Cheese Leek Potato Tortilla Food

CHEESE, LEEK & POTATO TORTILLA

Steps:

• Melt a knob of butter in a medium, nonstick frying pan, then cook the leek for about 5 mins until softened. Meanwhile, cut the potatoes in half, then into slices about ½cm thick. Beat the eggs, season, then stir in the cheese and sage.
• Add a little extra butter to the pan if needed, tip in the potatoes, then the egg mixture. Turn the heat to low, then cook for 10 mins until nearly set. Place under a hot grill, then cook for a couple of mins more until the top is set and golden. Slice into wedges and serve with a green salad.

SPANISH TORTILLA

Steps:

• Peel and shred the potatoes (I used a food processor to shred) and place into a big bowl of cold water. Let sit for 2 minutes, then rinse well and drain. Squeeze dry with hands.
• In a large nonstick skillet, heat ¼ cup of olive oil over medium heat. Add the leeks and season with ¼ tsp salt and ⅛ tsp black pepper. Cook for 10 minutes until the leeks have softened. Remove the leeks to a bowl, and set aside.
• Add another ¼ cup olive oil and the grated potatoes to the pan, season with ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper, and cook for 10 minutes until they are tender. You can toss them during cooking every few minutes in order to cook evenly, but do not mash the potatoes down (it will make them gummy). After 10 minutes, they will be tender but shouldn't really be browned. Add to the leek bowl and toss to combine.
• Whisk the eggs with ¼ tsp each salt and pepper until the yolks and whites are blended. Add the eggs to the leeks and potatoes, and also add the cheese if you're using it (see notes below). Stir everything to combine.
• Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet** over medium heat, then add 1 tbsp olive oil and swirl it around. Pour in the leek potato mixture, and let it cook for 5 minutes until the sides have set and you can see a browned bottom when you peek underneath with a spatula. Using oven mitts, place a plate on top of the skillet and flip everything over. Then slide the tortilla off the plate and back into the skillet.
• Cook for another 3-5 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. If you want to check the inside with a thermometer, egg sets at about 150F. Remove from the pan. Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

POTATO AND LEEK GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 375 F. Clean and chop the leeks: Cut off the root ends and dark green leaves, slice the white and light green part in half lengthwise, chop, put in a colander, and rinse clean with cool water. Rinse thoroughly, since grit and dirt tend to hide between the layers of leeks and a gritty gratin is no fun.
• In a medium frying pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted and a bit softened (about 3 minutes). Set the leeks aside.
• Rub a 2-quart baking dish or gratin pan with the remaining butter. Set the prepared pan aside.
• Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1/4-inch slices (even is more important than thin-if you have a kitchen mandoline , this is a good time to use it, but a sharp knife and a steady hand can also do the job). Cover the bottom of the dish with 1/4 of the potato slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread 1/2 of the cooked leeks on the potatoes. Layer another 1/4 of the potatoes. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat the potato, leek, potato, cheese layers, sprinkling with salt and pepper at each potato layer that doesn't get topped with cheese.
• Cover the dish and bake 20 minutes. Uncover the dish and continue baking until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork and the whole thing is a lovely bubbling brown on top, about 25 more minutes (depending on how fresh the potatoes are, cooking time may take as long as 90 minutes-cover the dish if the potatoes and cheese become too brown). Serve hot. Make ahead note: Since peeled and sliced potatoes turn brown easily and frozen potatoes take on a mealy texture, this dish isn't super easy to make ahead of time. One trick is to par-bake it: bake the dish, covered, for 30 minutes, remove from the oven, let cool, and chill up to two days, then put back into a hot oven and bake covered for 15 minutes then uncovered until nicely browned. Another option is to prep all the ingredients, and then assemble and bake it when you're ready. Chop and clean the leeks, keep covered and chilled up to three days. Peel and slice the potatoes and keep them, in a large bowl covered with water, covered and chilled up to overnight. Drain and pat dry before using. This approach doesn't save tons of time but shifts the type of work that needs to be done when it's time to get dinner on the table.