Egg pizza and My New Sous Chef

Every cook needs a sous chef. Lucky for me, I have my very own personal kitchen aide for the next few weeks. Filippo, comes to AK's Kitchen from Bologna, Italia, via a program for international students.

Kitchen duties are my own addition to his cirriculum. I figure every teenager needs to know some basic cooking skills. As I mentioned to Filippo, girls really dig a guy who can julien and sauté. And who can resist a 6-foot 4-inch helper who can reach the dark corners of the pantry (that's where the fish paste disappeared) and who is strong enough to bring down the blender and other heavy appliances.

My 17-year-old sous chef has a natural appreciation for fine food. How could he not? He was born and bred in Italy's capital of gastronomy. His dad, Lorenzo, makes balsamic vinegar, as a hobby. His family farm has wild truffles. His nonna, Iris, makes homemade tortellini. Family dinners are a feast for the senses.

Filippo's first lesson in AK's Kitchen was to help me transform three leftover tilapia filets into a meal for six. Eggs are one of the easiest ways to stretch a meal. Filippo and I whipped up an "egg pizza" in 10 minutes. This is a variation of Marga's tortilla.

While my teen kitchen aide beat seven eggs, I chopped half an onion, one tomato and grated one carrot. I fried the vegetables and put them aside. Filippo poured the eggs into the frying pan.

When the eggs were nearly set, we added the vegetables. Filippo arranged pieces of the leftover poached tilapia onto the egg pizza. Grated mozzarella and chopped red pepper finished off the pizza.

Presto! Dinner for six served with baked sweet potato fries and a salad.

A Spanish Invasion

My kitchen has been invaded by a Spanish conquistadora. Actually, it's more of an invitation than an invasion. Margarita, or Marga, is my houseguest. She is in Ottawa with a group of Spanish teachers, here to improve their English and observe Canadian teaching methods. Lucky for me, Marga is una cocinera fantastica, a fabulous cook. And for the month of October, AK's Kitchen is Marga's cucina.

One night for supper, she made a traditional Spanish tortilla. Not to be confused with Mexican tortillas, or flat breads, the Iberian tortilla is a potato omelette. It reminds me of frittata. I'll let Marga explain.

Marga started with the potatoes. She is a surgeon with a paring knife. She peeled and sliced half a dozen medium potatoes in minutes.

Then she fried them in olive oil until they were soft. She scooped them out of the oil and transferred them into large bowl with half a dozen beaten eggs, fried carrots and diced red pepper.

She fried the lumpy batter in the hot oil. When the egg batter was cooked, she placed a plate over the pan and flipped the omelette onto the plate.

Tradition Spanish torilla, top. Torilla with pepper and carrots, bottom.  

It didn't turn out exactly as she intended because my old pan isn't as non-stick as it should be.
Still, the tortilla was delicious.

Marga's Spanish Tortilla
3 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
6 eggs, well beaten
3 carrots, diced
1 sweet pepper, diced
Salt to taste
Iberian ham/prociuto (optional)


Beat the eggs in a large bowl and set aside.
Fry the vegetables in a medium non-stick skillet.
When soft, remove the vegetables from the oil and add to the bowl with the eggs.
Gently mix the batter until all the vegetables are covered with egg. 
Pour the mixture into the skillet with hot oil. You may need to add more oil to the pan.   
Fry until the eggs are firm.
Place a plate over and flip the skillet to transfer the tortilla onto the plate.

This recipe will feed four with some leftovers. Marga uses two eggs for per person for her tortilla.
Enjoy. And as they say en español, ¡Buen provecho.