Onions? So Wrong! What's next? Pineapple on pizza?
Post-pub nosh neckfiller: Tortilla de patatas
As regular readers know, the Special Projects Bureau's headquarters is a mountaintop redoubt in a sleepy corner of rural Spain, so it was inevitable that we'd eventually turn our wobbly dining attention to the legendary "tortilla de patatas" (potato omelette). This no-frills classic – comprising just eggs, spuds and onion – is …
COMMENTS
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Monday 20th April 2015 10:13 GMT Alpha Tony
It absolutely doesn't need garlic. I lived for a while in Spain and I I got addicted to these things. I tried experimenting with adding other things - garlic, chopped bacon, various herbs, but really it is gilding the lily. A well cooked tortilla doesn't need any other ingredients.
They're not the best thing to try to cook while a bit drunk though, as you end up with olive oil all over your kitchen!
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Saturday 18th April 2015 13:24 GMT Anonymous Custard
Yum!
I think I'd find myself wanting some chopped pork product in there somewhere too (or just serve it with a few slices of decent bacon), or is that perhaps sailing too close to a pastry-less quiche?
But certainly looks delicious to me, might just have to knock one up in the next few days to fill me up.
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Saturday 18th April 2015 15:59 GMT Anonymous Custard
Re: Yum!
Well I did say it may be sailing too close to one ;)
In a similar style you also have French dish of Tartiflette, except it's with Reblochon cheese rather than egg to hold everything together, and that one does include bacon (well lardons anyway). Always goes down a treat with a pint or few when I'm down in Grenoble (it's a Savoie regional dish).
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Saturday 18th April 2015 22:52 GMT Jan 0
Re: Yum!
Well actually "x 7", Re: "Victorian spelling"
There's nothing Victorian about the long 's'.
I learned to write them when I copied from Arrighi's 1524 "La Operina" ("da imparare di scriuere littera cancellarescha") in the V & A as a schoolboy. Wikipedia suggests that they originate with the Romans.
Mind you, it seems that Vincent Ballard used an 'f' with a full crossbar rather than an "ſ" (HTML not working for me in preview). (If used, the crossbar should not protrude on the right hand side of the riser.)
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Saturday 18th April 2015 23:07 GMT x 7
Re: Yum!
Jan 0
I was using poetic licence and writing in a hurry. I knew it went back a fair way, but didn't realise there was a Roman use.
Regarding the crossbar, that seems to have been very much a changing style - I've seen print with a full bar, half bar, no bar. Some with an uncurled bottom, like an f, some curled like an s. But of course what was printed didn't necessarily reflect how people wrote - otherwise we would still have those missing letters eth, thorn, yogh and ash
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Saturday 18th April 2015 17:04 GMT xj25vm
Potatoe variety
You could extend your research by trying out different varieties of potatoes. I find it amazing what a taste difference can there be between some spuds varieties. The best Spanish omelette I have ever had must have been the one in some village close to Santiago de Compostela. Apparently the Galician version takes some beating!
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Saturday 18th April 2015 19:51 GMT Voland's right hand
Re: Potatoe variety
I beg to differ. Real canarian spud grown in volcanic ash (not fake imports).
The best Tortilla I have had was in a small hamlet in the middle of nowhere on La Palma. Actually, once upon a time you could have a decent one even on Lansarote. Not now of course - papas do not grow well in a concrete parking lot.
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Saturday 18th April 2015 21:15 GMT dogged
Re: Fantastic
I agree except that, er... I bake mine, Mexican style.
Ingredients are identical, get a nice round sponge tin, layer of potatoes, layer of onions, sprinkle with salt, drizzle with olive oil, repeat until you reach the top, add beaten eggs to soak around everything, bake for about half an hour at 200C.
No skill involved in flipping because no flipping - just a perfect tortilla.
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Saturday 18th April 2015 21:40 GMT Mephistro
Re: Success! (@Carl W)
You can use sunflower oil instead, but it decomposes very fast with heat and oxidises when exposed to air, so you can only use it once or risk getting some nasty flavours.
On the other hand, olive oil can be re-used many times, as long as you follow some simple steps. Don't overheat it ,filter impurities before storing the used oil, keep it in a closed container with as little air as possible and you'll be able to make many tortillas with a single bottle of olive oil.
Olive oil that has been used to fry spuds and onion can be reused to fry more spuds and onions, and also to fry meat.
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Sunday 19th April 2015 00:42 GMT Mark 85
Re: Success! (@Carl W)
Meh... everything from grilling a steak to coffee has been claimed to be a carcinogen. I think it all depends on how hot you get the oil. If it's smoking, it's too hot (same for any oil).
Here's a couple of links that say it's "ok".... there's others.
http://authoritynutrition.com/is-olive-oil-good-for-cooking/
http://scienceornot.net/2012/09/15/is-it-safe-to-cook-with-olive-oil/
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Sunday 19th April 2015 21:43 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Success!
@CarlW, you could do what I have been doing for years - using the leftover mashed potato.
Because the potatoes I get from our local market come in many different sizes it is very difficult to work out the exact quantity to use for mashed potato so I generally have some left over - rather than dumping it to waste it is stored in the fridge for a few days (in fact I generally cook more potatoes than I need just to have some on hand). They are then used with lightly fried chopped onions and lardons to make my version of this dish.
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Saturday 18th April 2015 21:21 GMT John Brown (no body)
My wife make the low fat/cal/oil version of this...
...and it's actually quite nice. The spuds are sliced or chopped then par boiled while the onions are fried in FryLite (butter flavoured version.) Once the spuds are done, drain and spread out to dry then add to the onions to sort of fry them a bit to add flavour. The rest of recipe is as per the article although she often adds herbs, or a bit of piri piri or other sauce, or even a little cheese.
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Monday 20th April 2015 10:45 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: just checking
Sounds delicious, though seems a bit wasteful of oil to cook them in loads of oil, then straining them.
Bavarian Germany came up with a nice potato pancake, where the potato is just grated into the egg mix with chopped onion (and sometimes a little flour). Though I found you have to cook it all quickly. If left overnight in the fridge the mixture turns black!
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