave to cook without colouring for about 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. When the leeks are meltingly tender, take them off the heat and transfer to a mixing bowl to cool.

2                    Meanwhile mix together the egg yolks, the crème fraiche or fresh cream, 50g Gruyere cheese and sprinkle in the salt and pepper.

3                    Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

4                    Roll out the pastry to approximately the thickness of a 20c coin (GB 2p coin/USA 5c coin) and use to line 4 mini-quiche dishes or flan tins.

5                    Now add the eggy cheesy mixture to the cooled leeks, mixing well.

6                    Spoon the mixture into the pastry cases and sprinkle with the remaining 25g Gruyere.

7                    Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes or until the mixture is light golden brown and the cheese has melted.

That’s tonight’s supper for two sorted! It’s going to be served warm with a green salad. The remaining two tarts will accompany me on a picnic tomorrow – even better served cold somewhere the view will add a little alchemy of its own.

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Boquerones Fritos – a taste of happily ever after !

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Every time I taste boquerones fritos it takes me back to a magical week spent with some writer friends in a remote Spanish village near Grenada about ten years ago. It was the sort of place where you could expect to be woken at dawn by the sound of cowbells and donkey carts rattling through streets too steep and narrow for cars.

Here I was first introduced to the notion of tapas: you order a drink and a little plate of something wonderful arrives with it. How civilised! In one cervecería, the patrón produced plates of fat green olives, black morcilla, rosy petals of jamón, and lots more, placing them on the zinc counter with generosity and regularity, there for everyone to share.

Hmmmm... potential

There was nearly an international incident however, when one of the girls mistakenly thought one of the locals was hogging a plate of fried anchovies. The aroma was sensational. I guess she couldn’t help herself. They were just too tempting. She reached over his shoulder (gasp!) and helped herself to a handful of golden fish... which just happened to be the man’s lunch. To this day, the incident is still a topic for discussion in the village. Once the unfortunate man had gotten over the shock and the fish thief had gotten over her mortification and apologised, they got chatting. She stole his fish; he stole her heart; it was a fair swap and they lived happily ever after. The End.

So, anyway, back to the fish...

Two or three boquerones fritos with a squeeze of lemon are the perfect accompaniment to a cold beer on a sunny evening. Any more than that, and for me, they begin to taste a little one dimensional. To keep the taste buds tantalised, make each mouthful a surprise. Here’s how.

Keep the taste buds tantalised by making each mouthful different

To serve 4 – 6 people as a canapé you will need...

Approximately 36 fresh anchovies (or about 300g), heads and insides removed

Filling 1

1 small clove of garlic, crushed and mixed with 1 teaspoon very finely chopped fresh parsley

Filling 2

1 – 2 slices of Serrano ham or prosciutto cut into narrow strips – about ½ cm wide

Filling 3

1 red chilli, very finely chopped

Coating

6 tablespoons plain flour

a pinch of fine table salt

2 large eggs, beaten

100g dried breadcrumbs

Olive oil for cooking

A little sea salt (Maldon) for sprinkling

Wedges of lemon to serve

Flour, egg, breadcrumbs... simple ingredients, magical food

1.                 Divide the anchovies into 3 equal portions. Fill the first portion with the garlic and parsley mixture, gently pressing the fish closed over the filling. Fill the second portion with ribbons of Serrano ham or prosciutto. Fill the third portion with the finely chopped chilli. Make sure to press each fish gently to close it over the filling. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavours to penetrate the flesh.

2.                 When you are ready to cook the fish, set up a ‘dipping station’: place the flour in a shallow bowl and add a pinch of salt; place the beaten egg in another shallow bowl beside it; place the breadcrumbs in yet another bowl (yes, there’s lots of washing up but it’s worth it). Dip the prepared anchovies into the flour, then into the egg, then finally into the breadcrumbs. (Tip: use one hand for this dipping process, as doubtless as soon as you are covered in eggy breadcrumbs, the phone/doorbell will ring.) Place the dipped anchovies on a plate ready to be fried.

3.                 Pour olive oil into a large frying pan to a depth of ½ cm and place over a medium heat. When the oil is good and hot, but not smoking, add the anchovies. They should sizzle when they hit the oil. You want a crisp coating so don’t overcrowd the pan. As soon as one side is golden brown, turn them to cook the other side. This takes about 90 seconds in total. When they are golden, lift them out of the oil with a slotted spoon and serve immediately as these do not live happily ever after, but go from sublime to so-so in about one minute flat. Serve with wedges of lemon and, if you have some homemade mayonnaise, so much the better.

