Potato & Chorizo Tortilla

Yesterday was one of those days where I couldn't make it to the shops due to mother nature. I ride a pushbike on most days when my wife takes the car to her work, and on this day, which started out warm but unusually muggy for the south of Australia, I got a warning on my twitter feed - Severe Thunderstorm Warning for SA, damaging wind, large hail, flash flooding. I went outside to take a look and saw some enormous clouds forming in the distance, one's that looked like snow capped mountains...but they were over the sea. It wasn't long before they turned a nasty shade of greyish black and were approaching very quickly. So, I decided it was not a good time to be on my bike!

Luckily i keep a good stash of staples and odds and ends in the fridge and cupboard to be able to wrangle something up for the family. After looking around, and finding a few vegetables, meats and dairy products that were left over from past meals, this is what I came up with.

• 3 medium Potatoes
• 6 Eggs
• 2/3 cup Thick/Double Cream
• 1/2 cup grated Cheddar Cheese
• 2 tbsp finely chopped Spring Onions (scallions)
• 1 clove of Garlic, crushed
• 2 cured Chorizo Sausages, thinly sliced
• 150 grams Chargrilled Capsicum, sliced

Start by boiling your potatoes whole in a saucepan for around 10 - 15 minutes, or until they are just tender and can be pierced with a skewer. Remove from the heat, drain and leave to cool. Cut them into thin slices. If they have thin skins you can leave them on, otherwise peal the potato.

While the potatoes are cooking (or cooling) chop your spring onion, crush the garlic and thinly slice the chorizo sausage and roasted capsicum, set aside.

Heat a decent size pan (about 24 cm, one that can go from stove top to oven. I use cast iron) on medium, add some olive oil and cook the chorizo for 3 or 4 minutes or until it is golden. Remove and drain on some paper towel. You'll notice all the oil turn a beautiful reddish colour, that's the paprika coming out of the chorizo...don't discard this oil.

Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a bowl or jug, add the cream, cheese, spring onions and garlic and give it a whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the sliced potato and capsicum to the pan and stir around for about 1 minute to soak up all the flavoured oil. Return the chorizo to the pan and stir to distribute the potato, capsicum and chorizo evenly in the pan. Cook for another minute.

Pour the egg mixture over the potato and chorizo in the pan, reduce the heat and cook for 10 - 15 minutes or until it's beginning to set in the middle.

Heat your grill and place the pan under for around 5 - 7 minutes to cook the top, making sure it's set in the middle and nice and golden brown.

Serve either hot or cold with a nice green salad, some crusty bread and a nice glass of wine or beer.

And that is how I cooked a colourful meal to brighten up an otherwise gloomy end to the day. I hope you enjoy.