Tortilla Espanola

Hola! Many of you know that Ryan's mama is from Spain. Actually, Ryan's great grandfather was the prime minister of Spain. There is a statue of him still in Madrid. Fun fact, we honeymooned in Madrid nearly 8 years ago! So much fun!

Ryan Micheal Lellis, in Madrid, In front of his great grandfather's statue. 

With Ryan's mom being from Spain, he grew up eating Spanish food. I, however, did not. She first made tortilla espanola for me about 11 years ago. Back story, when Ryan and I met I was insanely picky--It took him about 7 years to get me to eat shrimp. So, when his mama cooked this for me, I asked for ketchup to go with this tortilla. Silly Jilly. I offended her. My pallet was not refined at that point in my life. I didn't know this was a faux pas. Luckily, she still loves me. She loves me so much that she has shared her Spanish recipes with me! She taught me how to cook this meal and I will be forever grateful for that. Since my first tortilla experience, Ryan has introduced to me to so many different flavors that I had not experienced before. 

For those of you that don't know, a spanish tortilla is a bit like a quiche. It's made with potatoes and eggs and flipped in the pan. If done right, it is a beautiful creation. I decided to make one. Well, I actually ended up making two because at times, I tend to over-cook. I suppose it's the Italian mother in me. I always want PLENTY of food for everyone and at times, it tends to be too much! So, never one to complain, I made the most out of over-preparing. I made two different tortillas: a traditional one and one where I added garlic and chorizo. To be honest, the latter was more of a hit than the former! 

Bear in mind this recipe creates TWO tortillas, so plan accordingly, and by that I mean prepare to use TWO different pans! 

Ingredients: 

• 4 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper (I use red because I prefer red, but you can use whatever color you like!)
• 12 eggs
• 2 tbsp evoo
• salt & pepper to taste
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 chorizo links, chopped into cubes

1) Preheat pan to med-high heat. Add 1 tbsp evoo. I split the ingredients into two batches. Saute first batch onions, peppers and potatoes in pre-heated pan. Once tender, remove from heat. Repeat for batch 2, but add garlic and chorizo while sauteing. 

2) This is important: You must let the the sauteed veggies COOL completely. Put each batch in its own bowl and use a paper towel to sop up any extra oil. 

3) Once cool, crack the eggs and lightly mix them. Evenly pour the mixture over each bowl of goodies. Stir lightly, with out breaking the potatoes. 

4)Pre heat two pans over medium heat. Add a bit of evoo. Pour each mixture into its own preheated, slightly oiled pan. Let it cook while scraping the sides in a gentle, scooping manner, in order to prevent sticking and ensure cooking. 

5) Once the mixture appears solid enough to flip (this part is tricky and took me a few years to conquer. If you giggle the pan and the entire mixture moves, it's not ready to flip. It should be solid enough to withstand the rough flipping movement without breaking. If you break it, don't worry, it will still taste good, it just won't be as pretty. Practice makes perfect!). Once you decide your tortillas are ready to flip, prepare your plates. The pans that I use are a bit heavy, so ENTER RYAN LELLIS... 

6) Ok, this is how you flip the tortillas: First use a spatula to gently scrape the sides to ensure proper sliding. Next, put plate on top of the pan.Grab a pot holder so you don't burn yourself, put one hand on the handle (or if the pan is heavy, slide the pot holder under the bottom and place one hand on the bottom of the pan with pot holder and the other hand), one on the plate and flip. (See below).

7) Now the tortilla is cooked side UP on the plate. Simply slide the tortilla back onto the pan uncooked side down. Let finish cooking. As Alton Brown says, if it's cooked in the pan, its over cooked on the plate. So cook until ALMOST finished (a couple more minutes). 

8) Remove from heat. Serve with tomatoes and fresh basil. Enjoy.

-Side note, tortilla should be refrigerated when done eating. Tortillas are usually BETTER the second day. So feel free to pre-make these! Enjoy! 

From the Lellis Family to yours!

Love and light. 

Jillian 

Ryan Micheal Lellis Ryan Lellis

Easy idea for Jay

Jay asked me for some easy peasy, lemon squeezy recopies. Here is my fave easy, quick dinner.


Simple Fresh Pasta

• 1 lb pasta
• 1 box cherry tomatoes, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 c. shaved Parmesan cheese (I prefer shaved, you can use whatever parm you like!)  
• 1/4 c fresh basil
• 1/8 c fresh oregano 
• 3 tbsps evoo
• butter
• crusty bread

1. start cooking pasta to al dente (depending on the type of pasta, it can be any where form 7-11 mins, when in doubt, check the box!) and preheated oven to 350 for bread.

2. While the pasta is cooking prepare veggies. 

3. Toast bread in pre-heated oven. Cook for 7 minutes. 

3. When pasta is done, drain and put into a bowl. Add Evoo to coat pasta. Add the herbs, tomatoes, garlic and parm. 

4. Enjoy. 

Love and light!
Jillian

Ryan Micheal Lellis

Kale Basil Pesto Pasta

Hello Friends, 

This is my first blog post in years. Why am I starting to blog? Well, I love to cook and I have been posting many of my creations on Instagram and have been asked by several people for my recipes. Well, I usually just cook and create by what I think will be a good flavor combo. I figured it would probably be a good idea to start writing these down for my friends since they are so curious about my food!

Also, for my baby brother who just started college--Shout out to you Jay! He asked me to start keeping track of my recipes so he could eat well in Lubbock! WRECK EM!

Here is an easy place for you to go to find some home-cooked recipes, mostly created by my mind, some will be family recipes that I have tweaked and modified. 

OK so here goes my first attempt at writing a recipe. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb pasta (I like anything with texture)
• 1 large bunch of curly kale (can use dinosaur kale) (chopped and de-ribbed)
• 2 tbsp butter (I prefer Irish Butter)
• 1 cup half-and-half 
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 4 shallots (Chopped) 
• 1/2 c fresh basil (chopped)
• 2 sprigs fresh oregano (chopped)
• 1/4 c pine nuts 
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)
• Evoo
• dash nutmeg
• ½ c Shaved parmesan + more to add to the bowls

Boil a large pot of water for pasta. While that's starting to boil turn a large pan on medium heat. Once hot, add pine nuts and toast till golden brown.. Remove from heat. Add butter to pan and let melt. Sautee garlic and shallots. Once soft, add kale, herbs, salt, nutmeg and pepper. Add water and cover. Cook until kale is soft. At this point, the water should be boiling. Salt water and add a dash of EVOO, drop pasta. Cook until al dente (Usually 7-11 minutes depending on variety of pasta). Let cook. Once done, drain and set aside. Add half and half to the kale mixture and let cook down for a few minutes (I usually do this while the pasta is cooking so it can be done simultaneously.) Add toasted pine nuts back to the pot.

 Once it’s done, use an immersion blender to create a creamy sauce. After it’s creamy, add the Parmesan cheese. Once it’s incorporated in, add pasta and stir to cover.  

Of course let your kiddo help!

Serve hot with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and I like serving with crusty bread. Enjoy! Love and Light, 
Jill
Ryan Micheal Lellis