Tortilla Espa~nola

The first weekend of October found me in a lovely and misty Portland, Oregon. I went up there to visit with some close friends from my Motorola days. On Sunday morning, I contributed to brunch for the gang by preparing one of my favorite childhood brunch dishes.

This dish does double duty as center stage entree for brunch, and simple sandwich filling for leftover re-purposing, kind of like meatloaf.

Update: Christina's comment (below) reminded me about the Manchego cheese... When I made this for them, I sprinkled about 1 cup shredded Manchego cheese on top and put it on the broiler for a few minutes (until the cheese browned a bit) before resting and serving. This was a very welcome detour from the dish I knew as a child. Manchego would be the obvious choice, but Gruyere would work nicely here too.

4 large waxy potatoes (Yukon Gold or red), peeled and thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
salt and pepper to taste
8 large eggs, at room temperature

1- Preheat oven to 400. Grease a cookie sheet and a 10" nonstick pan or skillet with about 1/4 cup of the oil. Set aside.

2- Toss the potatoes, onion, garlic, remaining 1/4 cup of the oil, and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread as a thin layer over a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, tossing in pan halfway, until the potatoes start to get golden and are soft. Remove from oven and lower oven temperature to 350.

3- Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper.

4- Add the hot cooked potatoes to the egg mixture and toss well. Do not be shy about mixing hot potatoes into egg! It is a must in this recipe! Pour onto oiled skillet or cake pan (I put parchment paper on mine before oiling some more) and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the mixture is set. Turn onto a cookie sheet and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the top starts to brown. Remove from oven, and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Best served at room temperature.

Garbanzos a la Vizcaina

Each year, my mom made for Good Friday a very traditional Spanish dish for the Lenten season, Bacalao a la Vizcaina. Flaked salted cod was layered with thin potato slices, onion rings, and a very savory tomato-based sauce, infused with garlic and olives, and then baked until the potatoes were tender. This was then served hot with white rice and eggs in some shape (usually hard boiled and sliced).

As young honeymooners in Spain and Portugal, Dan and I enjoyed bacalao in many dishes during our travels. Every year since starting our family, I have continued the Lenten tradition by making Bacalao a la Vizcaina at least once a year. If I had to pick a dish that represents Spanish cooking, Bacalao a la Vizcaina would be right up there with Tortilla Espa~nola for me.

I love this dish so much, I needed to find a backup in case the world runs out of cod someday. Garbanzo beans and diced eggplant offer textural elements similar to the salted cod, and a splash of soy sauce adds a remarkable umami note.

Garbanzos a la Vizcaina

1 14 oz can of diced fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 8oz can tomato sauce
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup Spanish olives with pimientos, chopped
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, sliced
3 cups cooked garbanzo beans, roughly mashed
1 small eggplant, cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste

1- Combine fire roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, cilantro, olives, and vinegar into a bowl and set aside.
2- Toss the potato slices with 2 tablespoons of oil and salt and pepper to taste.
3- Toss the eggplant with the soy sauce.
4- Brush remaining oil onto the bottom and sides of a 4-quart slow cooker insert.
5- Layer the following into the slow cooker insert:
1/3 of the potatoes
1/2 of the garbanzos
1/2 of the eggplant
1/2 of the tomato sauce mixture
1/2 of the onions
1/3 of the potatoes
rest of the garbanzos
rest of the eggplant
rest of the tomato sauce mixture
rest of the onions
rest of the potatoes
6 - Place the tomato slices as the top layer.
7- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.