Tapas is one thing that Mr Chocolate has a real soft spot for. Anything that involves small dishes being brought to the table with lashings of olive oil over it, there is a good chance he’s straight in there with a fork at the ready.
Our first proper date was at a tapas restaurant. Dark walls, candle lit tables, and jugs of sangria dotted the various tables. Being fluent in Spanish, he encouraged me to try out some words he had just taught me on the wait staff. As my language skills at that stage were limited to “dos cervezas por favor”, any spanish chit chat on my part was questionable.
However the night was young, the sangria was good and my spanish got better. It wasn’t long before our table was littered with empty small dishes, and a smattering of olive oil drops. With satisfied bellies, the jug now empty, our conversation remained lively.
Sparks were flying and… (well, perhaps that’s a story for another day.)
Until then, how about an easy Tortilla de Patatas.
Tortilla de Patatas
(a very simplified version)
In a frying pan add
a good couple of slugs of olive oil
some cubed cooked potatoes (4-ish)
beaten eggs (4-ish again)
cook on a medium heat until it starts to cook on the edges. Then pop a lid on, lower the heat to cook for a further few minutes until cooked through. Season to taste.
*******
eat with gusto, a glass of sangria and your very best Spanish pick up line
“Donde estas la zapateria?” (which is probably not your best pick up line.)
cityhippyfarmgirl 
Lookin’ good – a delicious frugal treat š
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cheap and easy!
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I can live without tapas, especially some of the tapas we had in Spain, but this looks delicious.
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a nice one to go with some crusty bread and a salad Debra.
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Looks delicious and simple to make – thanks for sharing! Have a Great Day:)
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Thank you, I hope you do too Renee.
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Oh that DOES sound easy and delicious, Brydie! I must try it with our new season potatoes, thanks!!
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Celia that’s the clincher with this dish. Good quality ingredients and your back yard potatoes will be just the ticket.
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Yummo, this is one of my favourite meals, I can’t help but add a touch of chorizo though! It was obviously a very successful date…
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Mr Chocolate happily sits on chorizo side as well Alison.
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Rico !!!
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Gracias Daniella š
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yummo
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Easy peasy Jen
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the tortillo de patatas looks great-
(waiting patiently for the rest of the love story!)
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Maybe one day Heidi, maybe one day….
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Ok but in a real tortilla you have to:
1. Fry potatoes (Cut them very very slim)
2. Beaten eggs
3. Take the fry potatoes out of the oil. Mix with the eggs.
4 Put this mix in the pan (throw out the oil)
5. When the tortilla is done on one side turn it like a pancake to cook it on the other side.
You can add to the mix onions, sausage (“chorizos”)
Sorry from my english !!! IĀ“m from Argentina and my granny was fron Spain …. a real “gallega”.
But your version is easier and looks yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Ale I would love to respond back to you in Spanish, but unfortunately I didn’t progress much further than “dos cervasas por favor”!
Thank you for your version of the tortilla. I know it’s traditionally a lot more complicated. A Uruguayan friend once gave me his recipe, a page long and an hour later- tortilla de potatas!
Tener un bien fin de semana š
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Now itĀ“s hot here in Argentina and to ask for “dos cervezas por favor” is the sentence of the moment !!!! So donĀ“t worry youĀ“ll manage great if you come to visit.
Have a nice weekend and congratulations… your pictures are “lo mĆ”s” or in English awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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My husband’s first language is Spanish. He didn’t learn English until he was eight. Sadly, I haven’t learned any Spanish so we’re limited to conversing in English. Love the sound of your first date xx
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Oh never too late to learn CL! Surprise him at dinner tonight with a line or two š
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Excellent dish and an excellent story.. I guess those sparks, well, they say the rest is history because here you all are:) xx
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Our beginning history always makes for a funny story for Monkey Boy. He loves hearing how we met.
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Simple and beautiful! We often have omelettes for dinner and this would be a great alternative to one š
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a little more grunt to it then your average omelette
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Very sweet story indeed, and Spanish is one of those sexy sounding languages too!
My daughter is the egg princess here, I’ll get her to make this for dinner for the whole family. Yummo!
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Egg princesses are most welcome. I suspect Monkey Boy might turn into an Egg Prince in the future… quite looking forward to that!
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I got pretty good at por favor recently, but never have warmed to tapas (such an unfashionable thing to say!). The truth is, I kind of want a whole dish to myself š I did like hearing about your Spanish dates though, and you have certainly made some impressive looking tortillas here.
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Ah, see for me, tapas does get bonus points as I get to taste lots of things. That’s why I like yum cha. It’s a lot easier than saying to your dinner companion… I really like the looks of your dish, how about I taste it? š
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What a lovely memory and recipe to go with it š
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Thanks Tandy, have a good weekend.
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Great story! And I believe our Husbands have something in common. A Catalan deli just opened around the corner from us, and every time we walk past (or in), Husband (who happens to have a Spanish father) comments on the tortillas displayed on the counter. Also, a few years ago he bought a skillet only for making tortillas. He’s spent years perfecting his version. Tortilla is one of the things that can instantly jolt him out of his constant cognitive doctor brain. I must introduce him to your version! Have a great weekend, darlin’!
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Turid, a tortilla purist would scoff at my hasty version! I’m impressed though, a skillet solely for tortilla use is someone that takes the craft very seriously š
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hahahahaha….nice date!
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Brydie I love the way you set the stage here…it was just the smile my face had been looking for….and I love your tortilla de patatas! xx
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Thank you Spree. I’m always happy to help with a smile or two š
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I have learnt to appreciate sangria but I sort of regret not tasting tortilla de patatas in my time in Spain – afterwards when I talked to other vegetarians about the food they said they lived on this. And I am impressed with Mr Chocolate’s fluency in Spanish – would love to speak another language. Love hearing about your first date – sounds like fun
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Brian is expert at making these, it’s one of his go to dishes! Love the story of how you met xx
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