Tortilla de Patatas

Tortilla de Patatas

1 cup olive oil
4 large potatoes (peeled and cut into 1/8" slices)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 large eggs
1 tomato, sliced thin (optional)
1/2 red pepper, sliced thin (optional)

1. Heat the oil in a 9" skillet. Add potato and onion pieces one at a time so they don't stick. Cook slowly over low-medium heat until potatoes are tender, but not brown. (Do not fry them, and turn regularly to keep them from sticking.) Drain when cooked.

2. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add potatoes to eggs, pressing them in so the eggs cover them completely. Let sit for 15 minutes.

3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet. Add the potato-egg mixture, spreading it quickly. Lower the heat to medium-heat and shake the pan to keep the mixture from sticking. Place tomato and red pepper slices on top, if desired.

4. When the potatoes start to brown, put a plate on top and clip to cook the other side, adding another tbsp of oil. When both sides are browned, it is done cooking. Salt and pepper to taste.

Notes: Make sure you shake the pan to keep it from sticking. If you go light on oil, it will stick and it won't taste as good. We like to eat it with bacon and oranges...for dinner :)

Recipe Origination: I'm not sure. I ate this every morning when my Dad and I were in Spain back in 2005. I found the recipe soon after that, and didn't try it out until recently.

Tomato Sauce

Tomato Sauce

10 medium to large tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (if you don't like spicy, omit)
3-5 tbsp minced garlic (I probably used even more...we really like garlic)
1/8 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp basil
1/8 tsp rosemary
1/8 tsp pepper

1. Put tomatoes in a pot of boiling water and let sit for 1 minute. Immediately remove with a slotted spoon and place in an ice water bath.
2. Once cooled, peel skins, chop and remove seeds. Put in a food processor and process until smooth. (If you want chunkier sauce, leave 1-2 tomatoes chopped but not processed.)
3. Put olive oil, butter, green pepper, jalapeno and onion in a large pan or Dutch oven. Cook on medium-high heat until tender, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Reduce heat and add garlic, tomato puree, oregano, salt, basil, rosemary and pepper.
5. Simmer sauce for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally.

Notes: This makes enough pasta sauce for 3-4 servings. When you first let it simmer, it will seem really thin and odd looking. By the end of the simmer time, it will thicken and redden up. As of this posting, I've only made it once but it was delicious. Next time I'm going to try a variation with cheeses. It is fairly time consuming to get the tomatoes prepped, but it does result in a really fresh and vibrant tasting sauce. The seasoning amounts are completely estimated. I tried to low-ball the recipe amounts so add extra to taste if needed.

Recipe Origination: I looked at tons of recipes online and kind of combined what I liked from a bunch to get this one. The jalapeno was all me because we have so many in our garden I'm going to add them to everything we eat until they're gone :)