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Omelette with Croutons – unsophisticated, but unashamedly delicious!

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What an egg-citing omelette!

We had a magically multiplying turkey this Christmas. It fed 19 people and there was still some left. It made sandwiches and delicious turkey soup and there was still some left. Great slices of it were wrapped and given away and there was still some left. Much as I love turkey, there comes a point when it’s enough already!

After all the rich food of Christmas, anyone who makes me the simple treat of a fried egg sandwich gets huge brownie points. It must be on squishy white bread – and lightly cooked so that, when cut, the yolk oozes out and soaks into the bread – sigh…

Another unsophisticated egg/bread combination that I love is this omelette stuffed with croutons. Plain or cheesy, I love both versions.

For an omelette to feed one, you will need…

Croutons

1 slice bread, crusts removed, cut into 1cm cubes

25g butter, melted

For the cheesy version, you’ll need

25g Gruyere, grated or 25g blue cheese, crumbled

¼ teaspoon fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 160˚C

1.                  To make the croutons, toss the bread cubes in the melted butter. If making the cheesy version, add the cheese and thyme, turning the bread cubes until coated in the mixture. Spread the cubes out on a shallow baking tray and bake in the preheated oven until golden – about 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 80˚C to keep them warm while you make the omelette.

Omelette

2 fresh eggs

a pinch of salt

freshly ground black pepper

25g butter

Have a warm plate ready as the omelette takes only a minute to cook and it’s a major culinary sin to put an omelette onto a cold plate.

2.                  Melt the butter in a small frying pan over a medium/high heat.

3.                  While the butter is melting, break the eggs into a bowl, add a little salt and pepper, and whisk lightly with a fork until the yolk is just combined with the white of the egg.

4.                  When the butter is melted and the pan is hot, pour in the egg mixture and let it spread across the base of the pan. Shake the pan back and forth over the heat so that the egg doesn’t stick and burn. When the egg has mostly set and the surface of the omelette is creamy, sprinkle the hot croutons down the centre of the omelette in a line covering roughly about 1/3 of the surface.

5.                  Using a spatula or fish slice, gently fold 1/3 of the omelette over the croutons, as if you were starting to fold a letter. Then tilt the pan so that the unfolded portion of the omelette slides onto the heated plate. Gently roll the rest of the omelette head-over-heels onto the plate to cover the unfolded portion, enclosing the filling completely.

Unashamedly unsophisticated (but utterly delicious!)

Eat immediately with a green salad while you wonder what to do with the rest of the never-ending turkey.

Mmmmmmmmmmm!

Speaking of which, any turkey tips?

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Sweet Potato Roulade – and a céad míle fáilte

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There is a noticeable flood of green food across the blogosphere these past few days, in the lead up to St Patrick’s Day. Maybe it is the “forty-shades-of green” countryside or the vivid emerald hue of the famous shamrock emblem that gives the impression that green is Ireland’s national colour. Many people will be surprised to learn that since Norman times, Ireland’s national colour is in fact blue. It is the exact shade of blue that glows above the St Patrick’s Day parade as it passes the GPO on Dublin’s O’Connell Street.

Green, white and gold (and pretty tasty too)



If you have ever been to that parade, you will know that no matter how fine and unseasonably sunny the day is, a March wind whips down that famous boulevard - Ireland’s Champs-Élysées - turning every inch of exposed flesh blue with cold. Due to the number of unsuspecting short-skirted marching bands and majorettes from warmer climes, and a trend towards Mardi Gras-style pageantry and costume, there is a lot of exposed flesh, resulting in a blue glow that can be seen from outer space every March 17th. Brrrrrrr!

I’ve been trying to think of a dish for St Patrick’s day that would nod to the occasion without being too cabbage-y, or too bacon-y, too corned beef-y, too green - or too blue for that matter.

Sweet...

I have my photography teacher to thank for mentioning sweet potato roulade some weeks ago. It nods to the potato heritage of the Irish and to the green, white and gold of the Irish tricolour. Reflecting a modern Ireland, it acknowledges in a very small way, the contribution of other cultures  - sweet potato, nutmeg and sesame seed are obviously not locals but a céad míle fáilte* to them all the same.

For 6 - 8 servings you will need...

For the soufflé base

10g melted butter

15g sesame seeds

1 sweet potato, weighing approximately 400g

75g butter

75g plain flour

300mls fresh milk

125g mature cheddar, grated

½ teaspoon fine table salt

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

6 eggs

1          Line the base of a 26cm x 36cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment and brush with the melted butter. Dotting the underside of the paper with a little melted butter helps it stick to the tin. Sprinkle the surface of the buttered paper evenly with sesame seeds.

