The Original One Pot Wonder - Student/Post Furlough food: Spanish Omelette or tortilla

 "The oven won't turn off".  The words I was greeted with by my 19  year old on return from an emergency dental appointment.  The cooker, which was second hand when we moved in 18 years ago, had finally given up the ghost.  Cue about 8 hours of drama whilst we turned off the gas to the house and tried to get a gas engineer during a pandemic where over a million people are isolating in the UK alone.  Finally after an emergency call out fee of £200 we had the cooker made safe - and had a hob but no oven. We could get a new cooker but couldn't get it installed for three and a half weeks (did I mention the number of people isolating).   Now we are nearing the end of the tunnel (2 nd of August can't come soon enough), we are sick and tired of pasta and rice and need to find £700 for the callout, new cooker, installation and disposal of the old one added together; oh and the "hot zone" has to be a minimum size above the cooker or they can't install it (cue adding more tiles to extend it up the wall behind the hob and to either side which has necessitated taking down a kitchen cupboard and three shelves!  More money and a storage problem which we are kicking down the road for now). 

So, this is an ideal protein packed recipe that I often forget. It is cheap, filling, carnivore or veggie depending on what you put in it and can use up the debris left in the bottom of the veggie rack to avoid food waste and postpone that trip to the shops.  As always the basic basic version, plus ideas to jazz it up.

Spanish Omelette (serves 3-4)

1 onion, sliced

oil

300 g potatoes, cooked and cut into chunks

5 large eggs

Make sure you have a large frying pan, ideally one that fit under a grill but this is not totally necessary.

Soften the onion in the oil, add the potatoes and stir until the onions are just starting to get a little brown on the edges (not too much or they will be bitter).

Break the eggs into a bowl or mug and lightly beat together to break up the yolks.  Spread the veggies out into a thin layer and then pour in the eggs and turn down the heat.  Now watch the edge of the pan- you should see the egg mixture at the edges start to turn solid, , this will spread over the bottom of the pan, do not stir.  When it looks like only the very top is still wet then either flip to the other side (use a plate to turn it over) or if your frying pan has a heat proof handle put under a hot grill.  After about another minute the omelette is done.

Variations:

Add chopped peppers to the onions at the start of the recipe

Add sliced mushrooms

Add chopped chilli

Add chopped bacon when you add the potatoes

Add leftover roast meat or sausages (already cooked) or meat alternatives just before you add the eggs

Use tinned potatoes instead of fresh

Use leftover roasted veggies

Add garlic

Use leeks instead of onion

Add chopped chives (garlic chives are good) or use the tops from garlic or onion plants from the garden if you are growing them

Add mixed frozen veggies after the onion but before the potatoes to allow to thaw and start to heat through

Add herbs such as thyme or basil

Add chopped or sliced tomatoes (especially good for cherry tomatoes that are overripe)

Add spinach or kale to the onion

Add grated cheese to the top before putting under the grill

Serve hot or cold, on it's own or with salad

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Post Furlough/Student Food: Stuffed Potato Galette

 Anyone who reads through this blog knows that I am a big fan of the humble spud for bulking out other ingredients without breaking the bank.  This recipe is a kind of stuffed potato pancake filled with what could be left overs and cooked on the stove top not the oven.  It would be pretty difficult to find another one that sounds more like me!  Not only that but it uses mashed potato so you can use the store cupboard instant stuff if you need to which can make it FAST.  Served with some vegetable matter on the side it serves 4 amply.

Stuffed Potato Galette - serves 4

for the minced meat filling:

olive oil

1 onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

300 grams of minced beef

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp chilli

chopped fresh parsley

Fot the potato dough:

800 g potatoes, peeled

1 egg

salt and pepper

approximately 200 g plain flour

For assembly

50-60 g grated cheese

Make the meat filling whilst the potatoes are cooking. Fry the onion in some olive oil until soft. Add the crushed garlic and the minced beef and cook breaking up any lumps with a spoon. Once the meat is brown add the spices and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes until the aroma really gets going. Stir in the fresh herbs and set aside to cool.

Boil the potatoes untill tender, mash and allow to cool until at least cold enough to touch. With your hands make this into a dough with the egg and enough flour so it holds its shape and is not wet. Depending on your potatoes and how starchy they are this may be more or less flour. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.

Using baking parchment draw a pencil line the size of your frying pan, turn the parchment pencil side down and using the first piece of dough flatten the dough into a circle that fits the shape you have just drawn. Now we are going to assemble the galette in the pan.

Put the pan onto a medium to low heat and add a little oil. Put the first circle of dough into the pan and top with half of the cheese, followed by the meat mixture followed by the remainder of the cheese. Leave a border round the edge so that the dough can be pressed together to seal. Quickly flatten the second piece of dough in the same way and the first and place on top of the filling. Press all round the edges with a fork or spoon to seal the two layers of dough together.

After about 5 minutes sneak a peak at the underside of the dough, it should be brown. Turn the galette over to cook the other side with the help of a plate. and cook for 2-3 minutes on the second side.

Serve with salad or other vegetables on the side.

Variations and tips:

Since the potatoes for the dough have to be cold before use anyway make the most of your fuel and make this dish the day after you have potatoes for dinner and cook double. In the summer I do a big batch an turn half into potato salad and half into this recipe.

Make it veggie - instead of the meat mixture use sauteed mushrooms and other veggies such as peppers and courgettes. Or use vegetables that you have oven roasted previously (making good use of the oven by cooking them at the same time as something else of course).

Flavour the mince meat with different herbs and spices. This version is flavoured with chilli but you could make it more Italian by adding basil and oregano and a squirt of tomato puree. You could make it more Greek by using oregano and a little cinnamon. Use spice mixtures such as ras-al-hanout or Z'atar to flavour the meat. Use other meat instead of the minced beef.

Instead of cooking the meat from scratch use leftover spag bol sauce, or chilli. Leftover curry also works but with this leave out the cheese.

This also make a good recipe to add to the mix if you are into doing a freezer cooking day using minced beef.

In this recipe you need a cheese that melts nicely but this could be Cheddar, something like a mozarella or even a blue cheese.

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