Thicker than the Italian frittata and usually containing my other favorites – potatoes – this Spanish omelet has as striking a flavor as its looks. It’s easier to make too, as you don’t have to fight to flip it over, but simply bake it in the oven. It can stoically take on whatever you throw at it, and no fridge push-around need be wasted again. The classic one with potatoes is great, but I’ve done it with zucchini, parsnip, feta cheese, Parmesan, bacon, various types of dried and fresh herbs, and combinations of the above. It’s a successes every time, and the only person who refuses to eat it is my daughter – the new egg-phobe in the family.

I finally have a cast-iron paella pan, perfect for tortillas too, which I put to heavy use. The recipe is enough for four as a weekday supper, or for eight as part of a weekend brunch with friends. If there are leftovers, they are very good the next day and make a great lunchbox item. I often wrap them in whole-wheat tortillas with Tabasco’s Chipotle sauce and fresh cilantro (coriander). I love to answer the what’s-for-lunch question – tortilla in tortilla.

For a vegetarian version skip the sausage.

Spanish tortilla with potatoes, sausage, ricotta and fresh herbs

serves 4

• 6 – 8 large eggs – free range or organic
• ½ cup fresh ricotta (or thick sour cream)
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled, cubed or sliced into thin rounds
• ½ pound good quality sausage (I use Polish sausage with thyme and garlic and no preservatives added) – cubed the same size as the potatoes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped (optional)
• 1 cup mixed chopped dill, mint and parsley (or cilantro)
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• salt, freshly ground black pepper, Spanish smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 375°F (200°C) – with racks positioned in the middle. In a heavy-bottomed oven-proofed frying pan (cast iron is best), melt the butter and olive oil over medium high heat. Saute the potatoes until slightly brown and tender – about 10 minutes. In the meantime beat eggs in a bowl to break the egg yolks. Add the ricotta and beat well – though some cheese lumps are OK. Season with salt and black pepper to taste, add the herbs and green onions and mix.

When the potatoes are ready, take them out of the pan with slotted spoon and stir into the egg-cheese mixture. Add sausage to the pan and fry for 5 minutes, until sightly brown. Add onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Pour over the egg-cheese-and-potatoes mixture, stir well, and let cook on medium low for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with smoked paprika and transfer the pan to the oven to bake for 10-15 minutes or until the top of the tortilla is set and slightly brown.

Serve warm with the pan (makes a great impression) with rustic bread and simple green salad. My son loves it with a few drops of Tabasco Chipotle sauce. I have it with extra Bulgarian cheese, feta style.

Goes great with a light, bubbly Portuguese Vinho Verde or Italian Prosseco for a more elegant experience.

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The two that for me are must-haves are sun dried tomatoes and caramelized red onions. I have serious competition for the first one – my daughter, who devours them straight from the jar. She also helps me make them and keeps track of the supplies, pushing the alarm button when we are left with only half a jar.

I use $3,99 500-gram packages of Turkish dry tomatoes without oil from a Lebanese store on Kedzie and Lawrence, which I marinate and keep in the pantry. It’s enough for three 12oz jars packed tight to the top. It’s much cheaper than buying them ready made and I can control the ingredients. I use them for pasta, salads, antipasti, grilled meats, dumpling stuffing – the possibilities are endless. Never throw the marinade away – it makes a great base for vinaigrettes or adding extra flavor to simple tomato soup or roasted potatoes.

The onions are my guilty pleasure – I can go though a jar in a single day, eating them with absolutely anything – including pancakes. I takes all my willpower to screw the top back on and put the jar aside. The recipe is very basic and anyone can make them.

Both condiments will make a delicious and sophisticated dish out of any boring sandwich, burger or cheese plate, if you care about impressing your guests or family. I simply like to indulge myself and anybody else brave enough to follow suit.

