Spanish Potato Tortilla

Recipe and photo courtesy of The Smitten Kitchen. 

Potato Tortilla [Tortilla de Patatas]
Adapted* from The New Spanish Table

Serves 6 to 8 as a tapa, 4 as a light main dish.

3 medium-sized Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and quartered lengthwise
Coarse salt (kosher or sea)
1 1/4 cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, quartered and thinly sliced
6 large, very fresh eggs, preferably organic
2 tablespoons chicken stock or broth

1. Using a food processor fitted with the slicing blade, slice the potato quarters thinly crosswise, 

then pat thoroughly dry with paper towels. Alternately, you can use a mandoline set to 1/8-inch thick. 

The original recipe then says to rub the potato slices with salt, but for the life of me I could not

 fathom why I should bother with such a tedious step (I had hundreds of small slices), and simply 

seasoned the potatoes after I cooked them.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, about 3 minutes. 

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the potatoes in even layers. Cook, stirring occasionally, 

to prevent the potatoes from sticking and browning, until they are half-cooked, about 7 minutes. 

Stir in the onion, reduce the heat to low, and cook the potatoes until all of them are soft, 

about 15 minutes more. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes and onion to a 

colander set over a bowl and let them drain thoroughly. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the 

cooking oil and strain the rest for another use. Season the potatoes with salt.

3. Place the eggs, chicken stock, and a couple of pinches of salt in a large mixing bowl 

and beat until just scrambled. Gently stir in the potato mixture. Mash and stir the 

egg mixture gently with a fork to crush the potatoes just a little and mix them up 

well with the eggs. Let stand for about 10 minutes.

4. Heat 5 teaspoons of the reserved olive oil in a heavy 8-inch skillet, preferably 

nonstick, over medium-high heat until it is just beginning to smoke. Pour the 

egg mixture into the skillet and flatten the potatoes with a spatula until the top is 

fairly even. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, moving and shaking the skillet, 

running a thin spatula around the edge and sliding it into the middle so that some 

of the egg runs under for about one minute, then let it cook undisturbed until the top is 

a little wet but not liquid, 6 to 8 minutes. Run the thin spatula under the tortilla to 

make sure that no part of the bottom is stuck to the skillet. Top the skillet with a 

rimless plate slightly larger than the skillet and, using oven mitts, quickly invert 

the tortilla onto the plate. If the skillet looks dry, add a little more olive oil. 

Carefully slide the tortilla back into the skillet, uncooked side down. Shake the skillet to 

straighten the tortilla and push the edges in with the spatula. Reduce the heat to very low 

and cook the tortilla until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, 3 to 4 minutes. 

Invert the tortilla again, as before, to cook on the first side for another minute.

5. Invert the tortilla onto a serving plate and pat the top with a paper towel to get 

rid of excess oil. Let it cool a little, then cut the tortilla into wedges and serve warm 

or at room temperature. To serve as a tapa, cut the tortilla into squares and serve with toothpicks.

* Even though I am indeed in love with this cookbook, I had to make a few adjustments to the recipe in places where it confounded me: I clarified the thickness of the potato slices, limited the egg-pushing step to one minute (it led to the slightly busted appearance of mine, and made little sense) and cooled the potatoes a bit more than suggested, for fear of cooking the eggs in the bowl, not the pan.

Brussel Sprout Breakfast Hash - It's a smash.

Recipe found at http://www.howsweeteats.com

Brussels Sprouts Breakfast Hash

YIELD: SERVES 3-4

PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 25 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME: 35 MINUTES

ingredients:

4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
10-12 brussels sprouts, stems removed and sliced
3-4 large eggs
salt + pepper to taste

directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add bacon. Cook until crispy and fat is rendered, then remove with a slotted spoon and let drain on a paper towel. Slightly reduce the heat under the skillet and add onion and sweet potato, tossing to coat. Cook until sweet potato has softened, about 6-8 minutes, then stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Add sliced brussels sprouts and stir to combine, cooking them until soft and caramely, another 5 minutes or so. In the meantime, poach or fry eggs, cooking until desired doneness. Serve immediately with buttered toast!

Herbed Cream Cheese Scrambled Eggs

Recipe found at http://www.101cookbooks.com 

Feel free to play around with the herbs you use. Mainly, just keep in mind that you
want tons of herbs and free onions in the cream cheese. Think herbs with cream cheese
rather than cream cheese with herbs.

8 oz / 225 g cream cheese, room temperature
4 tablespoons chopped herbs - equal parts thyme, tarragon, oregano
6 green onions, with greens, chopped
1/3 cup (big handful) chopped chives
fine grain sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 eggs, well whisked
plenty of toast, for serving

 Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl, add the herbs and mash 
with a fork until the herbs are evenly distributed. Add the green onions, 
most of the chives, a generous pinch of salt, and mash until those are 
incorporated as well. Set aside. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-heat. 
Add the eggs and let them set a bit. Use a spatula to fold them over 
themselves, let them set a bit again, and repeat until they are nearly 
cooked to your liking. Remove from heat, add 2 dollops of the 
cream cheese (roughly a tablespoon each) to the skillet, count to ten, 
then stir a bit more to work the cream cheese into the eggs. 
Serve sprinkled with the remaining chives, salt and pepper to taste, 
and toast on the side. Serves 2, feel free to scale up with 
more eggs if you have more people to feed.

Prep time: 5 min - Cook time: 5 min

Baked Eggs in Potato Nests

Recipe found at http://livingtastefully.weebly.com

Plan on 1 large or 2 small potatoes per serving

1.  The day before you plan to serve the stuffed potatoes, preheat the oven to400˚F.  Wash, dry, and lightly rub the baking potatoes with oil.  Pierce the potatoes, and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for 1 hour or until easily pierced with a sharp knife.  Remove from oven and cool briefly.  When cool enough to handle, slice about 1/4-inch off the top of the potato.  Scoop out the flesh of the potato to within 1/4-inch of the shell.  Refrigerate potato shells until ready to finish.
2.  You can be very creative with the potato filling and the amount of filling you will need depends on the size of your potatoes.  I made 3 large potatoes and filled them with spinach, smoked salmon, Parmesan cheese, and an egg.  I began by warming a drizzle of olive oil in my pan.  To that, I added a large handful of fresh spinach which I sautéed until just wilted.  I added about 1/3 cup chopped, smoked salmon to the spinach and divided the mixture between the potato shells.  Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper, then add a good sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese to the salmon-spinach mix.
3.  Crack 1 or 2 eggs (dependent on the size of the potatoes) over the filling and sprinkle eggs with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Place the filled potatoes in a lightly oiled, ovenproof skillet or baking pan.  Bake in the middle of a preheated375˚F oven for approximately 25 to 30 minutes, until the yolks are just set, or done to your liking.
4.  Remove from the oven, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve immediately.