Tortilla deux hommes

Pictures pending

Brunch the morning after a long afternoon processing chickens — which I’m tapping about and will post here, pics and all — was not without its chicken product — the egg, several of them. Killing chickens yesterday did not have an effect for our desire for them. Seemingly. Any conflict of conscience was not mentioned at all by any of the chicken processors. Did any of us think about it? Unlikely. Perhaps?

The night before at KC’s Ribshack in Manchester, though, we three very definitively and vocally opted out of the chicken option from the choose four meats for their QQ Pladdas (a bbq shack’s take on the China-American Pu pu platter? By like rhythm and syllables, I tap yes) — a meal for two or more, we were three, and could choose three sides, though the server bravely returned to inform us they were out of cole slaw as of 30 minutes sooner. My response to one friend, who hosted a pulled pork dinner last summer with slaw, and baked beans, ‘The only reason you’d order pulled pork is as a vehicle for cole slaw.’ It was a joke, he got that and like jokingly agreed. It’s probably the other way around, when the pulled pork is done very right — which at dinner last summer, it was. Even without the slaw, we did not opt for the chili side, which my other friend would have liked. He knew, by silence in response to what he told us he usually gets there, he said he knew not to suggest it again. Suppose maybe next time we could try the chili. But if the slaw is available, that will still probably be unlikely.

Morning after tortilla
Serves two hungry roosters and one hen with enough for seconds and/or ample leftovers

Nine fresh eggs, then two more to be sure, makes 11, cracked into a bowl, beaten with a fork and seasoned with cracked piper
Seven fresh New Jersey potatoes, cut in half and thinly sliced with a long sharp knife
One cup fresh spring New Jersey peas, washed, shelled and blanched for a few moments
One half a small container part-skim ricotta forked in small dollops into beaten eggs
Four slices is not enough bacon, zapped in a microwave (The Horror!)
A generous amount of salted butter melted around my cast iron traveled from Gotham (A #8 Griswold, ca. Mid-20th century)
One aesthetically perfect unshelled fresh spring peapod as garni

Layer in some potatoes into the bottom of the slightly warm, buttered cast iron, then pour in a layer of ricotta-dollopy beaten eggs. Next, layer in the bacon, left whole, into rows and top that with more beaten dollopy eggs. Another layer of thin-sliced potatoes and on top more eggs. Pop a bunch of spring peas, then pour the rest of the eggs. Almost lastly, drop plop plop the rest of the spring peas which sink into the abyss of the uncooked tortilla. Top the eggy system with one unshelled fresh spring peapod with its little stem and curliQ at the other end.

Place the cast iron into the oven that all the while prepping ingredients preheated to 450°. Let bake for about ten minutes allowing a skin to form around the sides and bottom of the tortilla. Turn the heat down to 350° and let bake another 20 to 30 minutes. Finish in a low broiler to fix and lightly brown the top. Note here, we might have let it bake too long and could have relied on the heat of the eggy system to finish cooking itself.

When you remove the spring tortilla from the oven, let sit a few minutes to set and take a knife around the side to make sure it releases from the pan (it did!). Cut wedge slices, depending on feeder — smaller wedge for lil’ hen, big and bigger wedges for big guys — and serve on lunch plates with dollops on the side of Dearest Fairway‘s new medium-hot salsa.

Bon appétit..

Post blog — Yes, no salt was added and strangely, no shallots were used, but surely, usually they would be, by me, for like recipes.