You Say PotAYto and I Say Tortilla de Patatas...
In which I present a Spanish Omelette recipe from Oleg, which arrives via my friend Flora.
Who slightly resented all the washing up involved.
Plus a delicious sauce you can use to flavour any beef leftovers, since I've also been playing with my sous vide gear, some of which I got for Christmas 🙄, and honing in on the perfect steak dinner.
And some pretty decent lamb.
Tortilla de Patatas
Spanish Omelette
Spanish Omelette
breakfast snack veg
There seem to be two fierce debates which rage in Spain over how to make their omelette:
Since there are only three four ingredients, you wouldn't think there was much more to say. Right?
Wrong!
Spaniards also will bicker about what varieties of potato to use (the potatoes should be waxy - like charlottes or fingerlings),
how browned the onions should be (they shouldn't),
how crisped the potatoes should be (they shouldn't),
how liquid the finished omelette should be (it shouldn't),
and whether Catalan is a real country er....
Wow, that escalated quickly!
- should it contain onions
- should the potatoes be diced or sliced
Since there are only three four ingredients, you wouldn't think there was much more to say. Right?
Wrong!
Spaniards also will bicker about what varieties of potato to use (the potatoes should be waxy - like charlottes or fingerlings),
how browned the onions should be (they shouldn't),
how crisped the potatoes should be (they shouldn't),
how liquid the finished omelette should be (it shouldn't),
and whether Catalan is a real country er....
Wow, that escalated quickly!
Serves 4
Ingredients
- olive oil, lots of olive oil - about 400ml
- 8 smallish palm-sized potatoes
- 8 regular eggs or 10 smallish
- 1 medium onion
Flavourings:- salt
- herbs - parsley/basil/dill/chives/tarragon/mint(?) etc
- sweet red peppers
- salt cod
- sausage
Peel the onion and slice or dice it. Sweat gently in a generous pool of oil in a large frying pan until they soften without browning.
When the potatoes feel soft to the fork, sieve the mixture briefly over a non-sticky tortilla pan a non-stick frying pan with high sides is ideal then add the hot strained onion and potatoes to the eggs. Mix together well.
Using a plate, or two plates, or all the plates, turn the omelette over and slide it back into the pan with even more oil along with any leaked egg to brown the other side.
Unless you like your onions browned, of course.
Peel the potatoes, and slice or dice them, the size is up to you but it's best if they're even.
Add them with more oil to the frying onions and continue cooking gently until the potatoes soften.
Some segregationists insist that the onion and the potato should be fried separately.
Opinions also differ (SURPRISE!) on whether or not to add salt to the cooking potatoes which may soften them.
Meanwhile break up the eggs in a large bowl using a fork and add salt.Opinions also differ (SURPRISE!) on whether or not to add salt to the cooking potatoes which may soften them.
When the potatoes feel soft to the fork, sieve the mixture briefly over a non-sticky tortilla pan a non-stick frying pan with high sides is ideal then add the hot strained onion and potatoes to the eggs. Mix together well.
This will start slightly cooking the eggs.
Some Spaniards advocate for leaving the egg mixture to infuse for hours before continuing.
None of them suggest pouring the eggs into the potato in the pan.
Get the oil you previously strained into the tortilla pan really hot, then pour in the omelette mix, lower the heat and leave until nicely browned on the bottom but not burnt!.
Have a peek with a spatula.Some Spaniards advocate for leaving the egg mixture to infuse for hours before continuing.
None of them suggest pouring the eggs into the potato in the pan.
Using a plate, or two plates, or all the plates, turn the omelette over and slide it back into the pan with even more oil along with any leaked egg to brown the other side.
To flip the omelette you can hold a plate over the frying pan and turn it. Or you can slide the omelette out onto a plate.
Then either slide the flipped omelette back into the pan, or flip an unturned omelette between two plates and then slide it into the pan.
Either way you should make a big performance about not having quite the right plate for the job, which is why you got egg all over the floor.
