Farmers Markets & Spanish Tortilla

Took a trip over the the first Farmers Market of the year in Uttoxeter, Staffs. on Saturday. My first time there and were were pleasantly surprised with what we found. Nothing tremendously exotic, but lots of Great British hearty fayre. We picked up a deliciously sticky Ginger Cake, could not resist the moist Lemon Drizzle Cake, or a couple of sugary Bath Buns or the Olive and Sun Dried Tomato tear and share loaf. We deliberate over the various Scotch Eggs, plumped for the Caramelised Onion and strangely the Black pudding version - which turned out quite tasty.

The veg market in Burton is better, but I did pick up a few bits, then there was a rack of lamb from a local herd for £4. I have never cooked this before and will be scouring the internet to a suitable recipe.

A very fun morning out in the beautiful bright but cold winter sun. Sadly though I fear the credit crunch is having an effect on something that should be better value than supermarkets, people were staying away in droves. Granted, I had never been to Uttoxetter Market before, but the whole town seemed rather quiet. On the way back to the car we popped into a local Butcher who was offering home made Faggots! Cannot wait to get those in the oven.

To go with all our nibbles, I decided to whip up a Spanish Tortilla, great served hot or cold, remarkably simple to make but so tasty, a staple in Spanish Tapas Bars.

Spanish Tortilla

10 oz Potatoes - Waxy are best

1 Medium Onion

5 Large Eggs

Pimenton

Salt & Pepper

Peel and slice the potatoes thinly then dry them off in a tea towel. Halve the onion and slice thinly too, making sure all the layers are separate.

Put into a frying pan with hot oil and make sure the potatoes and onion are well covered in oil, season and add 1-2 tsp Pimenton - to taste, then turn the heat right down and cover. Leave for 20mins to sweat, turning occasionally.

Beat the eggs lightly in a large bowl, add the potatoes and onions to the eggs, mix gently making sure they are coated in egg.

I then transferred the mixture into a smaller frying pan, maybe 7" Dia with some heated oil. Turn the heat right down again - I used a heat diffuser and leave to cook uncovered for a further 20-30 mins, occasionally using a palette knife to draw the edges away from the sides to create the typical rounded edge of the Tortilla.

Once there is no more liquid on the surface, use a plate to turn the Tortilla over and put back into the pan to brown the top of the dish, this takes only a few minutes. Turn out and eat hot or if you can leave to cool.

You will see from the picture we could not wait for the dish to cool and I was lucky to get any photos at all!