Friday, February 4, 2011

ffwd - basque potato tortilla

As I was preparing everything to get together with a couple of my friends to make the double chocolate mousse cake (see previous post) last weekend, I was kind of casting around for an idea of what kind of snack-ish thing I might have on hand... after all, we were likely to go through lunch time, plus there's that whole waiting for the first baked layer to chill thing. I thought... soup? but that might be too much, plus I didn't know what kind. I though maybe a tart or quiche, or some kind of sandwich/bread-ish thing? but no, one of my friends is gluten-free, and that hardly seemed right. So, I brought out Dorie's book. Hey... wait a minute... our recipe for this week is the basque potato tortilla!!! Not only was my dilemma resolved, but I could make my next recipe for French Fridays with Dorie!!

I resolved to make the tortilla in the morning before they came over, so that it would be ready (and I wouldn't need to fuss, or get in the way!). After going out to the garden to pick some fresh rosemary (I love that part!), I got my ingredients together, and I was ready to go! I had read Dorie's comments on what kind of pan to use. I decided not to bring anything up north. Since she said "a heavy skillet with a diameter of 9 to 10 inches... smaller is better than larger here", I decided that I would throw caution to the wind, and use the Sur la Table regular skillet - no non-stick this time. I crossed my fingers, hoping that it would turn out (literally!).


this could no be simpler... eggs, onion, garlic potatoes, herbs, olive oil... who doesn't have that
in their kitchen (ok, I don't usually have potatoes, but...)?
 
prepped and ready
I love the rosemary we have - the trailing kind with beautiful blue flowers

ready to start the first step - a nice saute of the potatoes

set aside to cool a bit and allow for the cleaning of the skillet

and the eggs and spices

here's the really tricky part
eggs? in a not non-stick pan? had me uber-worried!

but, after following directions on temperature
and numerous runnings of the spatula (another blatant product plug - the "Joseph"
utensils, also at SLT, are perfect - thanks Craig) around the sides/bottom,
I was totally amazed that it was not sticking!!
I probably should have had the heat lower, because this is when I took it off the stove
and placed it under the broiler

maybe a bit too toasty, but I wanted it cooked through
I probably started with broiling a bit early!


the finished tortilla! beautiful!

yum!
So, while this was fun & tasty, what was more fun was hearing one of my guests say "this is exactly what we had when we were traveling through Spain... you order a glass of wine, and they serve you a slice of this potato tortilla"!!! What a wonderful confirmation that something turned out right! We really enjoyed this. In keeping with the authentic way of serving, we had an excellent glass of wine (thanks JC) along with.

I thought this was really good when I first made it. I think it suffered a little bit as a "leftover" - but let's face it, sharing a piece of the tortilla over a glass of wine with friends is always going to be better than a quick lunch at work during a busy day!!

I want to try some of Dorie's other Bonne Idees as well, or even some other combinations. I think I'll adjust the pan size (up! - sorry Dorie) if I make it with the same ingredients - but what a terrific quick meal/snack. What a great thing to wind down on a Friday evening with... an easy basque tortilla and a nice glass of wine!

(and on an important side note... wow! the directions for cooking, with eggs (!), in a regular pan worked beautifully! I thought it would stick and I'd be scrubbing for days! I'm so excited to try that again... very, very cool. Thanks, Dorie!)

8 comments:

  1. Your tortilla came out great! And it turned out of the pan beautifully. I'm anxious to try some of the variations, especially the one with mushrooms. And of course it has to have cheese!

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  2. Your tortilla is beautiful...enjoyed your post, and I did not like it as a leftover or cold.

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  3. I'm glad to hear this is authentically Spain. For me this is weekly hangover food! Yummy though and yours looks great!

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  4. I was also amazed mine didn't stick. I like the thickness of yours and, now that I see it, I believe I served mine upside down ;-)

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  5. It looks like it came out of the pan really nicely. How nice that you received a thumbs up on this being authentic to the region as well.

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  6. Yours looks perfect...and I must mention that I'm extremely jealous that your rosemary isn't buried under ice and snow like mine is!!!!

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  7. Candy,

    Here's the Cheesehead Chicken recipe...not very exciting, but the kids like it :) Thanks for stopping by my blog~

    Cheesehead Chicken

    1 egg
    1/2 cup milk
    1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    1/2 cup flour
    1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
    1 teaspoon seasoning salt
    8 boneless skinless chicken breasts
    1/4 cup butter, melted

    Mix egg with milk in a pie plate. Combine cheese, flour and seasonings in a gallon zip lock bag.

    Dip chicken into egg mixture, then coat with flour mixture. Place in greased 9x13 pan and drizzle with butter. Bake at 350º for about 30 minutes.

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  8. Your tort turned out beautifully!!!! Great that it didn't stick at all. Way to go.

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