Serve with ketchup.
Then either slide the flipped omelette back into the pan, or flip an unturned omelette between two plates and then slide it into the pan.
Either way you should make a big performance about not having quite the right plate for the job, which is why you got egg all over the floor.
ONLY JOKING SPANIARDS! Please don't kill me.
You can add bacalhau (suitably soaked and washed) or herbs or red peppers.
Or even shudder chorizo. But don't tell your Spanish friends.
Probably best enjoyed with a side salad and a bit of cheese, like burrata.
Or even shudder chorizo. But don't tell your Spanish friends.
Entrecôte Sauce
Café de Paris Sauce
Café de Paris Sauce
sauce
Entrecote sauce started life as Café de Paris Sauce at the eponymous Genevese restaurant in the 1930s.
In the early 1960s vintner and restaurateur Paul Gineste de Saurs adapted this sauce to serve with entrecôte steaks at his Paris restaurant Le Relais de Venise — L'entrecôte, and is now the standard sauce perenially served at its sister establishments around the world now run by his various daughters.
This version is based on one of the many attempts to duplicate it I found on the interwebs.
I can't speak to its authenticity, not having eaten in any of these places, and I couldn't get any fresh tarragon, so threw in some wild garlic that I'd picked for something else, and I would have added chervil, if I'd ever seen any in my greengrocery.
But it was still delicious.
In the early 1960s vintner and restaurateur Paul Gineste de Saurs adapted this sauce to serve with entrecôte steaks at his Paris restaurant Le Relais de Venise — L'entrecôte, and is now the standard sauce perenially served at its sister establishments around the world now run by his various daughters.
This version is based on one of the many attempts to duplicate it I found on the interwebs.
I can't speak to its authenticity, not having eaten in any of these places, and I couldn't get any fresh tarragon, so threw in some wild garlic that I'd picked for something else, and I would have added chervil, if I'd ever seen any in my greengrocery.
But it was still delicious.
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
For the Blended Sauce:- 1 shallot, finely diced
- generous lump of butter - 50g or more
- handful parsley
- handful tarragon
- handful basil
- handful chervil would probably be nice
- some sage leaves
- 1 tsp (about 10) capers
- 5 walnuts
- 1 tin anchovies a whole tin is too much - try ⅔
- ½ nutmeg grated seems like a lot - I'd go with ½ a teaspoon!
- ½ lemon - flesh only
- a dash of pepper
For the Mayonnaise:- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 scant tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
Make the Blended Sauce
Sweat the diced shallot you can use red onion in a generous amount of butter until softened without colouring.
Blend all the sauce ingredients together with the hot shallots and butter until fairly smooth. You can do this in two stages if you like.
Make the Mayonnaise
Mix 1 egg yolk, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, dash of white wine vinegar.
Whisk the egg with the mustard, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Slowly add the blended sauce while whisking steadily to make the mayonnaise.
Add this split component back to the rest of the unsplit sauce when slightly cooled.
Adjust the seasoning and add a squeeze of lemon if required.
Keep the sauce warm but not too hot! to serve with steak frites.
Sweat the diced shallot you can use red onion in a generous amount of butter until softened without colouring.
Blend all the sauce ingredients together with the hot shallots and butter until fairly smooth. You can do this in two stages if you like.
Make the Mayonnaise
Mix 1 egg yolk, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, dash of white wine vinegar.
Whisk the egg with the mustard, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Slowly add the blended sauce while whisking steadily to make the mayonnaise.
The blended sauce is very thick at this stage and difficult to pour into the eggs, so it might make sense to loosen it with a little hot water.
Take about a third of the sauce and cook while stirring until it splits!!Add this split component back to the rest of the unsplit sauce when slightly cooled.
Adjust the seasoning and add a squeeze of lemon if required.
Keep the sauce warm but not too hot! to serve with steak frites.
It's quite a lot of work, to be honest, but the result is delicious!