Tortilla de Patata

Last night we made tempeh-veggie pizza and sat down to “cenar” (eat dinner) together. The kids were chowing down and discussing (in between bites) how much they love pizza. Eventually, Davin asked the kids what they ate for lunch at school. Volly’s face immediately changed to an expression of confusion and disbelief as she replied, “Wolf.”

“What, honey?” I managed to get out without bursting into laughter.

“Well, I asked the lunch lady and she said ‘lobo’. So I didn’t eat it. I didn’t want to eat wolf!!!”

Davin was clever enough to make the connection that the woman must have said “lomo.” This is the word for beef tenderloin. Luckily Volly was able to laugh along with the rest of us at this innocent misunderstanding.

It’s hard to believe we’ve been living in Spain nearly six months already! I frequently reflect on what I’m learning and taking away from Spanish culture. Earlier this year I was more active in cooking new recipes, but I lost motivation. The restaurants here are so affordable and it’s easy to justify going out to eat! In the time I spend researching and learning recipes (especially seafood ones), and purchasing fish at the store, it almost ends up costing more (in time and money) than if we all walked down to the Port and ate at a restaurant. The restaurant employees literally walk to the fishing dock with a shopping cart and load up with fresh fish that they prepare faster, cheaper, and tastier than I ever will!

Nonetheless, cooking is good for my language acquisition and I decided to spend some time learning a classic Spanish recipe that we eat all the time. It was one of the first things Davin bought when we moved here because he had fond memories of his host mother making it for him when he was studying in Sevilla. He calls it “tortilla español” but the proper name is “tortilla de patatas.”

What I love about this recipe is that my kids love it! For some reason, they refuse to eat eggs for breakfast these days (to my frustration because it’s an easy, cheap protein). BUT they will happily eat tortilla de patatas. It took me a while to figure this one out. My first tortilla de patatas attempt ended up in the sink (¡que disastre!). Flipping it over when it’s not fully cooked is an art that I’m still trying to master. The kids now rate each one I make on taste, form, and appearance.

So here you have it- with my very amateur video editing skills and my best attempt at Spanish- Tortilla de Patatas  

¡Buen Provecho!