Marinated sun-dried tomatoes

• 1 pound (500 gr) dry tomatoes (not in oil)
• ¾ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 ½ cups olive oil – doesn’t have to be virgin or very expensive
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• freshly ground black pepper
• leaves from a few sprigs fresh thyme or rosemary
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3X12 oz jars, washed and dry

Fill a soup pot a third full with water and bring to boil. If the tomatoes are salty (like the Turkish ones I use) don’t add salt to the water, if not – add I tbsp salt. When boiling, add the tomatoes and bring back to boil for 2-3 minuets. This will soften the tomatoes. Meanwhile in a big mixing bowl combine the rest of the ingredients and whisk well. With a slotted spoon take out the tomatoes and place them into the bowl. Stir them around in the marinade to coat well. Leave for 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Spoon the tomatoes into the jars, dividing the remaining marinade among them. Add extra olive oil to cover the top and close tight. Keep in a cool place, and after opening in the fridge. Best after 2-3 days if you can restrain yourself.

Caramelized red onions

makes about 1 ½ cups or one 12 oz jar

• 2 big or 4 medium red onions, peeled, cut in half and sliced – not too thin
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp Sherry vinegar (or balsamic red wine vinegar)
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• ¼ tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan over low heat. Saute the onions for 15-20 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally. Add the vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until caramelized. Spoon still warm into the jar and close tight. Keep in a cool place, and in the fridge after opening.

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The greatness of pancakes is that they are the base for so many yummy condiments. I usually eat them savory with feta or goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, baby green salad, but the rest of my family is more orthodox and goes for good quality jam or maple syrup. Even if you are a pancake mix devotee, try this courtesy of my other half and you’ll see how easy it’s to make them by yourself. Our kids love to help during the process, something we are happy to oblige.

Here’s his recipe:

Buttermilk pancakes (serves four)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups unbleached flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 3 eggs

Sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the salt and sugar, then the eggs and buttermilk. Mix lightly until large lumps disappear, but don’t overmix if you’re not a fan of flat, rubbery cakes. The batter should be of a thick but flowing consistency – add a bit of water if it becomes too thick. Fry over a medium flame until golden on both sides. Serve with maple syrup, or whatever you have at hand – I’ve seen good use made of all kinds of jams and preserves, but also of goat cheese and pickled onions, not to mention a variety of cured meats.

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The diet craze of the last two decades has sent mayonnaise into hiding. It is slowly crawling back into the light, and is even being featured in big-time culinary magazines, so now we can use it without being branded as nutritional outlaws. The best mayo is homemade, but I’m still working on getting it to emulsify in my blender. The last attempt was a week ago and three free-range Amish farm egg yolks and two cups of oil went down the drain accompanied by Dijon mustard, organic apple cider vinegar and some other condiments. I haven’t given up just yet, but I’ve bought a jar from Trader Joe’s just in case I got a craving for the stuff before I master my technique. My consolation – there is a note on the jar that assures me it’s made with real eggs and without any artificial badness. It also says that I spent $4 on fat. Oh, well, it’s crazy cold outside.

This salad is very versatile – great for a quick lunch, school lunch-box sandwiches or a cocktail party, if anybody still does those.

Crab stick, orange, apple and mayo salad

serves 2 for a light lunch, makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1 pack 8 oz (227g) crab sticks (surimi), cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 orange
• 1 hard and sour green apple like a Granny Smith – cored and cut into bite-size pieces. You can leave the apple out, but I like the extra crunch in my salads.
• 2 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp dill, chopped
• salt, black pepper
• 3-4 tbsp mayonnaise if you dare; if not, use half mayo half thick plain yogurt

Over a medium bowl peel the orange with a small sharp knife, cutting off the white rind under the peel too. Carefully cut between the membranes, separating the flesh from them. What you get is juicy peel-free orange slices. This method is called filleting and sounds more complicated than it is. Dice the orange pieces, squeeze the remaining juice from the orange carcass before discarding it. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Check for seasoning and adjust. I usually like an extra sour punch and add some lemon juice. Few turns of the pepper mill and it’s ready – a very comforting old-fashioned salad, loved by my whole family. If you want to go for a fancy version – serve it spooned into endive leaves or crispy Romaine lettuce.

