Mother’s Day is so close to Cinco de Mayo this year that the aroma of Spanish food will still be in the air. Why not continue the celebration (on the table, at least) when honoring your mother?
A menu of tortillas, tomato salsa and fresh fruit, all washed down with the sparkling crispness of cava is the perfect way to say “I love you.”
A Spanish tortilla, not to be confused with a Mexican one, is similar to an omelet, except it has potatoes and possibly bits meat and/or vegetables cooked in it. The convenience factor is huge because tortillas are served at all temperatures, from hot to cold. In fact, wedges of tortilla are popular tapas all over Spain. Just cook it and put it on a platter to keep while you make the salsa and arrange the fruit – it is that easy!
While traditional recipes for tortilla de patatas call for sliced potatoes, a friend and Spanish cookbook author, Janet Mendel, told me that the best were made with diced potatoes. The key is to remember that you are not frying the potatoes; you are poaching them in olive oil so that they cook, but do not brown.
Simply peel and dice some (preferably Yukon Gold) potatoes, chop about half as many onions, some chorizo (or ham and ¼ tsp McCormick paprika) and whisk five or six eggs together. Poach the diced potatoes in oil until they can be easily pierced, then drain off excess oil and add onions and meat to pan. When meat is heated through and the onions are wilted, add the eggs. Cook until the bottom is set, then turn the tortilla over to cook the other side.
Turning can be tricky. I’ve seen chefs with fancy cookware flick their wrist and have the job easily done. I’ve also seen the egg mix splashed all over the stove! Don’t fret! There are tricks I will share.
One is that instead of flipping the tortilla, once the bottom is cooked simply put it under the broiler until the top is done. Another is to put a plate on top and quickly turn it out onto the plate, then slide it back into the pan to cook some more. Either way has much less potential for making a mess!
Many people have their own recipe for salsa. Here is a basic one with all the elements necessary for a good, fresh-tasting condiment:
2 lbs tomatoes, seeded and diced. Unless it is tomato season, I’ve found that the plum tomatoes have the best flavor and texture.
1 small red onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, diced (can substitute jarred slices to taste, or ¼ tsp McCormick chipotle)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped and mashed with a tsp of coarse salt
Juice and zest of one lime
Bunch of cilantro, coarse stems removed, chopped
1-2 Tbls olive oil
Freshly ground McCormick pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients and allow them to come together for several hours before using.
Strawberries, while not particularly Spanish, will be in season for Mother’s Day, if not in your neighborhood, then from a nearby state. A simple mix of strawberries and cream, or a more complex (but easy) Strawberry Ice will elegantly complete the meal.
Strawberry Ice
Freeze 1 lb fruit, add ¼ lb sugar and 1 egg white, blend aggressively. Add to an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s directions to prepare. Serve as you would ice cream.
That’s it! You can celebrate a leisurely Mother’s Day with the flavors of Spain, both enhanced with quality McCormick spices.
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Comments: 23
A much older 'feast day' than the American one - with our own traditions!
We usually have a nice family meal and eat one of the traditional Simnel cakes that I make for Easter.
peel and cube 2lbs 4 0z of potatoes
heat 1/2 cup Olive oil in a deep frying pan
cook potatoes in oil over low heat for 15 minutes
(until tender but not brown)
In a bowl, mix potatoes with 3 beaten eggs
salt & pepper to taste
pour mixture back into frying pan and cook for 3-4 minutes
when it is firm but not dry
turn (see above)
cook for 3 more minutes
serve
(Chef Manuel Zamora, Casablanca, Seville)
She cubed the potatoes and cooked them in water first until tender - she then drained the water and put the potatoes on a cast iron skillet that had already been coated with olive oil and just a bit more....she then added whatever meat or veggie she was going to add, seasoned them well and last the whipped eggs. While the bottom was cooking she lifted the sides a bit to let some of the egg run to the bottom. When the lower section was more than 3/4 done she would flip it by sliding over a lid and putting the top side down....Hers were always uniformely made. She would cut them in about 1 inch cubes and serve with a frilly toothpick
Richard........just different people making the same dish different ways....
I've eaten it so many times as tapas, because it is a cheap, protein rich and filling dish. I think that's why I add chorizo - eggs and patatas just aren't enough anymore.
Thanks again for stopping by and adding flavor to the discussion (I'm incorrigible!)
In Spain, did you ever actually see a tortilla española covered with Mexican sauce? I THINK NOT! It dives me nuts to hear something unknown in Spain called "Spanish".
I know Dorine, I was intentionally melding Spanish with a Spain / Mexico cuisine device to sell an Ocho de Mayo (OUCH!) brunch. It was obviously too big a leap in an uninspired attempt to complete an assignment (my 5th brunch) Sorry for offending your sensibilities.
I only saw tortillla de patatas used as tapas. My cookbooks refer to adding other ingredients as available, but don't name the result. Wouldn't adding chorizo change it to tortilla de patatas y chorizo?
Yes, such a tortilla might be called tortilla de patatas y chorizo, especially if the same establishment offers one that has chorizo but no patatas. But some people simply assume the presence of patatas with other inredients and name only the other ingredients.
At the family table at home, tortilla de patatas is often served as a first course, in which case it is cut into wedges rather than squares. At supper, 10 PM in most Spanish families, a wedge of tortilla de patatas may be served on a plate accompanied by some salad of romaine, tomato, cucumber and onion, and possibly some canned tuna along with fresh bread from the afternoon baking at the neighborhood panaderia. And it is as inevitable in a Spanish picnic basket as potato salad is in a US one. in fact, stores that sell household goods always ssell tortilla carriers, something kjind of resembleing a shallow aluminum pie plate with a clamp-on aluminum lid, with or without carrier handles.
I took my mother out once - she said never again. You don't eat out on Holidays! That was that. It was always brunch at home after that, something distant siblings could manage and still drive home that night, and that didn't have us in the cattle-call atmosphere of a restaurant brunch. I read the ads for brunches since her death, but I'll never be able to dine out on a Holiday again!