Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 06, 2023

Spanish Tortilla De Patata | The Tapas Stories - 1



SPANISH TORTILLA DE PATATA

Spanish omelette or Spanish tortilla is a traditional dish from Spain. Celebrated as a national dish by Spaniards, it is an essential part of the Spanish cuisine. It is an omelette made with eggs and a stuffing of potatoes and onion. It is often served at room temperature as a tapa.


It's going to be almost a year since my Spain trip but I haven't shared any photos or written a single word about it yet. The memories and food are all there in my heart and I can even see and taste them when I close my eyes, but I have not felt the need to share. 
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However some weeks ago, we hosted a few friends for dinner and decided to make few of the dishes we had learned at our Spanish tapas cooking class during the trip. That is when I thought I need to write it down. For the sake of Tapas.
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Last year, the husband-man and me went on a short trip to Barcelona and Madrid, sans the kids. This was the first time we were traveling together without kids in 19 years and that itself was a concern for both of us and the girls. The girls were sure that one of us would surely be murdered in international soil by the other. Yes, they do have a lot of faith in us!😂😂
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However we survived the trip and enjoyed it a lot. We were both in love with Tapas and I am pretty sure that is what united us in our journey!💓
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My first question to the taxi driver as we pulled out of the Barcelona Airport was, "So tell me about what you cook and eat at home?". The very nice elderly gentleman with sparse white hair on his head was a little taken aback by this question. He mumbled something about meat & potatoes, hands wavering on the steering wheel.
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"No Tapas? You don't have Tapas at home?" said ignoramus me.
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"No ma'am," he said. "It's not possible to have Tapas every day at home. Since Tapas involves small portions, you need a lot of items on the menu which is not possible at home."
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He then added, "Also I am German and my wife is from Hungary, so we like a nice steak and mashed potatoes for dinner".
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I was crestfallen. I had nurtured teeny-tiny bit of hope to get invited to his home and thus get a first-hand experience of local at-home Spanish cooking.



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Seeing my despair, he quickly added, "But there are many many excellent Tapas places in Barcelona. Traditionally you know, Tapas was a bar food, catering to workers who wanted to grab a quick bite after wrapping up work. So you went to a bar and picked up drinks and a  variety of single bite food with toothpicks.  At the end of evening, you paid by the count of your toothpicks."
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This sounded very exciting. I am not a big meal person and always prefer variety of small plates to a big sit down dinner. Tapas was therefore right up my alley.