The Comforts of Home

Some of you may recall the dish pictured above from the early days of this blog (see the original here). It appeared on the site before I owned a fancy camera, lived in Hells Kitchen, or even had anyone reading this blog but me and that guy in Kuala Lumpur (how he found it remains a mystery). It was one of the dishes that I most wanted to share with the world because to me it's the ultimate comfort food. I figure now that I have more people reading I should resurrect the recipe so everyone can enjoy it. My grandmother used to make it for us after long road trips and eventually taught me how to make it. My mother tells me that I make it just like my grandmother and that's why she asks that I make a batch every time she visits. I'd like to think I've mastered it, but try as I might to think so, I can't help feeling that it would taste better if it came off the stove of an eighty year-old woman in a bathrobe, flashing a loving smile and happily watching me enjoy each bite.

It's during these lean times that a dish like this can be extra handy. As I mentioned in the original post, it began as peasant food. Nothing more is needed than a sack of potatoes (6 or 7 potatoes could easily feed 4 adults), a few eggs and some frying oil. It's affordable, filling, warm, and exceptionally easy to make considering the returns you get on flavor. It's even easy clean-up, since all you need to do is slice the potatoes and fry them up in a non-stick skillet. It's essentially a scramble with potatoes, only here the egg plays second fiddle to the delicious potatoes. The secret is to use Yukon Gold potatoes, which already have an inherent sweetness to them. A little bit of sugar added to the seasoning enhances that natural sweetness, and plays nicely with the salt and pepper also used, for some of that "salty-sweet" flavor that's so popular right now.

I like to eat this dish as a main course by itself, just a heaping plateful of golden goodness, but there are plenty of alternatives. Of course it can be a side dish or starter, but it can also be an ultra-carbo load sandwich. My mother likes to pile the mixture onto a crunchy, warm baguette for a crispy outside and soft, delicate inside, while my dad liked to top it with tomato sauce. When I get carried away and make too much, I like to take the leftovers and wrap them in a tortilla with a little hot sauce. If there's cheese lying around I'll stuff some of that in there for a breakfast burrito of sorts, and if I'm feeling less frugal I'll stick some sliced avocado in there, too. So as you can see, it's actually a super versatile dish. So, just in case you need a reminder of how the recipe goes, or if it's your first time seeing it, here it is again. I hope you take it and make it your own, and that it gives you as much comfort as it always has me.

Patatas Revueltas con Huevo (Potato and Egg Scramble) 

(Makes 1 very large or 2 single servings)

3 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced no thicker than 1/8” 

vegetable oil 

2 eggs 

Salt 

2 Tbsp sugar 

1. Heat oil on medium-high heat in a large pan. 

2. Salt (to taste) and sugar potatoes then carefully add to the oil. The oil should almost cover the potatoes but not quite (they will shrink as they cook). When the potatoes are about halfway cooked through and the bottom layer is crunchy and browned, flip them over and cook until done. 

3. Remove potatoes from the oil and onto a plate, then drain oil from pan (you can save it for future use) and return it to the heat (on low). Add potatoes back to the pan and crack both eggs over them. Break the yolks with a spatula and toss everything to combine, repeating every 5 seconds or so until eggs are just cooked through and soft. Enjoy!

-Laura

One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, More.

It's entirely possible that I've hailed something as my favorite comfort food before, but it would have been a lie. It's actually what you see before you, a really rustic and simple dish that in Spain goes by many different names. In my family we call this dish patatas revueltas con huevo, as my grandmother did. But, if you visit old Madrid, home to some of the oldest restaurants in Europe, you'll see them called patatas estrelladas. They all essentially mean the same thing, they're basically just home fries with a scrambled egg or two. Restaurants usually serve them more like stubby little fries with scrambled eggs on top, but we make them a bit differently.

My fondness for the dish started as many favorites do, with my grandmother. It's really just a poor man's version of tortilla española, a dish somewhere between a quiche and a fritatta, and consisting only of potatoes, eggs, and onions. This version really is a poor man's treat, originating with peasants who had no more than a sack of potatoes and the eggs from their own coop with which to feed their families.

For us it started with a roadtrip from D.C. to Florida. My parents and I drove there in a day (barely, about 22 hours) to visit my grandparents who were spending the summer in our apartment in Miami. Tired of road food and potato chips, we finally stopped at a gas station and called my grandparents from a payphone begging for a warm meal. It was the middle of the night and we were only 30 minutes away, so my elderly grandmother did what she could with a half a dozen potatoes and three eggs. She worried that it wouldn't be a satisfactory enough meal after such a long journey, but before any of us knew it, all of the food was gone and we were begging for more. I don't know if it's the memory of how it felt to eat it for the first time that night, or that I know she always made the dish with love, but every time I make that dish at home I'm instantly comforted.

And I was definitely in need of some comfort when I came home Wednesday night to a note telling me that my elevator would be out of service until at least the 15th of November. So, just like some people go to their "happy place" when frustrated, I grabbed my sack of Yukon golds and got to chopping. It's possible that this is an entire plate of carbs talking, but I guarantee it'll be the most comforting meal you've had in years. Here's how to make it for yourself:

Patatas Revueltas con Huevo (Potato and Egg Scramble)

3 large Yukon gold potatoes
2 cups vegetable oil (approx)
2 eggs
Salt
2 Tbsp sugar (sounds weird, but go with me on this)

1. Thinly slice potatoes, no thicker than 1/8 of an inch to ensure even cooking. When you're halfway through slicing, start heating the oil on medium high in a large pan.

2. Salt and sugar potatoes and carefully add to the oil. The oil should almost cover the potatoes but not quite (they will shrink as they cook). When the potatoes are about halfway cooked through and the bottom layer is crunchy and browned, flip them over and cook until done.

3. Remove potatoes from the oil, and remove oil from pan (I actually save it in a metal oil canister and use it the next time I make any kind of fried potato) and lower the heat to medium low. Add potatoes back to the pan and crack both eggs over them. Scramble the eggs with the potatoes, then let them sit and flip everything over every 5 seconds or so until eggs are cooked through (I like them as soft and fluffy as possible, it always takes less than a minute. The idea is to let the warmth of the potatoes cook the egg as much as possible, not the heat of the pan.

**TIP: You can use this same method minus the eggs to make a killer batch of home fries. In addition to the salt and the sugar, season the potatoes with a tsp of paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, and 1/2 tsp pepper (I prefer white pepper). Fry them up the same way, only on slightly lower heat and you're all set. If you like yours spicy, use hot paprika, or for fire eaters, add 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper. You can save the oil from this dish as well, so long as it didn't burn. Try frying up some eggs in it and serving them over white rice. Yum!

-Laura