Tapas, From Scratch

This weeks From Scratch Weekends meal started to take shape when we received this bucket from our next door neighbor.  His wife insisted he wash them first, but we were outside and so he wanted to make sure we received them.
Not a problem!  Ryan was more than happy to do some scrubbing.  Better him than me because I fell earlier in the day and managed to sprain my ankle.  I am feeling much better know, which is a good thing.  I could barely sit still which made it hurt more and hard to have it actually heal.  

Enough of that, back to the potatoes.  All cleaned up and looking good!
Look at all the dirt that came off these.  No, this is not my kitchen sink.  Well, it's my kitchen sink, but not the one we use inside.  This is in our outdoor kitchen.  It was nice to see how fresh and freshly picked these potatoes were.
Since we had all these fresh potatoes, we knew that our From Scratch meal HAD to have potatoes.  Now, we just had to decide what to make.  After some thinking, we decided on some tapas since some of the most popular tapas involve potatoes.

If you are not familiar with tapas, these are small plate appetizers served all over Spain.  Menus usually include hot and cold versions and come in finger food sizes which are great for sharing.

These were the recipes we selected:


Starting with the stuffed tomatoes, we had to boil the eggs first for the filling.
Ryan made the tomato holders for the egg filling.

I made the egg salad.


We also had some major potato prepping to do.  Two of these recipes called for potatoes.  Which was of course what we were going for with so many potatoes now in our possession.

First up is the Tortilla Espanola.  All this really means is a potato and onion omelette.  This is super popular in Spain.  I ate it all the time when I was there.  Often this is served cold, and often it comes on bread.  We planned to eat it still on the warm side.  For this recipe, the potatoes needed to be thinly sliced.  Thank goodness for the cheese slicer/grater.

The onions had to be finely chopped.  I lasted for a bit, but then my eyes were just gushing with tears.
The recipe called for 3 large eggs, but I decided to do 4 instead because my eggs looked small.
Ryan was in charge of the act of omeletting.
It smelled so good at this point.
Then the eggs were added.
Ryan was going to flip it sans pan, but I encouraged him to use the pan.  While I have lots of faith in his flipping skills, you can see above it was majorly runny and I wanted to avoid all unnecessary messes at all costs.
He did an awesome job flipping.
Yum!
Next up, potato chunks for the Patatas Bravas.  This is also very popular and consists of a spicy sauce on these fried potatoes.  I think I order these every time I am at a tapas bar.
The sauce was fairly easy.  Heck, even I could make it.  
Minced and onions and garlic were sauteed in oil, then removed from the heat and paprika, thyme and 
hot sauce were then added.
Ok, here is where it gets gross.  The above mixture was then added to mayo and ketchup.  Two of my least favorite items (too much fat and sugar, respectively) but I was just following directions, so in it all went.  I will say, it tasted very good and I really do not like mayo.  I guess the other flavors helped it a ton.
Ryan fried up the potatoes.
Not too crispy despite frying, but we think it has to do with the type of potatoes we used.  These were then coated in the brava sauce.
At last, dinner was served!  Now, the only thing missing from the authentic Spanish tapas meal was sangria.  We improvised and stayed within the Spanish speaking family of beverages, and instead made some margaritas.
So, here you have it:
Stuffed tomatoes...
Patatas bravas...
and Tortilla Espanola...
Look at my beautiful, from scratch and super local dinner.
QUESTIONS:  Have you ever eaten at a tapas restaurant?  Tapas in Spain?  What is your favorite way to eat potatoes?

10 comments:

Gina; The Candid RD said...

These look perfect, thanks for the recipe. I LOVE tapas, and I LOVE potatoes. We have a great tapas restaurant in downtown Columbus, always blog worthy. My favorite way to eat potatoes is probably very basic, just with some margarine, sour cream, hot sauce, and maybe some salsa. Potatoes are so delicious, and so good for you!!!

Simply Life said...

Tapas are my favorite thing ever to eat - my wedding was even at a spanish restaurant with tapas and paella! I've made a few tapas before and it turned out to be such a fun meal!

Beth said...

This looks like a great from scratch feast! We love tapas--we actually had our rehearsal dinner at a tapas place (Pazo!).

MelissaNibbles said...

I love tapas. It's a great way to try a bunch of things without getting too stuffed or spending a bunch of money. Never tried to make them though.

Unknown said...

yeah, i like tapas b/c its like a bite of everything...which is good when UR an ADD eater :)

i like sweet potato fries! mmm...

Anonymous said...

Tell Ryan he did a great job flipping!! Everything looks wonderful!

There is a restaurant by our house that has tapas every Thursday - the first time we went it was $25 per person for 9 courses, and add an additional $20 for wine pairings - so, basically $45 per person.

Well, with drinks at the bar before and after, and tip - dinner was $125! Not that we minded, but on the way home we had to stop at Burger King because it wasn't enough food for the hubs!

Ever since I get the tapas selection and he gets a big steak!

Can't beat a twice baked potato - the cheese! Oh, and I love that you had Texas Pete!

Kristen (swanky dietitian) said...

I love that you decided to make tapas. Such a fun meal!
I love potatoes..especially sweet potatoes. Yum! I love homemade fries.
I wish I have had tapas in Spain. I have never been..yet!

Rachel said...

confession: the thought of tapas from scratch intimidates me. But yours look easy! I've eaten them at restaurants, and do love them. those stuffed tomatoes are too cute.

Lele said...

Mmmmmm I love tapas and particularly love tortilla espanola and patatas bravas. I had to laugh, though, because I also hate mayonnaise and ketchup! Go figure.

Brooklyn Medical Malpractice said...

Thanks for this great post. Enjoyed seeing the step by step process in your preparation of the tapas.

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