Spanish Lentil Stew With Bay Leaf and Pimenton. Lentejas

Some cool spanish food recipes images:

Spanish Lentil Stew With Bay Leaf and Pimenton. Lentejas

Image by formalfallacy @ Dublin (Victor)
A nice vegetarian/vegan dish for those cold and short winter/autumn days.
It is very easy to make. You cook everything in one pot. Very quick and simple, no messing!.
It should take around 40 minutes, including preparation and cooking time.

Ingredients for 2
- Green lentils. Half small cup of coffe per person. Green Lentils are available in any Indian or eastern shop :). "Lenteja Pardina" in Spain pardina the best lentil one for this type of dish .
- 1 or 2 potatoes
- 1 dry bay leaf
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Green pepper
- 1 tea spoon of Smoked Spanish Papikra - sweet (Pimenton Dulce)
- Vegetable stock (stock cubes are fine)

Process
- Put some olive oil in pot/pan, heat it up
- Add some crushed garlic and stir (The oil will get the flavor f the garlic)
- Add some sweet Spanish paprika (Pimenton Dulce). Stir for few seconds. 1 tea spoon.
- Add the lentils, stir. Here you need to make sure that the paprika does not burn, or it will get a bitter like flavor. Just add the lentils, stir a couple of times and add the rest
- Quickly add the (whole) carrot, chopped potatoes, chopped peppers and cover it with stock (the water must be cold)
- Add the bay leaf
- Bring it to the boil and then reduce the heat. Let it simmer for 20-30 min (till the potatoes and lentils are soft). It could take a bit more, check every now and then

Some tips:
- The trick is to cut the potatoes small/big enough so the will cook when the lentils are cooked.
- "Quick" to cook lentils will not work as the potato takes also some time to cook
- The carrot is shown on the picture whole, but you could cut it for serving. You should also cook it whole so everything is cooked at the same time.
- Traditionally this dish has also some chorizo, ham or other types of cured meats.

Some Links:
Lenteja Pardina DOC (spanish)
lentejapardinatierradecampos.es/

Spanish Tortilla I

Image by im elsewhere
While I was in Spain, I always ate Spanish Tortillas. They were so good and available everywhere. I found a recipe and decided to make it for an appetizer at a BBQ.

2 lbs of mixed potatoes (purple, red and yellow) *
1 large white onion
1/3 cup sliced red bell peppers
olive oil
9 eggs
chopped parsley

Wash and thinly slice the potatoes and start layering them in a bowl.

In a skillet, start frying the potatoes in olive oil until they lighty break under the pressure of the spatula you are using.

Drain the pototoes in another bowl with paper towels to soak the excess oil. Set aside.

Take your eggs and beat them together in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add bell peppers. Set Aside.

Chop up your onions and saute them in what's left of the olive oil in the skillet. If there is loads of oil left, get rid of some of it as you really only need a tablespoon or two. Put in Egg mixture.

Stir your egg mixture and slowly place your fried potatoes in the mixture.

In a 9-inch skillet, over low-medium heat, start placing the potatoes/onions evenly and in layers. (I recommend you coat the pan evenly with a non-stick spray or use the skillet to fry the pototoes or onions-a little bit of oil will be left) The eggs will stick to the potatoes, so you know you will have egg inbetween the layers. Repeat until all the potatoes are in the skillet. Afterwards, you can pour the remaining egg mixture on top.

Then you wait until the sides are golden brown and you will notice that the egg is starting to cook.

Once you think most of the tortilla is cooked, you can try to flip it in the same pan (yeah right) or place it on the bottom rack of your broiler and keep an eye on it (so that it doesn't burn).

Once the tortilla is cooked, place a plate bigger than the skillet upside down and flip the skillet over. Tortilla should easily fall out. Let it cool.

Best served cold.

Spinkle fresh chopped parsley on top. Slice and serve.

This tortilla is cut in cubes for a party, but obviously you can slice it like a cake to serve with a salad for a dinner party or something.

* I just happen to use these potatoes, russets work just as well:)