Eggs in the evening
Zucchini tortilla
I grew up in rural suburbia an hour north of Seattle. Every year, on our acre of land, we raised two cows, two pigs and 100 or so chickens. We also had a dozen egg-laying hens. That meant we ate a lot of eggs. Fried. Poached. Softboiled. Scrambled. But these were only for breakfast.
It was something of an adjustment, then, when I settled in Spain 20 years ago and found that eggs were frequently eaten for lunch or dinner or as a midmorning snack — but never for breakfast. And that they were prepared in far more interesting ways.
My adaptation began, appropriately enough, with the first dish I learned to make in Barcelona, the humble and iconic tortilla de patatas. A thick wedge of egg layered with tender slices of potato is one of Spain’s culinary highlights, especially when served alongside country bread rubbed with tomato and doused with olive oil.
My future brother-inlaw taught me to keep the inside moist, with the egg still a touch runny at the center, and to mix in an equal amount of onions with the potatoes for both texture and sweetness. “The key to a successful tortilla is the flip,” he stressed, and demonstrated how to turn over the halfcooked mass using a plate without making a mess or burning myself. “If the bottom sticks, you are in deep trouble.”
Soon mastered, the dish has been a staple. Servings: 1. Heat 2 tablespoons 2. Add the zucchini; 3. Beat the eggs
While matchless for many Spaniards, potato (and onion) is far from the only type of tortilla. Cooks make them with a range of fillings, including eggplant, artichokes, zucchini and mushrooms. In the Basque country, salt cod is typical.
If my brother-in-law taught me the classic thick tortilla, it was my motherin-law who showed me how to prepare one with zucchini or spinach for a quick meal.
Spanish egg dishes go beyond tortillas, though, and I more frequently prepare revueltos, the local version of scrambled eggs. The name comes from the verb “revolver” (to turn or to stir), which is a more precise way of describing the light stirring used when cooking.
With no need to flip, a revuelto is easier to prepare than a tortilla. It also nicely absorbs the flavors of the changing seasons. Wild mushrooms, say, or asparagus with peeled shrimp (and, ideally, some tender garlic shoots) are sauteed, and then whisked eggs poured into the pan. After a handful of seconds to allow them to begin to set, the eggs are turned a couple of times with wide sweeps with a wooden spoon — no more, and certainly not vigorously “scrambled” — until just cooked but still moist. The eggs are silky and in large “pieces” rather Nutrition information: than nubby.
Eggs in a tortilla or revuelto do more than simply absorb flavors or act as a binder for the other ingredients: They are also filling. “If you have some vegetables and some eggs, you have enough for a meal,” my mother-in-law says. That is perhaps the main reason these dishes were developed.
Of course, the most common way to prepare eggs in Spain is fried in olive oil. Huevos fritos are nearly always sunny-side up, though you can also tilt the pan and keep turning the egg over with a spoon as it cooks to envelope the yolk within a cloud of cushiony whites.
I have found no better way to eat fried eggs than as huevos estrellados, “crashed” atop fried potatoes and often covered with a slice of dry-cured Spanish jamen Iberico. This is the type of pure Spanish comfort food that certain elegant, clubby restaurants serve as well. With a glass of red wine, the dish gets elevated from divine simplicity to pure sublimity in a perfect combination of flavors. 4. Pour the eggs into the pan. Cook, undisturbed, for 10 seconds, and then stir in six or eight large, generous sweeps around the pan with a wooden spoon, turning the eggs over, until the eggs are done but still quite moist, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
5. Divide between plates, Nutrition information: