Spanish Tortilla with Green Pepper and Marinated Tomatoes
Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian Recipes Potatoes Eggs Spanish
The first tomatoes from Borhanci appeared this week. The news spread quickly through the culinary informant network. They're still pink, but they had to be tested. Verdict: good and meaty, just slightly tart because they need a few more days of sunshine. Their perfect pairing: a Spanish tortilla. And like at Bar Nestor in San Sebastian, I enhanced the tomatoes with a simple but effective marinade. Try it and you'll see how beautifully these nearly ripe tomatoes transform in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Spanish Tortilla
3 starchy potatoes
2 bell peppers (or another light green pepper)
1 small white onion
6 eggs
olive oil (amount to be determined during preparation)
salt
Marinated Tomatoes
3 tomatoes (can be pink, nearly ripe)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
coarse sea salt (fleur de sel)
Servings: 3 large (or 6 small, tapas style)
How to prepare spanish tortilla with green pepper and marinated tomatoes
- Start with the tomatoes. Cut them as you like (rounds, slices, cubes; I prefer cubes). Spread them on a wide plate. Pour the oil over them, then the balsamic vinegar. Mix gently. Finally sprinkle with fleur de sel. Leave like this for about 30 minutes (until the tortilla is ready).
- Peel the potatoes and cut in half lengthwise, then slice into thin slices (semi-circles) so they cook faster. Sprinkle with salt and massage a bit.
- Put the potatoes in a wide pan (about 20-25 cm) and add oil until they're perfectly covered. You can use an olive oil used for cooking, or use half olive oil and half another neutral oil (sunflower for example). Bring to a simmer, just until the oil bubbles gently, don't heat it too much because we don't want to fry the potatoes but to poach them. Turn the heat to low and let them cook for 10 minutes. Stir rarely just to redistribute them in the pan. The potatoes must not brown at all during this time, so keep the heat low.
- Add the onion sliced into thin strips and the pepper (seeded) cut into pieces. Let everything cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the potatoes are soft, completely done.
- Using a strainer, drain the oil from the potatoes.
- In a wide bowl beat the eggs with salt and then add the potatoes. Mix well and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Heat a wide pan (you can use the same pan you used to cook the potatoes) and add 2 tablespoons of oil (you can use some of the oil drained from the potatoes). When the oil is well heated add the egg-potato mixture.
- Immediately turn the heat to medium-low and put the lid on the pan if you have one. Cook the tortilla for 5 minutes, occasionally moving the pan back and forth and in circles so it doesn't stick to the bottom and browns evenly.
- Put a wide plate (wider than the pan) over the pan and flip the tortilla onto the plate. Put the pan back on heat and slowly let the omelette slide from the plate back into the pan. Cook the tortilla on the second side for another 2 minutes. Pierce the center with a knife and check that it's done (it can be creamy but not liquid). If not, leave another 1-2 minutes on heat.
- Remove the tortilla to a platter. It's good warm or at room temperature. Serve slices of tortilla with the marinated tomatoes.
