New Year's Torta de Patatas

As I'm sure you can tell, I'm still catching up on my holiday posting! I simply couldn't resist, albeit belatedly, writing about the gorgeous second round of tapas Scott and Elise created for us on New Years Eve. Firstly, I should add that the four of us, plus Zach's cousin Ed, decided to "stay in" for New Years, and thus spent the evening at Scott and Elise's house with champagne and board games! This was totally my kind of New Years. :-)

We began the evening with the most amazing combination, created by Elise - cream cheese, topped with Pickapeppa Sauce!

I'd never tasted Pickapeppa Sauce before, and oh my goodness, was it perfect in every way - sweet with mangoes, tangy with vinegar, and hot with chili peppers! I was in raptures... Elise added such lovely swirls to the cream cheese, too...

The dish looked a little well, brown, once the sauce was added, but, served with some rustic whole wheat crackers, it ranks as one of the most incredible flavor combinations I've ever sampled. Seriously.

After we all shared a small glass of Framboise raspberry beer (which reminded me of port, it's so lusciously strong and rich!),

(Zach trying to look very fierce, as he thought the Framboise was a little too sweet and "girly" for his taste preferences... :-)

Scott treated us to a gorgeous torta de patatas. While I usually miss cooking when we're on vacation, I'm also always especially excited to imbibe culinary wisdom from Scott. This particular evening, I happily served onion duty while watching Scott work his magic with fingerling potatoes.

Speaking from personal experience, I can confidently assure you this dish goes quite well with champagne... :-)

Torta de Patatas

2 pounds red fingerling potatoes
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
8 eggs, beaten
8 oz low-fat Swiss cheese, grated or sliced
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
1 tsp smoked paprika

~ Cook the potatoes via your favorite method (we just popped them in the microwave, as I usually do). When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut each fingerling potato into quarters.
~ In a very large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil until the onions are limp and translucent.
~ Add the potatoes, and continue to saute until the potatoes begin to brown around the edges.
~ Reduce the heat to medium, pour in the beaten eggs, and let the dish sit until the eggs have set on the bottom.
~ To flip the torta, remove the skillet from the heat, place a large plate or the skillet lid on top of the skillet, and turn the skillet quickly upside down. Return the skillet to the heat, slide the torta back into the skillet, and continue to cook until the eggs are just set all the way through.
~ Remove the skillet from the heat, and immediately place the cheese on top of the torta and allow it to melt.
~ Scatter the green onion and smoked paprika across the top of the torta.
~ Serve the torta warm, sliced into wedges!