Spanish omelet with sesame Romesco sauce
This week’s iron chef challenge was to create a dish with potatoes and sesame. I am running a bit behind with my alphabet challenge, so my iron chef dish had to begin with the letter “o.” A Spanish omelet (tortilla espanola) with a sesame sauce would satisfy both challenges. I combined a traditional Spanish omelet recipe with a modification of the omelet recipe from Vegan Brunch and the result was delicious.
Spanish Omelet
Ingredients
- 4 cups potatoes, peeled & chopped approximately 1/8″ thick
- 1 whole yellow onion, chopped into 1/4″ pieces
- olive oil for pan frying
- Salt to taste
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 pound silken tofu
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon tumeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour
- 1 tablespoon egg replacer
Preparation:
Put potatoes and onions into a bowl and mix them together. Salt the mixture.
In a large, heavy, non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Carefully place the potato and onion mixture into the frying pan, spreading them evenly over the surface. Add water to almost cover the potatoes. Stir occasionally and make sure potatoes do not burn.
Meanwhile, combine garlic, tofu, nutritional yeast, olive oil, turmeric and salt in a food processor until smooth. Whisk together egg replacer with 1 tablespoon of water to make a paste and add to food processor with chickpea flour. Scrape down the sides and make sure everything is fully incorporated. Transfer “egg” mixture to large mixing bowl.
When potatoes are cooked, drain and add to the “egg” mixture. Mix together with a large spoon.
Pour 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil into a small, non-stick frying pan or cast iron skillet and heat on medium heat. When hot, stir the potato onion mixture once more and pour half of the mixture into the pan and spread out evenly. Allow the “egg” mixture to cook around the edges. Then you can carefully lift up one side of the omelet to check if the “egg” has slightly browned.
When the mixture has browned on the bottom, you are ready to turn it over to cook the other side. Take the frying pan to a sink. Place a large dinner plate upside down over the frying pan. With one hand on the frying pan handle and the other on top of the plate to hold it steady, quickly turn the frying pan over and the omelet will “fall” onto the plate. Place the frying pan back on the range and put just enough oil to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Let the pan warm for 30 seconds or so. Now slide the omelet into the frying pan. Use the spatula to shape the sides of the omelet. Let the omelet cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the tortilla sit in the pan for 2 minutes.
Romesco Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/3 cup bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup sesame seeds
- 9 garlic cloves, chopped
- Salt to taste
- 21-ounce of canned crushed tomatoes, or canned whole tomatoes (including the juice)
- 1 12-ounce jar of roasted red bell peppers, drained
- 1 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika
- 4 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Directions
Heat olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, sauté the bread crumbs and sesame seeds, stirring often, until they just begin to brown. Add the garlic and sauté another 1-2 minutes, continue stirring so seeds don’t burn.
Place sesame seed mixture into a blender (not a food processor) with the remaining ingredients—salt, tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, smoked paprika, vinegar. Purée until smooth.
This makes a ton, so you’ll have lots of leftovers for pasta.
