New And Improved

I've been umming and ahhing about uploading this recipe for ages as it already exists in a different form on my blog. It's this Spanish omelette recipe from September 2014. I finally decided to post it in part because of the improved photography and in part because I think this recipe is better as I've been able to tweak it over the intervening 20 months.

There's more butter and salt involved and this omelette cooks slower and for longer, it will probably take 45 minutes to make properly and serves two.

My First Roast Chicken

I tagged along on a trip to Bath with my mum on Saturday and marched around all the places I wanted to visit in under two hours while she had lunch. It was great but I wish I'd had longer! I bought the most beautiful 21cm chef's knife made by I O Shen - the swirls along the handle aren't just decorative but help with the weight and balance of the knife. Then, I visited the amazing Foodie Bugle and chatted to the lovely owners, Silvana and John-Paul de Soissons about their beautiful and eclectic selection of kitchenware for sale. I purchased a pretty tile to take photos against, which is something I've been after for a long time, along with a Falcon enamel pie dish (for 2 potion lasagne in Poitiers) and their first printed magazine - it started out being online. My third and last stop was Richard Bertinet's bakery for some focaccia and a quiche for my supper. Once there I also couldn't resist one of his recipe books that focused just on bread recipes - an excellent find as I have enough cookbooks already that are half bread and half cake!

Simply Cook . . . Roast Potatoes

*This recipe first appeared on the blog in November 2014 and has been updated to launch my new page, "Simply Cook . . ."*

Liam, my flatmate, loves roast potatoes but they're never really made in my family - we have our own version that aren't crispy. I set out to find a recipe that was foolproof and tasty for him. There are lots of conflicting ideas (this won't be a classic recipe in terms of numbers and layout - you need to make as many potatoes an you want) but the basis is heating oil, or preferably goose fat in a roasting tin in the oven (200˚C) whilst parboiling floury potatoes cut to the desired size. Parboil them for about 8 minutes and then drain them in a colander, shaking them around to rough up the edges before tossing them in flour to help crisp up the edges. Carefully place them in the hot roasting pan and cook for 30-50 minutes (depending on the size you cut them), turning occasionally.

Cutting the potatoes

Don't Say Never Trust A Skinny Cook: Spanish Chicken

How are you all? University classes start up again for me today, and I'm really excited about my modules this semester. One module is called Identity and Power and is about French colonialism, another is named Culture and Conflict, covering first world war poetry, a book by Georges Perec about WW2 and then the war in Algeria makes up the third conflict that we study - it will be really interesting to learn about the world wars from a French perspective as up until now I have only studied in as part of the English GCSE and A level curriculum. My final module (ignoring the compulsory grammar one) is about careers and business management, which will hopefully be interesting and useful in the "real world"! As such meals are being planned in advance again, so there should be no shortage of interesting recipes for the blog, like this one that I'm sharing with you today. My current plan for meals next week involve a "light" katsu curry (see next Monday's Don't Say Never Trust A Skinny Cook), a lentil dish and the old favourite (with a homemade paste), thai green curry.

Tortilla Española

Or spanish omelette. I love tapas; done well they taste amazing and it's so nice not to have to choose just one thing from the menu. There's a tapas workshop at the Instituto Cervantes here that I might take next month, 12 cold dishes and the history of them are taught over six weeks, it looks interesting.

I tend to eat omelettes for lunch as they're fairly healthy and very easy to make. Sometimes I have potatoes leftover from a different recipe and so I treat myself to a delicious tortilla española. It's an incredibly simple recipe, involving four ingredients and seasoning but it's one that tastes excellent both hot and cold (the next day's lunch!). Here's my take on the dish.

Tortilla Española Recipe

For two portions.

Make sure the grill is hot.

Dice the shallot/onion and the potatoes in brunoise style, or into 3mm rectangles, if you can, otherwise as small as possible.

If you want you can add chorizo 5 minutes after the potatoes go into the frying pan, it needs to be cut to the same tiny size.

Ingredients

5-6 new potatoes, diced to the above specifications

1 shallot or ½ onion, diced as above
chorizo

3 eggs

knob of butter

seasoning

The cooked potatoes

Method

Melt the butter in a frying pan that can go under a grill (no plastic handles).

Add the potatoes and gently fry for 10 minutes or until they have cooked though.

Add the shallot/onion and chorizo and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them together before pouring them on top of the potatoes and onions. Move the potatoes around until the eggs have coated them all.

Cook on the hob for 4-5 minutes, until the edges are cooked and then place under the grill for 3-5 minutes so that the top firms up and turns golden (it may need more time than these estimates).

Take out of the grill and serve hot or wait until it cools.

Grace, who used to live in Spain, told me that she was horrified when she saw I not only grilled my tortilla but I also diced my potatoes instead of slicing them with a mandolin. What's your opinion on dice versus slice?