Spanish Tortilla with Broccoli, Chorizo and Onion

You might not know this, but eggs are kind of my thing.  If you have read this blog at all in the past (or gone to brunch with me) then it should be fairly obvious.  Then again, Alex does try to curb my egg obsession so there aren't as many egg recipes on this blog as there might otherwise be...  So maybe it's not as obvious as I think it is.  Actually, I tried to add eggs to our dinner last night and Alex shot me down.  Anyway, I decided that I wanted to make this recipe to use the broccoli I picked up from Fairway last week along with the eggs from the farmers' market.  And for those of you not familiar with Spanish tortillas - they are essentially heavier frittatas with thinly sliced potatoes inside. used As we started to make the dish Alex told me that I had selected two of the things that we are worst at in life - flipping eggs and homemade mayonnaise (or aioli in this case).  We have tried to make mayonnaise three times in the past - once with the food processor, once with our immersion blender and once with the blender.  All three times we failed.  Epically.  We ended up with thin, runny, greasy messes each time.  And it happened again.  Apparently we really suck at making mayonnaise.  But this time we Googled how to rescue a broken aioli and found out that we are not the only people who have this problem.  There were several articles and blog posts citing Julia Child's method for saving a broken aioli or mayonnaise.  We used her method and it totally worked!  Hurray!  But our tortilla didn't flip too well...  It broke into a million pieces and chunks got stuck to the pan.  So we failed there too.  And there was really no rescuing it because it's not like you can put a frittata/omelet/Spanish tortilla back together.  But in the end it's the flavor that matters and the flavor was good.  It didn't really occur to me until we put the ingredients in the pan, but I think you should either add more eggs or cut down on the amount of broccoli and chorizo in the future.  The ratio of filling to eggs is a little off and the broccoli is heavy, which makes it hard to flip the tortilla successfully.  It was still pretty heavy (partially due to the ratio of eggs to filling and partially because of the combination of ingredients and flavors), but I knew that was likely to happen going in because Spanish tortillas always strike me as heavy.  I thought that the absence of potato would make more of a difference and make it taste a little lighter, but not so much.  Either way, it was a tasty dish and we finally made a (semi-)successful aioli!  Yay!

Recipes after the jump!

Migas

I honestly couldn't tell you when and where I first had migas.  I remember having a rather excellent version of chilaquiles, which are somewhat similar to migas, out in San Francisco, but I honestly don't have a clue where I had migas for the first time.  I have never been to Austin, Texas where I hear they serve migas almost everywhere.  What I can tell you is that the last time I had migas they were fairly mediocre and to cap it all off, I got an excellent case of food poisoning.  Awesome.  But clearly it wasn't bad enough to dissuade me from making migas at home. The food poisoning might have actually incentivized me to make my migas at home so as to avoid any future bouts with migas-induced food poisoning at that particular restaurant, which is the only restaurant I know of near my apartment that serves migas.

My favorite thing about migas is the variety of flavors and textures.  Different versions have a different blend of veggies and other ingredients.  I know I have seen some versions served with salsa, some that include the veggie-equivalent of a pico de gallo, and others that are chunkier and more rustic.  I decided to use up what we had in the fridge in our migas - corn tortillas, fresh chorizo, red bell pepper, onion, half of a jalapeno, cotija cheese and cilantro.  We had a jar of salsa in the refrigerator (which would have been an easier approach than chopping up and sauteeing all of the fresh veggies), but what fun is that?  We didn't have any avocado, otherwise I might have served some of that on the side.  I briefly considered adding tomatoes (which I believe is traditional), but I didn't want to add anything that would make the dish watery.  As for the chorizo, I have never had a version of migas with chorizo in it before but the flavor profiles seemed to work in my head so I decided to go for it.  I'm not sure if it is traditional or not.  Regardless of tradition, my migas were delicious.  They were hearty and flavorful.  And the homemade crispy corn tortillas were delicious.  I think that traditionally you toss all of the crispy tortillas in with the eggs as you cook them so they can soak up the juices and flavors of the migas, but in my mind that defeated the  purpose of crisping them up in the first place.  I wanted some of them to remain extra crispy.  So I threw half of them in and reserved the other half to be served with the migas.  It was an excellent idea if I do say so myself.  And I really liked the blend of textures and flavors with the fresh veggies - the bell peppers stayed somewhat crisp and sweet, the onions mellowed and softenened and the jalapeno gave it all some kick.  It was really good - good enough that I might have to go to Austin to try some authentic migas and see how mine stack up.

Recipe after the jump!

Chickpeas with Chorizo

Chickpeas and chorizo are a very standard combination in Spain.  Sometimes you see chickpea and chorizo stews and sometimes you just see chickpeas and chorizo sauteed together.  Every once in awhile you see some spinach thrown into the mix.  Tonight we decided to sautee together chickpeas, onions, garlic, chorizo, and flat leaf parsley, all seasoned with a pinch of sweet paprika and a splash of sherry vinegar.  Together they make a hearty, satisfying meal - one that we served with some pan con tomate and a simple arugula salad.  The bitterness and freshness of the arugula salad helped lighten the whole meal up so that it felt appropriate for a 90 degree summer evening.  I know that some recipes include some toasted bread crumbs in their chickpeas with chorizo and I think we will definitely try that out next time.  I also might throw in some baby spinach to saute up with the chickpeas and chorizo for a little variety.  That would make this dish more of a one pot roughly 20 minute meal, which sounds pretty awesome to me.

Recipe after the jump!