Dos Tortillas Para Ti

Well, technically speaking, one of them is more of a frittata, but let's not get lexically over-analytical over a few eggs...

Easy to knock up, wonderful to wolf down and probably far too high in cholesterol content, these eggy, summery delights are perfect to accompany a barbecue, or a light supper, or to slice up and pack for a picnic. You can put whatever you want in a frittata, and tortillas are filling enough to be a lunch all on their own so start experimenting. Excellent use of fridge leftovers too...

Tortilla de Patatas con Pimientos

You'll need:

6 eggs

1 onion

1 pepper

salt

pepper

olive oil

Heat 3/4 inch of olive oil in a deep frying pan and put in the peeled potatoes diced into smallish chunks. Sprinkle with salt. Let these simmer slowly on a low heat until they start to go mushy. They absolutely must not burn or go crisp. In a bowl, lightly beat the six eggs and season.Once the potatoes are done, drain off the excess oil and place the potatoes into the egg mix. Mush with a fork to amalgamate the mixture (a few chunks of potato are always nice).Heat whatever remaining oil is left in the frying pan and fry your onions and peppers. Once soft, add the potato and egg mixture. Cook, tilting the pan occasionally and pulling the cooked egg mix towards you with a spatula and filling the gap with still runny egg. Once the top is more or less cooked, place a plate over the tortilla and flip the tortilla onto it. Slide the tortilla, uncooked side down back into the pan and cook the other side. After a minute or two it should be done.Sldie back onto a clean plate, let it cool and serve...

Frittata with Sweet Potato, Tomato and Dill

You'll need:

6 eggs

3 small sweet potatoes

10 small tomates

half a white onion

1 clove of garlic

handful of fresh dill

parsley

salt

pepper

olive oil

Chop your sweet potato into small chunks and bake in a hot oven (160°)for about 4 minutes until soft. Whilst you're doing that, break eggs into a bowl and beat lightly, season and put aside. Fry your onions and garlic in a deep frying pan until soft, then add the tomatoes, cut in halves and fry those until soft. Season the lot. Add the cooked sweet potato to the pan, the shopped parsley and dill and then top with the egg. Use the same principal for cooking as the above tortilla.

Serve when warm or cool. This is the point where a cold beer should be offered to the chef.

Last of the Summer Lunches

Just a few happy snaps I took of a couple of lunch parties we cooked for chez moi. The dishes more or less speak for themselves, simple, fresh, colourful and tasty. Just a few tips to make your buffets a success:
a) Ensure at least two vegetarian options as well as a fresh leafy salad.
b) Offer one hot salad - maybe a variety of steamed veg with a soy/lime dressing and one cold salad with as many different leaves you can find, some fresh herbs and juicy olives.
c)Don't offer cheapo cheese, it's easy to make an impressive cheese platter with two or three good choices and some freshly baked bread, sliced pears or figs and a pot of homemade chutney or honey.
d) If you don't want to serve alcohol, then instead of the usual orange juice, water or coke as alternatives try making a fruit punch, home made lemonade or pomegranate and elderflower spritzers. You can find exciting juice mixes in almost every supermarket now! e) If you want to serve bubbles but don't have a lot of cash, try a supermarket brand Cava. Bottles are generally around the £5-6 mark and the quality is high. Sainsbury's Cava is a good choice, as is the 2004, Best Vintage Cava by Morrisons at £6.99 a bottle.