Summer Tapas

Sometimes on the weekend I get these crazy ideas and just go for it. Spending a few hours in the kitchen can be so really invigorating. I knew we would be going to the farmer's market downtown, and that we wanted to try seafood from a place that has local catches. The last time we were there they had shrimp, so that figured into this. I also had been talking to a friend about tinto de verano, a combination of tembranillo and gaseosa that is often served at lunch in Spain, and is mixed by each person at the table to their own proportions.


One recipe I've been intrigued by for a long time, in several different manifestations, is the idea of using potato chips in a tortilla, a traditional Spanish egg dish that can be served warm or at room temperature. The idea is often credited to Ferran Adria (and that is the recipe I used, but I remember something similar in Around My French Tableby Dorie Greenspan. So... while I bought potatoes home, thinking I might try it the traditional way, the overwhelming idea of making four dishes including the very work-intensive tortilla won me over to the cheater way.


I've never had a traditional tortilla, so I don't know how this compares, but I thought this was delicious. I carmelized a thin (Spanish! ha) onion earlier in the day and mixed it in with the egg-soaked chips before baking, and that did add a lot of flavor. But can you tell you are looking at potato chips? They aren't crunchy any longer at this point anyway.

We will have leftovers for a week, but with the sultry weather and the local ingredients, this was a fantastic meal.

Recipes I used:

Potato Chip Tortilla
Gambas al ajillo (Shrimp in Garlic)
Queso de Cabra con Tomate (Goat Cheese Baked in Tomato Sauce) (Actually I just throw stuff together for this one)
Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini Sauce from Olives and Oranges