Tortilla de patatas is basically a potato omelette (about 4cm thick). It is popular all over Spain and often served in bars as a tapa and is eaten either hot or cold. Some people prefer to make it without the onions.
INGREDIENTS:
4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
6 eggs
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
¼ litre olive oil
salt
RECIPE:
First, heat the oil in a large frying pan and then gently fry the sliced potatoes until almost soft, stirring from time to time so that they don't burn on the bottom of the pan. Add the onion and the green pepper and continue frying until all the vegetables are soft. Drain the vegetables in a colander to get rid of the excess oil.
Beat the eggs in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes, etc. and mix well and check seasoning.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan on a moderate heat. Pour in the potatoes and eggs and shake the frying pan from time to time so that the omelette doesn't stick to the bottom. Once the bottom of the omelette has set, turn the heat down low and cover the pan. After about ten minutes, turn the omelette by placing either a flat plate or saucepan lid on the frying pan and quickly turning over. Gently slide the omelette back into the frying pan and continue frying, once again shaking the pan from time to time so that it doesn't stick to the bottom, until it has set all the way through.
It is difficult for me to give you definite weights or quantities for this recipe; please forgive me.
Lots of red, ripe tomatoes Cucumber (with the part that attaches it to the plant removed: it is bitter) Anaheim peppers (or any green pepper which is not sweet)Old, hard bread (my favourite for gazpacho is extra sour dough, but others will do too)
Garlic
Red vinegar
Olive oil
Salt
Water
There might be as many recipes of gazpacho as families are in Spain. This is the one i have learned at my house. There is nothing "gospelly" about it.
As a rule, you want more tomatoes in the gazpacho than anything else. A nice looking gazpacho should have a pretty orange-red colour. Therefore, add the ingredients according to this principle. First, cut the vegetables in pieces that your blender can manage. You do not need to peel the cucumber or the tomatoes or remove the seeds from
anything (at least i never do).
Cut some bread and soak it in water.
Add it to the blender. Add the olive oil, salt, vinegar and water.
Turn the power on until everything blends "homogeneously". Take a spoonful and taste it. At this point you can decide what is missing, what is in excess, etc. You can experiment with the recipe: some people like the gazpacho very thick, so they add a lot of bread, while some others like it very liquidy, and they add more water instead, or less bread, whatever.
Some people get crazy adding garlic, while some
others hate it.
I prefer gazpacho at room temperature. However, as it is a typical summer dish, it is usually served cold. In some places this is so true that they even throw ice cubes in it when ready to eat.
As with many other dishes, when you save gazpacho from one
day to the other, it tends to improve in flavor.
1/3 cup of Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, minced
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
3-5 tbsps minced fresh parsley
1 generous pinch of saffron
2 tbsps of chicken bullion
3 skinless Chicken Breasts, cut in large chunks
2 green peppers, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 tsp of yellow food coloring (optional -- saffron is very expensive, a pinch
of it is all you need for taste but a richer color is desired)
8 oz tomatoe sauce
1 tsp sugar
4 cups of rice
7 cups of water
salt
1/2 lb - 1 lb shrimp, leave shell on
1 lb scallops
Saute onion, parsley, and garlic in olive oil until the onion begins to become transparent. Add saffron, chicken bullion, chicken, peppers and saute until chicken has become white. Add tomatoe sauce, sugar, food coloring. Stir. Add rice & water and bring to boil. Salt to taste. Boil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp & scallops, boil an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Simmer 10 minutes covered, stirring occasionally. If the rice appears to be getting too dry during the last 10 minutes, add more water. If the rice is too wet at the end of the 10 minutes, uncover and evaporate unwanted liquid.
ENJOY!
Break chocolate into small pieces. Place in saucepan with liquid. Heat slowly, stirring with a whisk, until just before the boiling point. Dissolve cornstarch in a few tablespoons of cold water. Add dissolved cornstarch to chocolate mixture and stir constantly until the liquid thickens. Serve hot in warmed cups.
Makes six small cups.
ALMOND COOKIES
2 cups blanched almonds, finely chopped
2 egg whites, room temperature
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly toast almonds; set aside. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gradually add sugar, beating constantly. After sugar is added, beat 5-8 minutes. Fold almonds and vanilla. Place by spoonfuls or shape into rings on greased cookie sheet. Bake 17-20 minutes or until cookies just begin to color.
