Spanish tortilla with chorizo

The reason I set up this blog in the first place was to record this recipe, because I'm always googling to find versions of it. I was quite surprised the other day to find that it wasn't even on here. Well, now it is! I've included chorizo in this recipe, but it's just as nice without it.

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 275g of potatoes (about three medium sized ones)
• 100g of cooking chorizo sausage (about half a small ring)
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 5 eggs

Method

1. Peel the onion, cut it in half and then slice to create half-moons.
2. Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices.
3. Cut the chorizo into little medallions.
4. Put two tablespoonfuls of oil into a flat bottomed non-stick frying pan (that has a lid) and heat until smoking hot.
5. Add the potatoes, onion and chorizo and stir to coat them in the oil.
6. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting, scrunch in some salt and pepper (to your taste, though go easy on the salt if you're using chorizo) and put the lid on.
7. Cook on a low heat for 20 minutes, shaking the pan now and again so that the mixture doesn't stick. Halfway through, stir and turn over the potatoes as best you can.
8. Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a largeish bowl or jug and beat lightly with a fork. Scrunch in some more pepper.
9. Add the cooked potato mixture to the beaten eggs and mix together.
10. Put the remaining oil into the frying pan heat over a medium heat.
11. Add the egg and potato mixture to the pan, then turn the heat down to its lowest setting.
12. Cook gently (with the lid off) for 20 to 25 minutes, until the liquid on the top has started to set.
13. Now for the awkward bit. Flip the thing over! If your pan lid is fairly flat, put the lid on, turn the pan over, then slide the tortilla off the lid back into the pan. If your lid is an inconvenient dome (like mine), put a plate, eating side down, over the tortilla, then put the lid on and turn the pan over. Just expect your tortilla to break / cover you in runny egg. It's called life experience, and gives you something to moan about. What's life without a good moan now and then?
14. Once you've successfully inverted your tortilla, cook for another two minutes, then turn off the heat and leave to settle for a further five.
15. Serve warm, or even better, cold, and sliced into wedges.

Tattie scones / potato farls

These potato cakes make a hearty breakfast, buttered along with some crispy bacon. I compared two receipes - one for Scottish "tattie scones" and another for Irish "potato farls" and they're exactly the same, except the Scottish version are cut out in little rounds like regular scones. If you don't feel like springing out of bed and peeling potatoes (who does?), make the mash the night before (or use whatever's left over from last night's dinner) and heat it for about a minute in the microwave before you start.

Ingredients

• 550g of potatoes
• 25g of salted butter
• 100g of plain flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Method

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small pieces.
2. Put the potato pieces into a microwavable bowl with a small splash of water. Put a plate on top and stick in the microwave on full power until they're cooked and soft (with my microwave (800 watts) it takes about ten minutes, with a stir at five minutes - of course you can cook the potatoes in any way you like).
3. Add the butter to the potatoes and mash until smooth.
4. Mix the flour and salt together.
5. Add the flour mixture to the mashed potatoes, one spoonful at a time. Mix into a light dough. Add more flour if it's too wet and sticky, or some milk if it's too dry to take all the flour.
6. Dust a surface with flour and roll out the dough into a disc about 1 cm thick, or slightly thicker.
7. Cut the disc into wedges (these are the "farls") or use a cookie cutter to create round scones.
8. Heat a non-stick pan over a medium heat. Add the farls / scones.
9. Cook for three to four minutes on each side so that they're browned and crisp, but not burnt.

Parmesan shortbread

I ate about 10,000 of these at a wedding reception last year, and resolved to make them myself. I googled the recipe and found it on Nigella Lawson's site, so here's my take on her recipe.

Ingredients

• 150g of plain flour
• 100g of unsalted butter
• Half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 75g of parmesan cheese
• 1 egg yolk

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Sift the flour and cayenne pepper into a mixing bowl.
3. Cut the butter into little chunks and add it to the bowl.
4. Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers until you have something like breadcrumbs.
5. Grate the parmesan (or open the packet if you've bought ready-grated).
6. Stir the grated parmesan into floury-buttery mixture.
7. Separate the yolk from the eggwhite and stir the yolk into the mixture.
8. Knead together gently with your hands until you have a lump of soft, but not sticky, dough.
9. Lay some clingfilm out on a surface. Place the ball of dough on it.
10. Roll the dough into a long sausage about three inches thick. Pat the ends so that they're flat.
11. Wrap the clingfilm around the dough and twist the ends like a Christmas cracker.
12. Place the wrapped dough in the fridge for at least 45 minutes.
13. Put a sheet of baking parchment over a baking tray.
14. Take the dough out of the fridge and cut it into medallions, about a centimeter and a half thick (I realise I'm mixing imperial and metric measurements here. Whichever cap fits, wear it, I say).
15. Place the biscuits on the baking tray and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until irresistable.