Cooking from the market

Passport & Plate - Variation on Tortilla Española

Spain | Friday, March 6, 2015 | flickr photos

Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
2 small potatoes, thinly sliced
4 eggs
3-4 squash blossoms
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

 

How to prepare this recipe
In a skillet or non-stick pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil to medium-low heat. Add the thinly sliced potatoes once oil is hot, and cook until it's cooked through, around 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile in a mixing bowl, mix together the eggs with salt.

When the potatoes are close to done cooking, add the squash blossoms. Cook until fragrant and wilted. Pour in the eggs at this time and stir well to allow the potatoes to spread out. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the bottom feels cooked and lightly browned. Flip into a plate and slip the other side back into the skillet.

Remove omelet from pan and serve!

 

The story behind this recipe
I spent a week in Sevilla in the middle of summer last year. It's not the best time to visit Andalusia because it's really hot, but it made for a perfect canvas for a quiet, contemplative vacation.

This is the land of wonderful inexpensive tapas, and I had no reason to cook at my apartment, the June heat adding to my repertoire of excuses. Until this day, that is. I happened upon an organic farmers market around the Real de la Feria where vendors were selling wonderful cheeses from the countryside, fresh vegetables, beautiful potatoes, heirloom tomatoes, farm fresh eggs, fragrant herbs and several other produce. One of the vendors had wonderful squash blossoms that she wasn’t selling to me any more of because it was reserved for a restaurant. I noticed a news broadcaster who was reporting from here had bought some, so I proceeded to try my luck in procuring some off of her. She happily handed me a few from her box, in exchange for a humble gracias.

I went home and cooked the Tortilla Española with some squash blossoms. I ate this, along with a generous portion of Caprí Ceniza Afinado from Mare Nostrum, a raw goat’s milk cheese I got from the market, and some butter-sautéed breakfast radishes, also from the market. Some ingredients can’t be bought, and that just makes the experience of cooking (and eating) food richer.