Tortilla de patatas

When I (briefly) lived in Spain, the woman who owned the house where I stayed made all my meals for me. Unfortunately we weren't really allowed in the kitchen. I would have liked to have learned how to make some of the more tasty meals. For the most part however, I just wanted to be able to cook for myself.

There were some definite highlights, for which I haven't been able to find a good recipe. And some disasters which I choked down as quickly as possible. Lentejas (lentil soup) was unbearable until she told me that they put cider vinegar on it as a condiment. Another time I was trying to get out of eating this sickening magadalena cookie/cake for breakfast when I saw her eating bread dipped in olive oil and I asked for that instead. She told me she never saw a North American who like that and couldn't believe I wanted that for breakfast (and that's what I had for the rest of the semester with my cafe con leche). Several times she couldn't describe what we were having in specific enough terms, so it wasn't until I went to the grocery store and looked around that I found the ingredient she simply described as "verdura" or vegetable. It turned out to be an Italian flat bean (or runner bean) in the mysterious "tortilla de verdura". I still pine over the tortilla de gambas (shrimp fritters). The gazpachuelo (mayonnaise soup) still makes me want to gag.

While I was in Spain one of the most popular tapas or dinner meals was the tortilla de patatas, known also as the tortilla espanola. Unfortunately for me, we ate it so often I started having to spread some Laughing Cow Cheese (La vaca que rie) on my tortilla. Now that I am home I sometimes crave the foods of Spain. This meal is a combination of several things. I knew J wouldn't just eat tortilla for dinner so I made chorizo (not the Spanish variety), I also made pan y tomate, which is just bread with tomato rubbed over it and a little olive oil. I think this was possibly the best tortilla I've made to date.
Tortilla de patatas

4 medium potatoes (waxy is best), very thinly sliced
6 eggs
1 onion (I prefer sweet onion), chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Heat approximately 1/2 inch of olive oil in a large frying pan.
2. Gently fry the potatoes until almost soft. The potatoes should be more boiling in oil rather than frying to crispy. Stir so the potatoes don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
3. Add the onion and continue frying until soft.
   
4. Drain vegetables to remove excess oil (it is possible to start with less oil but the result is sometimes burn potatoes).
5. Beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Add eggs to potato mixture and mix. Heat a little oil in frying pan on medium heat (you can also just spray pan liberally with oil to make sure to coat it evenly).
6. Pour in egg mixture and shake the pan periodically to keep tortilla from sticking.
   
7. Once the bottom is set and the sides are started to pull from the edge a bit you have two choices: either move the oven safe frying pan to the broiler and finish the top in the oven (this is the method I used this time) or place a flat plate over the pan and quickly invert, then slide the tortilla back into the pan and continue frying, again shaking from time to time.
   
8. Serve hot or room temperature cut into wedges.

Serves 8

I prefer the method I used here, because there is less room for kitchen disaster.

"Pinchos Morunos"

Why is the title in quotation marks? I had intended to attempt to recreate the pinchos morunos we ate in Baltimore last week. Even though I have lived in Spain, I had never heard of pinchos morunos before our meal at Tapas Teatro last week. Pinchos morunos means Moorish thorns in Spanish. However, J later told me that it wasn't as good when he ordered a second plate of them. Nonetheless, I had already planned this weeks meals and that was what we were going to have. They would have been more flavorful, had I marinated over night instead of the four hours when I came home. They also would have tasted better using a grill, as opposed to the broiler, but it's quite cold and dark at night and I'm not going out there by myself. All in all, I thought this meal was great.

I didn't measure and I'm not sure I can remember everything I did but here's a good try:

1. Create the spice mixture: I ground all my spices in my mortar and pestle, because I only had whole coriander seeds. In addition I added turmeric, salt, pepper, cayenne, cumin, a clove of garlic, paprika and oregano. I mixed the spices with olive oil and I put my large chunks of pork tenderloin in a Tupperware container with the marinade and a few tablespoons of freshly chopped cilantro and lemon juice. I shook the container to mix and I chilled for 4 hours.
2. I used fat free Greek yogurt, feta, cilantro, and some ras el hanout spice mixture (maybe a pinch for a 1/4 of a cup) and combined them to make something similar to a raita/tzatziki for my pita.
3. I baked the pita in the oven (brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt) for about 5 minutes until crisp like chips.
4. I broiled the meat on high, turning once for maybe 15 min total (that may be an over estimate). Once it was done I sprinkled it with more fresh cilantro. While the meat etc. was cooking I cooked 1/3 of a red onion and a whole green pepper sliced on in a saute pan with a little olive oil and a clove of garlic. I served everything with whole wheat couscous.

It was delicious. I know it wasn't any particular authentic cuisine but I don't care.

Victoria Gastro Pub,Tapas Teatro and Issei Noodle

Last week we went down to Baltimore (twice) to my parents and to go to the Jewel concert. The concert was fabulous (the parking was a different story). On Sunday, with my parents, we went to a restaurant in Ellicott City called Victoria Gastro Pub. It was amazing! Compared to some of the restaurants where we live, it was a nice change. The menu changes monthly but we had clams casino flatbread, lobster grilled cheese, honeycrisp apple salad (not really worth it), oysters on the half shell (I didn't partake but they seemed to enjoy them), fried oysters, duck fat fries, veal tenderloin with scallops and fresh corn relish, crab cake, crispy duck breast with sweet potatoes, venison leg with chard and a parsnip puree, lemon basil mojito, and a pom margarita. I think I could have died happy after that meal. Literally I loved almost everything I tasted.

Last Tuesday before the concert we back to Tapas Teatro. I had one of my favorite birthday dinners there with my parents and I really wanted to go back with J. Their menu also changes regularly. The restaurant is connected to the Charles Theatre and you can even take your drinks to go into the theatre. It's a very small place but on a weeknight we were able to snag a table. I think J ended up having a good time. There was even one tapa he liked so much that he ordered a second one as soon as he had finished the first. Here is the list of tapas we ordered and whether or not I would get it again.
Pea Fritters-no
Manchego fried with honey truffle oil-no
Camarones fritto-maybe
Molasses Soaked Salmon-yes! (this was my favorite)
Spicy Chicken Croquetas-yes!
Pinchos Morunos-J ordered 2!
Albondigas-maybe
Grilled lamb chops with rhubarb bbq sauce-yes

We also had a glass of sangria and a bottle of Hornsby Cider, both of which were very tasty and the chocolate Royale for dessert, which was kind of a waste but I really wanted something sweet. I always seems to forget to photograph my food in restaurants (maybe because I think it is a little tacky) so I have no pictures but take my word for it, DELICIOUS.

Lastly we were trying to find something interesting to eat last weekend (J had it in his head he wanted to eat BIG GAME, really big like a lion or tiger. I had to remind him it was illegal and offensive but he proceeded to search anyway.) We ended up at the noodle place in Carlisle, PA, Issei Noodle. We really like it there, despite some of the reviews. It's a family run business with very few people working and the only waitress in the evening is the owner/chef's daughter so you have to be willing to lose a bit on service to enjoy the food. Plus it's a noodle place, not a white tablecloth establishment, so some of the online reviewers should calm down a little bit.

This week I decided to go out side my comfort zone (I almost always get the Okinawa Yaki #14). I finally broke down and ordered the Beef Pho. Make sure you order the bean sprout side, it doesn't come automatically-probably because it is hard to get PA residents to try new things. J got the usual #13 Yaki Udon subbing ramen for the udon noodles. I recommend 14 or 8 or maybe 13 and 11 (I think) is also good.