Monday, July 11, 2011

Potato Tortilla

Hi everyone!   I'm in London for the next three weeks, so blogging's probably going to drop off dramatically after I finish off the backlog of posts I still have from the last week.

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Of all cuisines, Spanish food is among the most mysterious, and seemingly least-vegan-friendly, to me (and I mostly know about it from my friend Christina, who had a [vegetarian] food blog while she was there... bring it back!).  But, I saw this recipe for Spanish tortilla and was like, hey, if I can make an omelette out of chickpea flour, what can possibly stop me now?

So.... I made this, and it was pretty good.  It's a nice breakfast dish because it stretches one potato a long way and adds some protein while you're at it.  A few changes to consider: since I don't have a microwave, I peeled and sliced the potato first, then boiled it briefly until slightly soft.  I also added some black salt at the end for a slightly eggy taste.  If I make this again, I would also use less lemon and nutmeg and more garlic and onion.  I'd also add some turmeric for a little more yellow color.



Spanish Potato Tortilla
(from recipes.xgfx)

Ingredients
1 large yukon gold potato, about 12 ounces
1/4 c chickpea flour
1 TB cornstarch
1 TB nutritional yeast, optional
1/4 tsp onion powder (or more)
1/8 tsp garlic powder (or more)
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (or less)
turmeric
1/4 tsp salt (including black salt)
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c water
1 TB fresh lemon juice (or less)
1 heaping TB minced parsley
1 TB olive oil for frying

Instructions
1. Peel onion and slice into 1/4-in slices.  Boil in salted water until just pokeable with a fork (5-10 min).  Transfer the hot potato to a bowl filled with cold water to stop it from cooking.
2. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the chickpea flour, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, nutmeg, turmeric, salt, and black pepper. Gradually add the water while whisking to avoid lumps. Stir in the lemon juice and the parsley.
3. At this point your potato should be cool enough to handle.  Add the potato to the chickpea mixture and gently stir to coat all the pieces.
4. Heat the oil in a 9 inch non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Test the oil temperature with a drop of the chickpea mixture, the oil will be hot and ready when the drop sizzles. Carefully pour in the chickpea/potato mixture and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
5. Here comes the fun part! Shake the frying pan to loosen the tortilla. If it’s stuck somewhere, use a spatula to gently lift the area of the tortilla that is not coming off. When the whole tortilla is sliding with ease, slide it onto a plate. Flip the tortilla onto the frying pan, raw side down. Cook for 5 more minutes and slide the tortilla back onto the plate. Serve hot.  Serves 1-3.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Haha! What's so mysterious about Spanish food? It is vegan-unfriendly in the way that Spaniards eat a lot of meat (just ask any Spaniard about their jamón and they can practically wax poetic) and seafood, but other than that they eat a lot of fresh fruits/vegetables/olive oil. I would think that the French, with all that butter, would be less vegan friendly.

Also, funny you should mention my blog, as I'm on the verge of starting a new one! I wanted to start a blog that wouldn't just be about food in Spain, as I'm no longer in Spain. Just need to come up with a name, and I'll get crackin'!

Have a fabulous time in London.

Julia said...

Yes! Start a new blog! :)

I think it doesn't have a large presence in American food culture, for one, which makes it more unfamiliar... and you're right, French cuisine is also quite vegan unfriendly.

Anonymous said...

I guess you're right, other than the new tapas trend we don't see a ton of Spanish food in the U.S. What really irks me is people who think Spanish food is spicy. Spaniards *shudder* at the idea of spicy food! An American friend in Spain posted this interaction on facebook:

At a frutería...

amy: tienen jalapeños?
cajero: jala que?
amy: jalapeños
yo: jalapeños... ja, la ,pe, ños
cajero: es que es fruta, verdura o que?...

amy: do you have jalapeños?
cashier: jala what?
amy: jalapeños?
me: jalapeños... ja-la-pe-ños
cashier: but is it a fruit, a vegetable, or what?

janet @ the taste space said...

I love Spanish food!! There are definitely vegan-friendly options!

This was one of my favourite salads last year: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2010/08/21/spanish-chickpea-salad-with-capers-and-roasted-red-peppers/

Julia said...

Oh, yeah, I totally have that salad bookmarked! :)