Tortilla Sandwich? Chiffonade, Pakoras and a Salad

Tortilla Sandwich

Take a breakfast dish and turn it into lunch. That's what the Spanish do. Well, we think of eggs and fried potatoes as breakfast, but in Spain it can be lunch, dinner, or a sandwich.

Tortilla de Patata

I'm talking about the Tortilla de Patata, which I've chronicled here before – slices of pan fried potato smothered in beaten eggs and a handful of onion, slide on the broiler to finish. In Spain the dish is eaten hot, or at room temperature, or in this case, as a sandwich.

Sunday I ended up with a “spare” tortilla de patata, so we decided to make a dinner sandwich with this 'leftover' and some nice Cuban bread.

For the Tortilla:

1 largish Red Potato, cut into slices 3/4” thick, and par-cooked for 6-8 minutes in the microwave

2 Eggs, beaten

3 Green Onions, chopped

Fresh ground Black Pepper, to taste

In a 9” oven-capable skillet, heat a splash of olive oil and then fry one side of the potato slices. You can, of course make a large tortilla in, say, a 12" skillet with more potatoes and 3 eggs.  

When nice and brown, flip the potato slices over, pour the beaten eggs overall, toss on the green onions and add a few cracks of black pepper. Turn the broiler on high, and transfer the pans to a top level rack. Broil for 1-3 minutes, until the tortilla is puffy and nicely browned. Transfer the cooked tortilla to a plate.

For The Sandwich:

Bread – a French or Cuban loaf will do since you probably won't find Spanish bread in your megamart

1 beefsteak type Tomato, halved

Optional - a large clove of garlic (or an entire head which has been roasted) with the end sliced off, for rubbing

Once the tortilla has cooled, halve it, and slice open a 9” length of good bread. Rub the cut face of the tomato all over both sides of the bread. This is a very Catalonian technique. Bread served this way with cut garlic for rubbing too, is called Pa amb Tomàquet – Bread and Tomato – a Catalan appetizer.

Lay a half of the tortilla in the bread, and serve.

Americans will probably want to add a schmear or salsa and/or slices of tomato to the sandwich.

Technique – Chiffonade

This one is for our English friend Fiona.

Chiffonade is a fancy French cooking term for rolling up leaves of herbs and slicing them very thin, into strings. Last week I made a chiffonade of mint; here's how:

Stack some herb (mint, basil, etc) leaves.

Roll them tightly around the central stem.

Slice at right angles to the roll.

Use as a garnish or in dishes.

Pakoras

These Indian fritters are a great accompaniment to any Indian style dinner. I served them with Channa Dal - a dish of cooked, spiced chickpeas with diced onion and tomato added at the end. Next time I'll serve them with Butter Chicken, a dish we both love.

1 cup Besan (lentil or chickpea flour) from your Indian Market

3/4cup Water

1/2Onion, diced fine

1 tsp minced fresh Ginger

1/2tsp Red Pepper Flakes

1/4tsp each ground Coriander and Cumin

1 cup fresh spinach leaves chiffonade and then chopped (or 1/2cup thawed frozen chopped spinach)

Salt to taste

1 quart Vegetable Oil for frying

Mix the flour and water, then add everything else except the oil; stir well to combine into a sort of lumpy pancake batter.

In a heavy-bottom pan, bring the oil up to 350F on your thermometer. Drop the batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil, two or three at a time. Turn over when one side is GB&D, and remove when both sides are golden. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with salt, and serve hot; with chutney on the side. I found a fablous Mango Chutney at my neighborhood Indian market that will also make a great glaze for Salmon or other fish.

Green Bean, Tomato & Corn Potato Salad

Had a bunch of these ingredients in our Co-Op box last week, and needed to do something with them. This Potato Salad variant isn't as heavy in the spud department, making this a bit on the healthier side.

2 ears of Corn

1 medium Beefsteak Tomato

1 lb Green Beans

3 Medium White Potatoes

Salt & Pepper to taste

Dressing:

White Wine Vinegar

Dijon Mustard

EVOO – I used a special Basil-infused EVOO which I was gifted at the holidays

Peel and boil the potatoes, until done but firm. Tip & tail the green beans and blanche them for 5 minutes in the microwave with 1/4cup water added to the bowl. Slice the corn off the cob onto a plate, and chop of the tomato.

In a bowl or measuring cup, combine 3-4 Tbsp of mustard with about the same amount of vinegar. Whisk in the EVOO until things are emulsified and the oil/vinegar stays together as a viniagrette.

Toss to combine all the veggies, then pour the viniagrette over and toss again. Salt & pepper if necessary. Can be eaten warm, but I prefer to chill things for an hour before serving.

I liked the corn raw; but Sally would have preferred it cooked. She also wanted more potatoes that I had included. The viniagrette was really good, but use it sparingly.

I served the salad with Mango Chutney Glazed Salmon, and it was a great accompaniment.