Tortilla Espanola.

My apologies for being on unintentional hiatus. I thought while I was overseas I would have had some extra time to blog to my heart's content. So much for those aspirations......sometimes Rioja and Serrano get in the way of things. Or as you can see in my photo, the big pan of paella also played a role. Those mussels disappeared immediately after the photo was taken----I hope no one noticed!

We are currently putting our heads down and riding at full speed in the land of academia. We have four weeks remaining for this session which means I have four weeks to diligently work to maintain my honors status. Turns out nerdy girl isn't so nerdy these days.

However, the excess of academia isn't going to keep me out of the kitchen. My good Spaniard friends, Toni and Yoli showed me a secret cafe in Madrid which makes an amazing Tortilla Espanola. Although I cannot completely recreate the recipe, I thought I would give it a stab. The secret to that cafe's Tortilla is "carmelized onions." So here's my version combined with theirs. Sorry I can't provide a vegan version......

Ingredients

3-5 tablespoons olive oil
4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed (yukon gold has the most fiber!)
1 large white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
5 eggs
1 cup raw spinach, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
Optional for you meat-eaters: 1/2 pound chorizo sausage, casings removed and crumbled (optional)
Optional seasoning: Paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Fry onion in oil for about 15 minutes or until carmelized. Add spinach, garlic and bell pepper, and sautee them until tender. Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil and stir in potatoes until well-sauteed. If you have chorizo, stir it in and cook for five more minutes. Season with salt, paprika and pepper to taste.
2. Beat eggs together in a large bowl. Pour potato and onion mixture into eggs, and mix together.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Carefully spread mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Cook without stirring for about 10 minutes. Then place a large plate over the pan, flip the pan to transfer the eggs onto the plate. Cooked side should be golden brown. Carefully slide tortilla back into pan, and cook the other side for 5 to 10 minutes.

Buen Provecho!