My Tapas Birthday Party: Tortilla Espanola - No TWD

Nope, that's not a Tarte Noire you're seeing in these pictures.... No TWD today: I'm truly sorry, but somehow Torte Noire didn't do it for me this weekend.... Might give it a try next week though! For the Torte Noire go check out Tuesdays with Dorie or Dharmagirl over at bliss: towards a delicious life.

Instead of the Tarte Noire, let me introduce you to the Tortilla Espanola! A wonderful easy to make tapas as it is actually baked in the oven, so after prepping and popping it into the oven you can actually make another tapas without having to keep an eye on the pan to make sure the tortilla doesn't burn!!

These tasted wonderful fresh out of the oven and can also be frozen, although they do can get a bit soggy.... But these were still a hit at my Tapas Party, even if they were a tiny bit soggy! I made a tiny adaptation by adding some paprika powder to the recipe and using a yellow pepper instead of a green one, other than that I made it as written on Pennies on a Platter.

Oven-Baked Tortilla Española

Serves: 16 as part of a tapas meal, or 6 as a lunch or bunch main course

4 large red-skinned potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes, diced
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 scallions, white and green parts finely chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
5 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Spanish Rocal cheese
3 Tbsp snipped fresh chives (or about 1 tsp dried chives if you can’t find the fresh)
1/8 tsp paprika powder
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375˚F. Place diced potatoes in a sauce pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 5-7 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Drain and set aside to slightly cool.

Spray a casserole dish (approximately 7×10 inch) with cooking spray; set aside.

Place the 4 Tbsp olive oil, garlic, scallions and bell peppers in a skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 5-6 minutes, or until the onions are softened but not browned. Let cool a bit, then stir in the cooked potato. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sour cream, cheese and chives together. Stir in the vegetable-potato mixture, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour the mixture into the baking dish and smooth the top. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown, puffed, and set in the center. Remove from the oven and let cool and set. Run a spatula around the edge, then invert onto a cutting board, browned-side up. If the surface looks a little runny, place it under the broiler to dry out. (I didn’t need to do this.)
Let cool completely. Neaten the edges, if necessary, then cut into one-inch squares. Serve on a platter with wooden toothpicks.

Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup

The weather is turning colder and more autumn-like here, leaves are starting to fall the trees and every day it gets dark earlier... For me this means it's time for more wintery meals, like a nicely filled, hearty and spicy soup. Browing around I found this recipe for a Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup at For the love of cooking, ofcourse I adapted it a bit and only made half, but that was still more than enough for 3 big bowls of soup.


Shredded Chicken
1 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of any fat
1,5 cups of chicken broth or water
1,5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp sweet yellow onion, diced finely (I used red onion, cause that's what I had)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and gently boil for 20 minutes. Let the chicken breasts cool then shred with two forks.

Soup
1 tsp olive oil
1 cups of onion, diced
1/2 cup of celery, diced
1 cups of carrots, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (more if you want it really spicy)
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/4 quarts of chicken stock
1 400 gr (14 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
1 300 gr (10 oz) can of corn
1/2 tsp of cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
1/4 a cup of fresh cilantro, chopped (divided)
3 fresh white corn tortillas

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot, add onions and sauté until tender. Add the garlic and stir constantly for 60 seconds. Add the carrots, celery, jalapeno, tomatoes, corn, broth, cumin, coriander, sea salt and pepper to taste and 1/8 cup of cilantro.

Cut the 3 corn tortillas in half, then cut them crosswise into 1/2 inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the corn tortillas have melted away. Add the chicken, taste and re season if needed.

Corn tortilla strips
2 corn tortillas
olive oil
Sea salt
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 F). Grease the baking sheet with olive oil . Rub in a little olive oil on each side of all the tortillas & lay in a pile. Cut into thin strips & spread across the baking dish then season with sea salt. Bake in the oven until golden brown - watch them carefully because they burn easily. It usually takes about 3-5 minutes.

Additional Toppings
1 avocados
dicedCotija cheese, grated
fresh cilantro (remainder from above ingredients)

Ladle soup into large soup bowls. Add some avocado, tortilla strips, a sprinkle of cheese and cilantro. Enjoy!

I didn't care much for the soft strips of tortilla that went into the soup before cooking, they didn't disolve and stayed all soft, mushy and slimey. Probably I'll omit those next time. Just found out I used flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas, maybe that's where it went wrong??

I did however love the salted crispy tortillastrips on top of the soup, in combo with the spicyness of the soup and the softness of the avocado. Definetely will be making this again!