2          Prepare the sweet potato by peeling it and slicing into rounds about 1cm thick. Place in a saucepan and cover with boiling water. Simmer with a lid on for about 20 minutes or until easily pierced with the tip of a knife. Drain and mash.

3          While the sweet potato is cooling, melt 75g of butter in a large saucepan over a low heat. Stir in the flour, mixing with a wooden spoon until it comes together in a thick paste. Continue cooking gently for another minute or so. Swap the spoon for a whisk and add the milk to the saucepan, a little at a time, whisking well between additions. It will be alarmingly lumpy at first but will soon whisk to a smooth mixture.

4          When all the milk has been added, whisk in 300g of the sweet potato mash (any leftovers can be reheated and eaten as a side or added to a vegetable soup. When the sweet potato has been combined, add in the grated cheese and stir until melted and combined. Add salt and nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasoning if required.

5          Carefully separate the eggs, placing the yolks in one bowl and the whites in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Lightly beat the egg yolks with a fork and add three large tablespoonfuls of the hot sweet potato mixture, mixing well between each tablespoonful. Then add the egg yolks to saucepan of sweet potato and whisk well to combine.(If you try to add the egg yolks to the hot mixture without first warming them as described, you’ll end up with scrambled eggs.)

6          Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold the egg white mixture into the sweet potato mixture about a quarter at a time. Transfer the mixture into the prepared baking tin and bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or risen and evenly golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin. The beautifully risen soufflé will sink a little. Don't worry, that's supposed to happen.

Fold in the egg whites for a light-as-a-cloud base

7          When cooled, remove from the tin and place on a large sheet of clingfilm or baking parchment, with the liner paper still attached to the underside. The next step is to fill and roll the roulade.



I'm sinking... (but that's ok, I'm supposed to!)

For the filling

250g cream cheese (such as Philadelphia)

1 small clove of garlic, crushed

1 stick celery, peeled and finely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or coriander (cilantro)

4 – 6 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped, including green part

50g baby spinach leaves, shredded

8          Mix the cream cheese with the crushed garlic, herbs and spring onions and spread evenly over the surface of the soufflé. Scatter the spinach leaves over the top. Gently release the liner paper from a long edge of the soufflé. Gripping the released edge of the paper together with the clingfilm or parchment paper, lift gently to start rolling. Roll the soufflé tightly and wrap snugly in clingfilm. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until required. Serve in slices with a green salad.

Wishing you a Happy St Patrick’s Day and here’s an Irish blessing to carry with you:

“May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your door”

* a hundred-thousand welcomes

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Spanish Omelette – all it’s cracked up to be!

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Almost all you'll need for Spanish Omelette 

Even when it seems that tumbleweed is the sole occupant of the kitchen, there’s bound to be a few potatoes and an onion or two lurking in the vegetable basket, and a clutch of eggs in the door of the fridge. That is all you really need to make a sublime and filling dish that wouldn’t be ashamed to grace the trendiest of tapas bars. Spanish Omelette is a wonderful dish to magic from a seemingly empty kitchen to the delight of unexpected and hungry guests. Cut it into slices and serve hot, warm or cold with a green salad or cut into cubes to serve with drinks. A mandoline cutter is useful for slicing the potatoes into uniformly thin slices though sometimes I prefer the chunkier texture of diced potatoes in this dish – whatever you’re having yourself!

For 1 omelette serving 3 – 4 people for lunch/supper you will need:

4 tablespoons olive oil

600g potatoes, sliced or diced

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

6 large eggs, preferably free-range

½ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan about 22cm in diameter. Meanwhile dry the potatoes in a clean tea-towel. Add to the hot oil along with the chopped onion and crushed garlic. Stir until the vegetables are glistening with hot oil then turn down the heat, cover and cook gently without allowing them to brown for about 20 minutes or until the potato is easily pierced with a fork.

2. Break the eggs into a large bowl, and stir with a fork until the whites and yolks are just combined. Add the salt and a little black pepper. Add in the contents of the frying pan and stir until the potatoes are completely covered with egg. Pour the mixture back into the frying pan and continue to cook gently until the surface of the omelette is beginning to set. This will take about 10-15 minutes.

3. Using a spatula or an egg slice, loosen the omelette around the edges. Cover the frying pan with a large plate, then carefully invert. Slide the inverted omelette back into the pan and continue cooking gently for a further 5 minutes or so.

That’s it – Alchemy performed!

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