Thursday, May 26, 2011

Leaving Sweet Behind for Savoury

As you know, there’s been a lot of baking around here recently.

I started to crave something savoury and I declared last night, “I’m making dinner tomorrow!” (No one put up a fight.)

Come lunchtime and face-to-face with a full CSA box, I decided to start cooking. Lunch was a fresh and simple salad for one; dinner for three was a rich Spanish tortilla, with flavors of early summer.

Chinese Chicken and Cabbage Salad
1 cup diced roasted chicken

1 cup diced cabbage
1 cup cooked white rice
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
¾ teaspoon hoisin sauce
¼ teaspoon sesame oil

Whisk the rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil in a bowl. Combine the chicken, cabbage, and dressing and toss well (One method is to combine ingredients in a Tupperware container, put the lid on, and shake.) Arrange the salad on top of the rice.

Serves one.

Spanish-Style Tortilla with Prosciutto, Asparagus, and Potato

(Adapted from Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef)


5 eggs
Black pepper
8 slices prosciutto, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 stalks asparagus, stems removed and stalks cut into small pieces
1 medium shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 russet potato, scrubbed
1 teaspoon fresh basil, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.


Whisk the eggs and black pepper in a medium bowl; set aside.

Cover the russet potato with water in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil the potato until it is fork tender (approximately 3-4 minutes). Cut the potato into thin, half-moon pieces.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium cast-iron skillet over medium high heat. Cook both sides of the potato slices until golden-brown (approximately 2 minutes per side). Set aside and turn heat to medium.

Add the prosciutto slices and cook until they are slightly crispy (approximately 3 minutes). Set aside.

Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and heat. Add the asparagus and cook them until green and tender (approximately 1-2 minutes depending on thickness of stalks). Set aside.

Turn heat to medium low and add the shallot. Cook, stirring, until the shallot begins to brown (approximately 3-4 minutes).

Stir the prosciutto, asparagus, potato, and shallot into the eggs. 

Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the skillet and heat until the oil moves around easily. Pour in the egg mixture and cook for 2-3 minutes until it is set. Lift up the tortilla with a spatula and shake the pan back and forth to allow runny eggs to run to the bottom.

Slide the skillet into the oven and cook until the top is firm (approximately 5 minutes).

Take the tortilla out of the oven and sprinkle the basil on top.

Serves 2-3 people. Best accompanied by red wine.

2 comments:

  1. this spanish tortilla runs out too sign. make twice as much as you think you need. it is simply delicious

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  2. Thank you! It's actually pretty easy to make -- just some chopping/prep work to do at the beginning. I'd love to try some different ingredients -- maybe grated asiago?

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