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I’m not a morning person. Before I have my first cup of coffee you better stay away. Mondays are the hardest – the weekend fast gone, school back again, and with it the rush, the kids’ cereal, the lunch boxes, the heavy backpacks and the inevitable “Why do we have to go to school?” – and freezing Chicago weather on top of that. I do hate Mondays.

Yet I love breakfast, but not before 10 am and not in a hurry. I was never one for a quick fix of a typical workday morning. I loathe cereal, any resemblance of porridge, granola, muesli, fruit yogurt or a boring slice of bread with ham or cheese. I would rather go hungry than eat that. For me, breakfast is something to be enjoyed and not forget right away. I’m way more of an English breakfast than a weak continental affair person, even though I wouldn’t be able to do this every day. I tried heavy morning fare during a six-day trip to Scotland last spring, but got overwhelmed. Besides, the sausages were horrible.

Brunches were invented for me, but since I can’t have them every day, I try to keep the feeling throughout the week by taking care with what I make myself after dumping the kids at school – and the husband, for that matter. And here a well stock pantry comes in handy. You can do miracles if you have few essentials, well essentials for me anyway, like cans of hummus and baba ghanoush – the smoky eggplant dip popular in the Middle East – jars of mixed pickles and marinated peperoncini – medium spicy peppers often used in Southern Italy and Greece – black olives and some cheese. I always buy the olives with pits and preferably cured in brine or olive oil. Never buy them pitted – huge mistake. They are dry, tasteless and usually too salty. My new favorites are tiny Lebanese black olives, very similar in shape and taste to the overpriced Provençal ones, but much cheaper. You can find all of the above in Middle Eastern grocery stores. As for cheese – nothing fancy – Bulgarian sheep feta, simple fresh goat cheese or strong, creamy cheddar. I’ll stop here, as I can go on and on about cheese – but more about that some other time. Finally the bread, which is quite a pain in this country. Even my local Polish deli has mediocre bread, which came as a surprise, as in Poland it is generally very decent. The Sicilian bakery next door specializes in sweets and has no crusty Italian ciabatta. I still wonder how something so basic as bread could be done so wrong here. Thank God again for the Middle Eastern bakeries and Trader Joe’s. The first cater great flat breads, usually baked at the premises, the second is the source of my family’s much-loved bagels and English muffins, as well extraordinary sourdough breads.

This Monday it was a dense chewy bagel for me, toasted and spread with baba ghanoush, topped with smoky cured ham, a slice of feta and peperoncini for extra bite. I made a small side salad with mixed baby greens, cherry tomatoes and scallions, sprinkled with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. A big latte and the BBC News web site rounded the perfect breakfast for me. I was ready to face yet another day of financial crises, big presidential plans and small domestic accidents.

For those who are not as lucky as me to have a great Middle Eastern grocery only two bus rides away, here is a recipe for baba ghanoush. This delicious smoky dip will get you hooked.

Ingredients:

• two medium plum eggplants; look for deep purple ones without brown spots
• 2 garlic cloves – peeled, smashed to paste with ½ tsp salt in a mortar (you can use less, but eggplants love garlic)
• 1 ½ tbsp tahini paste
• juice of half lemon
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt
• handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped (optional)

Preparation:

Back home I had an old thin metal pan that I used only for grilling peppers and eggplant. I would put it on the gas hob over high heat and grill the vegetables, turning them until the skin was charred all over. You can use a grill or very hot oven – 425°F/220°C. Pierce the skins of the eggplants to prevent them from bursting and place in the oven for at least 45 minutes. The skin should be black and crisp and the meat soft. Put them in a plastic bag or bowl with a tight cover for 15 minutes. This will help with the peeling – the skin will slide off easily. Mash the flesh in a bowl, add the garlic, lemon, tahini and oil – mix well and try for seasoning. Add more salt, lemon juice or olive oil if desired. The dip will hold well in the fridge for a week. I like to add chopped parsley. You can spread it on sandwiches, or use it as a dip for raw vegetables, as part of a meze platter for a light supper or a starter for a dinner party.

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