Spinach pepper tortilla with tomato onion salad

I really love a good tortilla de patata, but I was never able to recreate it the way I knew it from my favorite Spanish restaurant. So I researched some tips on how to get that perfect consistence and indeed.... it that made all the difference! :).

The trick is to overcook the potatoes until they're already falling apart...as a result, potatoes and eggs come together much better and that's nicer on the tongue. Besides that, the tortilla doesn't break apart as easily while flipping or cutting

I decided to add a traditional Spanish tomato onion salad ("trampo") for some freshness and some handmade aioli (recipe coming soon!) and bread to bring everything together to a nice, nutritious and hearty vegetarian dish.

course	country	time	difficulty
main	Spain	1h	easy

Ingredients

Serves 3 as main or 8 as starter

Tomato salad

imperial	metric
5		tomatoes, chopped
2		shallots, sliced
1		garlic clove, pressed
1 tbsp		olive oil
1/4 tsp		salt

Tortilla

imperial	metric
2 tbsp		olive oil
1 lb	450g	potatoes, copped
1		onion, chopped
1 small		pepper, chopped
6oz	160g	spinach
4		eggs, mixed
1/2 tsp		salt
freshly grounded		pepper

Instruction

• Mix all ingredients for the salad in a bowl and set aside for about 1h (at room temperature)
• heat oil in a pan (ovenproof), add potatoes and cook on medium heat
• stir frequently and adjust heat that the potatoes cook through without getting to dark (about 20min)
• 5min before potatoes are done, add onions and pepper and cook for another 10min
• the potatoes will begin to fall apart and that's exactly what we want
• you can even enhance that by smashing some potatoes with a fork
• if everything is well done transfer it from the pan to a bowl
• add spinach and eggs and mix well
• add mixture back to the same pan (I did this) or a smaller one (for a smaller but higher tortilla)
• and leave for about 15min on medium-low
• then, put pan into the oven for another 10min on "grill" or top heat (alternatively you can just flip it by the use of a big plate, but I like to minimize the risk of breaking ^^)
• remove pan from the oven, use a big plate to turn the tortilla over
• cut in 6 slices and serve with tomato salad, aioli and bread

^^ ¡Buen provecho! ^^

Pepper with feta spinach filling and lemon potatoes

This meal is inspired by the Mediterranean cuisine of Greece, where the excessive use of garlic is a tradition :). The dish is easy to prepare and works well if you need larger amounts for buffets or parties.

course	country	time	difficulty
main or starter	Greece	45min	easy

Ingredients

Serves 2 as main or 6 as starter

Potatoes

2 tbsp	olive oil
3	big potatoes
2	garlic gloves
1	lemon
4 tsp	paprika powder
1 branch	rosemary
1 tsp each	salt and pepper

Filled pepper

3	pointed pepper
3.5oz/100g	feta
1	garlic glove
handful	leaf spinach
as required	olive oil
pinch	salt and pepper

If you use frozen spinach you need about 1-2oz/50g.

Instruction

pre-heat the oven to 350°F scrub potatoes clean, because we're using them with their skin cut them in wedges (cut potatoes lengthwise into eighths) put them in a big bowl and add olive oil, the garlic in slices, paprika powder, the rosemary (cut in smaller pieces), salt and pepper, the zest of the lemon and half of its juice mix everything together and put it on a lined backing sheet and into the oven for 15min

in the meantime, cut the peppers lengthwise and remove the core and seeds place them on another lined baking sheet mix feta, the leaf spinach, 1 garlic clove, salt and pepper and a bit of olive oil in a kitchen machine until smooth if you need more liquid to do so, use more olive oil or a bit milk spread the cheese filling on the peppers

when the potatoes had their 15min in the oven, use a spatula to mix them well put them back to the oven as well as the second sheet with the peppers (peppers above) and leave for another 15-20min the dish is finished when the cheese filling begins to brown and the potatoes are soft in the middle and crisp on the outside (I took them out a bit to early for the photo, should've left them for another 3-4 minutes)

I hope you enjoy! :)

Zutaten

Für 2 Personen als Haupt-, bzw. 6 Personen als Vorspeise

Kartoffeln

2 EL	Olivenöl
3	große Kartoffeln
2	Knoblauchzehen
1	Zitrone, Zesten und Saft
4 TL	Paprikapulver
1 Zweig	Rosmarin
je 1 TL	Salz und Pfeffer

Gefüllte Paprika

3	rote Spitzpaprika
100g	feta
1	Knoblauchzehe
handvoll	Blattspinat (frisch oder TK, ca. 50g)
optional	Olivenöl
Prise	Salz und Pfeffer

Anleitung

Ofen auf 280°C vorheizen Kartoffeln gründlich sauber schrubben, da sie nicht geschält werden die Kartoffeln der Länge nach in Achtel schneiden Kartoffeln in einer großen Schüssel mit Olivenöl, Knoblauch, Paprikapulver, Rosmarin, Salz, Pfeffer, den Zitronenzesten und dem Zitronensaft vermengen auf einem Backblech ausbreiten und für 15min backen

in der Zwichenzeit die Paprika längs halbieren und die Kerne entfernen die Schoten auf einem zweiten Backblech platzieren Feta, Spinat, Knoblauch, Salz, Pfeffer und eventuell etwas Olivenöl in einem Mixer zu einer Paste verarbeiten sollte mehr Flüssigkeit nötig sein, einfach etwas Wasser oder Milch zugeben die Paprika mit der Paste befüllen

nachdem die Kartoffeln 15 min im Ofen waren, mit einem Pfannenwender gut durchmischen nun kommen beide Backbleche zusammen in den Ofen (Paprika über den Kartoffeln) und werden weitere 15-20min gebacken das Gericht ist fertig, wenn die Fetafüllung anfängt zu bräunen und die Kartoffeln innen weich und außen knusprig sind

Homemade Gnocchi with vegetable cream sauce

The main idea of this recipe was to use up the cooked potatoes and fresh vegetables, that leftover after the raclette grill buffet I made for New Year's Eve. I think the result was a great success, especially considering that it was improvised from leftovers :)

course	country	time	difficulty
main course	Italy	40min	medium

Ingredients

Serves 2 as main course

Gnocchi

imperial	metric
14 oz	400g	cooked potatoes
1.5 cup	200g	flour
1/4 cup	40g	semolina
pinch		salt
optinal		butter

Sauce

imperial	metric
2 tbsp	20 ml	olive oil
1		onion
1		garlic clove
3,5 oz	100g	red ballpepper
3,5 oz	100g	mushrooms
3,5 oz	100g	zucchini
1/2 cup	100ml	cream
1 tsp		Thyme
to taste		salt and pepper
1/2 cup	20g	Parmesan, freshly grated

Instruction

• mash potatoes until smooth
• add flour, semolina and pinch of salt and mix everything until you get an even dough
• shape the dough into small "sausages" of about 1in diameter and cut them in even portions
• use your thumb to roll every dough portion over the prongs of a fork to create the typical pattern
• use a big pot to bring water with 2 tbsp of salt to boil and add Gnocchi
• they are cooked, when they rise to the surface
• you can set them aside (keep them warm) and serve them like that or toss them in some butter right before serving


• cut all vegetables inclusive onion and garlic and heat the olive oil in a pan
• stir-fry everything on high heat until slightly browned
• add cream, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste

Serve Gnocchi with cream-sauce and finish with freshly grated Parmesan and fresh thyme.

Enjoy!

Zutaten

Für 2 Personen

Gnocchi

400g	Kartoffeln, gekocht
200g	Mehl
40g	Grieß
Priese	Salz
optinal	Butter

Sauce

2 EL	olive oil
1	Zwiebel
1	Knoblauchzehe
100g	rote Paprikaschote
100g	Champignons
100g	Zucchini
100ml	Sahne
1 TL	Thymian
nach Geschmack	Salz und Pfeffer
20g	Parmesan, frisch gerieben

Anleitung

• Kartoffeln fein stampfen
• Mehl, Salz und Grieß dazugeben und zu einem glatten Teig vermengen
• den Teig zu "Würsten" formen (2-3cm Durchmesser) und dann in gleichmäßige Portionen schneiden
• jede Portion mit dem Daumen über die Zinken einer Gabel rollen, dabei entsteht das typische Muster
• Wasser in einem großen Topf mit 2 EL Salz zum kochen bringen
• Gnocchi zugeben und bei niedriger Hitze kochen bis sie zur Oberfläche steigen
• bis zur Fertigstellung der Sauce warm halten oder kurz vorher in etwas Butter anschwenken


• Zwiebel und Knoblauchzehe hacken und Gemüße klein schneiden
• Öl in einer Pfanne erhitzen und alles zusammen schön abbräunen lassen
• Sahne, Thymian zugeben und mit Salz und Pfeffer abschmecken

Die Gnocchi mit Sauce sowie frisch geriebenen Parmesan und frischen Thymian servieren. Guten Appetit!