Spanish Tortilla with Favas and Romesco
This Spanish egg-and-potato dish gets a fresh spring update here with buttery fava beans and a sweet-smoky red pepper dip. Serve for a romantic weekend brunch for two, or eat as a meatless dinner with a butter lettuce salad with grated Manchego cheese. Fresh fava beans require a two-step preparation: removing the beans from their pods and then peeling the beans from their rubbery skins. To save time, you can buy frozen shelled and skinned fava beans, which are often available at Asian and Middle Eastern markets. Use 1 1/4 cups (7 1/4 oz./230 g) frozen shelled favas for this recipe.
Ingredients
For the romesco:
- 1 cup (6 oz./185 g) jarred roasted red bell peppers, drained
- 2 Tbs. Marcona almonds or slivered toasted almonds
- 1 1/2 tsp. sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp. sweet smoked paprika
- 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
For the tortilla:
- 3 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/8-inch (3-mm) slices
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 1/2 lb. (1.25 kg) fava bean pods
- 8 eggs
- 2 green onions, white and light green portions, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
To make the romesco, in a blender or food processor, combine the roasted peppers, almonds, vinegar, garlic and paprika with the olive oil and blend until smooth. Set aside.
To make the tortilla, in a small saucepan, cover the potatoes with cold water by 2 inches (5 cm). Add 1 tsp. salt, bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until easily pierced with a fork, about 4 minutes. Drain and set aside. Refill the pan with water and bring to a boil. Shell the fava beans, add them to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Drain the beans and rinse them with cold water. Peel away and discard the tough, pastel-green skin from the beans.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs and green onions with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Stir in the fava beans. Spray a 10-inch (25-cm) nonstick fry pan with cooking spray and add the olive oil; warm over medium-high heat. Add the egg mixture and potatoes to the pan and flatten with a spatula to even out the top. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the top is nearly set, 10 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat. Carefully place a dinner plate on top of the pan. Wearing oven mitts, invert the pan so the cooked side of the tortilla is facing up. Slide the tortilla back into the pan, uncooked side down, and cook until set in the center and lightly browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate, cut into wedges and serve with the romesco. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams Sonoma Weeknight Vegetarian, by Kristine Kidd (Weldon Owen 2014)