My Spanish-style omelette/tortilla

Sometimes dinnertime creeps up on me, and I suddenly realise that I have *no clue* what I’m going to be making! In my book that makes it a clear-out-the-fridge-day, and this is the perfect recipe to do a sweep of your  fridge, and use up all those bits lurking in drawers and bags..

Today I spotted some left-over new potatoes and then had a look in the fridge –  found Chorizo, bacon and mushrooms, and this easy dinner took off from there. As is usual with my ‘clear out the fridge’ recipes, I’m leaving the strict choice of ingredients to you, but here’s what I made..

EQUIPMENT:

• A large frying pan
• a grill

INGREDIENTS:

• About 50g of Chorizo sausage, chopped
• 4-6 slices of streaky bacon, chopped
• a red onion, finely chopped
• a few ( I had 4) mushrooms, finely chopped
• sprigs of fresh thyme
• some cold, leftover potatoes, cut into cubes
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons of cream
• a good handful of grated Cheddar cheese

METHOD: This feeds about 4 adults..

• Heat the pan until it’s very hot, then add the chorizo and bacon.

• Cook it, stirring to break up the pieces of bacon, until the fat runs and the bacon and Chorizo starts to crisp up
• Reduce the heat a little then add the onion and mushroom, and cook until they soften.
• Add the potato, and stir in gently. Allow to heat through.

• Beat the eggs and cream together,  add half the cheese and mix in.

• Tidy up the contents of the frying pan – scrap any bits down from the sides of the pan.
• Pour the egg mixture evenly over the contents of the pan

• Then just leave it for about 10 minutes at a medium heat, until the bottom of the egg has cooked when you have a look. The top of the egg should not be cooked at this stage.
• Heat your grill to high.

• Sprinkle over the last of the cheese, and place the pan under the grill ( my pan was about 4inches away from the heat)
• It will take between 7-10 minutes for the omelette to puff up and brown on top ( I used this time to throw a green salad together)

• Remove from the heat, use a flat-bladed knife to cut the Omelette into portions (try not to scrape the bottom of your non-stick pan)
• Serve immediately (it won’t stay puffed up, by the way) with a green salad.

• Pat yourself on the back for being economical and not contributing to the world’s waste food mountain!

NOTES:

• Try not to over-cook it, as eggs become rather tough if cooked for too long; less is definitely more. It will continue to cook even after you’ve removed it from the heat.
• I think it’s important to let the chorizo and bacon get really crispy, as it adds to the finished dish
• As I said, pick your own veggies – peppers, sweetcorn, you name it..
• Of course you can leave the meats out for a vegetarian version – to improve the flavours, I’d let the onions caramelise, and add some fresh herbs towards the end if you can.
• If you have any left over, it’s a great standby for picnics, or lunches.