tortilla de patata

instructions

• 2 large potatoes
• 1 large onion
• 7 eggs
• 1 tablespoon fresh herbs(oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary)
• a dash of red pepper flakes
• 2 garlic cloves
• 5 cups olive oil
• salt and black pepper

Heat up the olive oil. Dice the onion and add to the oil. Bring oil to a boil and reduce heat. Stir to make sure onions aren't sticking to the bottom of the pan. Dice potatoes. Soak in water for a few minutes to get rid of some of the starch. Drain well, salt the potatoes and add to oil. Again bring oil to a boil and reduce heat. Stir from time to time to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Season the eggs with salt and pepper and whisk lightly. In a mortar, crush garlic, herbs, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt. If you don't have a mortar, simply chop the herbs and garlic and mix with red pepper flakes and pinch of salt. As soon as the potatoes are soft, turn off the heat! (You don't want your potatoes to get too soft--they'll cook some more in the sauté pan.)

Stir the herb mixture into the oil. Remove the potatoes and onions from the oil. Use a skimmer to move potatoes from oil into egg mixture. You want to drain as much oil as you can. The 10-inch sauté pan should be warming on medium-low heat, make sure it doesn't get too hot. Stir potatoes into eggs and then pour this mixture into the sauté pan. A nonstick pan works best, you can also spray it for extra safety. Distribute the mix evenly throughout the pan. Let it cook at slow heat. You will see the edges of the mix get done first. It should be ready to flip in 15 minutes.

Put a 10-inch plate on top of the pan and flip onto it. And then quickly slide back into the sauté pan. Push down the edges of the tortilla with a fork. Let it cook at low heat for another 10 to 15 minutes. When a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean, it's done! At this point repeat the plate/flip operation. Put a clean 10-inch plate on top of the tortilla and flip onto the plate.
A little bread and wine and you'll be enjoying one of Spain's most traditional tapas.

Buen provecho!

See Charlie Adler's wine pairings for this recipe!

albondigas de pescado

instructions

• 1 pound of pollock
• 2 eggs
• 28 ounces of stewed tomatoes
• 1 small red pepper
• 1 medium onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon dry parsley
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
• Olive oil
• a dash of white pepper and red pepper flakes
• salt

Soft poach the eggs in water with a teaspoon of white vinegar. Put them in a food processor. At this point you can start to gently heat up the olive oil. Enough to submerge at least three fourths of the albondiga. Take off the stem and seeds of the pepper and combine with the eggs. Add half of the onion to this. Blend for a few seconds and then add the pollock. Add parsley, white pepper and red pepper to the fish. Blend until it becomes a uniform paste. Finish it with a dash of salt. Let it chill for 15 minutes in the fridge. Make 1 to 1 1/2 inch albondigas, same as meatballs. Lightly roll in flour. Dice up the other half of the onion. In a deep saute pan sweat the onion.

With your mortal and pestle or the food processor make a paste of the garlic cloves and a pinch of salt. Dilute with the white wine. Add the stewed tomatoes to the onions and saute for a few minutes. Add the garlic and wine mix. Simmer the tomatoes. Fry the albondigas in the olive oil until they achieve a nice golden brown. Should only take a few minutes. The oil should be hot but not smoking. If it starts to smoke, reduce heat. Flip albondigas in oil to make sure they get evenly browned. As they finish frying transfer them onto the tomato sauce. When all the albondigas are in the sauce, cover and let it simmer for 15 minutes. A glass of wine and a little bread is all you need.