Natilla (Milk Custard)

Growing up my Tata (grandmother) use to make these cute little rich Natillas pronounced "na-tee-ya" (milk custards) her version was infused with lots of cinnamon and vanilla, dotted with raisins, and served in these little Styrofoam cups dusted with cinnamon powder.

For winter we would eat them warm and hot, but I remember in hot summers she'd cool these custards in the fridge, and I just couldn't get enough of them, they were rich, sweet, cinnamon y.

However my grandmother would always make 2 batches, one with raisins, and one without since my father HATES raisins, and occasionally the Natilla was poured into a large container/ mold to eat family style with everyone spooning into their plate as much Natilla as they wanted.

Natilla is one of those desserts that always brings me fond memories of my Tata's cooking, and child hood sweets. Natilla along with "Pudin de Pan" (Cuban style bread pudding smothered in syrup) is something I grew up eating lots of, and we still make them several times a year :)

Ingredients:
-4 cups of whole milk
-1/2 stick butter (optional)
-1 cup of white sugar
-1 large or 2 small sticks of cinnamon
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-peel of 1 lime, or lemon or 1/2 an orange (optional my older sister HATES citrus in natilla)
-5 egg yolks
-1/2 cup cornstarch
-1/4 cup water or milk (a little more or less to dilute cornstarch)
-1/2 cup raisins (optional)

To garnish:
-dust with a few pinches of cinnamon powder

Directions:
(1) In a medium pot, add whole milk, sugar, cinnamon sticks, and citrus peel if using. Leave at medium high heat, stirring occasionally.

(2) Meanwhile in a medium bowl add cornstarch. add water little by little to dissolve cornstarch whisking with fork until the cornstach dissolves into a white milk like constistency, whisk in egg yolks, and set aside. This will be your "cornstarch and egg yolk slurry"

(3) By now you milk should be hot and kind boiling, keep an eye on it while your preparring the slurry or it may over flow, if it boils lower heat to prevent spillage.

(4) So now that it's bubbling, quickly whisk in cornstarch and egg yolk slurry, with a large whisk, and whisk non stop in one direction or else your custard will lump up and break, raise the heat, and when it starts thickening

(5) The first boil it gives up, like bubble or burst, quickly turn off heat, remove and pour into a mold. Or pour into small individual serving bowls.
(6) Dust with cinnamon :)

PLEASE NOTE:
(1) If you want a richer custard you may add 1/2 a stick of butter to heat together with the milk, my grandmother sometimes does this sometimes doesn't

(2) The egg yolks I used were from my friends house, her chickens produce beautiful strong golden yellow egg yolks that color everything a strong yellow which is why I used them, if using typical store bought egg yolks you won't get this color unless you use a lot of egg yolks which is unnecessary. This may sound like taboo, but my grandmother and me, we use "Bijol" (anatto seed powder) or "Colorante" (coloring) to make the natilla yellow if we use store bought eggs to give it a rich color. When doing this be sure you add the coloring when your simmering the milk so it dissolves completely.

(3) I know 1/2 cup cornstarch may seem like a lot for some cubans, but it's actually "4 cucharadas grandes" which is the measurement my grandmother uses, which is 4 regular eating tablespoons with humps on them what we in Spanish call, "cucharadas colmadas" (peaked tablespoons) I measured them out and it was actually 1/2 cup. So I guess the cornstarch to milk ratio is 1 heaping tablespoonful per cup.

(4) The one I made in the picture, had no butter, or raisins, and I left out the vanilla and only used cinnamon and orange peel, it was delicious and light yet rich :)

IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE... you may want to check out my post for "Leche Frita" (fried milk custard squares)

Tortilla de Patatas (Spanish Potato Omelette)

This recipe is not from my Tata, it is actually my mother's (yes she's Mexican) the recipe comes from my grandmother from my mother's side, my mom in Mexico remembers her mother always making the basic "Tortilla de Patatas" which is just eggs, potato, onions, and salt. Sometimes though she remembers my grandmother adding ham to it which is optional, and my mother being a lover of garlic just as much as me also adds garlic to it which is optional.

I know you guys would expect the recipe to come from my Tata since it's Spanish, but it happened to come from my mother, who knows maybe this recipe got passed from my mother's great great grandparents whom where from Spain, although the simple "Tortilla de Patatas" is common or known in some Mexican households and families as well.

Ingredients:
-4 large potatoes or 8 small ones, peeled, and cubed
-12 eggs beaten
-1 large onion diced
-1-2 cups diced ham depends how much you want (optional)
-6 cloves garlic (optional)
-oil to fry omelet and potatoes

Directions:
(1) Heat cooking oil enough to pan-fry/ deep-fry cubed potatoes, when oil is hot enough (test it with a wooden spoon if it bubbles around it's ready). Add your potatoes and fry them this may take 20 minutes, meanwhile you can prep everything while the potatoes fry. When potatoes are done set aside in a plate with paper towel on bottom, very lightly salt them.
(2)Heat oil on medium high heat brown ham slightly and sautee onions until tender and translucent about 5-7 minutes, then add garlic and cook another 2 minutes.
(3)Transfer sautee of onions, garlic, and ham into a large bowl and add beaten eggs and fold everything well until incorporated, add salt to taste.
(4)Now heat oil in a large pan on medium high, not a lot just enough to lightly coat, add the egg mixture, don't touch it, gently push around a little every time the egg slightly cooks to allow it to cook sort of evenly, be patient, push in sides gently try to let the egg kinda flow and slowly cook but don't break into it, then set heat on medium and cover with a large plate, let it cook on medium to medium low for about 6-7 minutes, uncover, see if it settled a bit and is more firm but not fully cooked it so now do the following.
(6)Turn off heat, place plate over it, use a large towel to hole the plate onto the pan and grab the pan, flip it over so you flip the omelet on one side, now turn pan back on lightly oil with extra-virgin olive oil, gently slide it back in slowly, shake the pan a bit not the omelet, cover for 5 more minutes to fully cook on other side.
(7)Turn of heat, clean the large plate you used, now use it again to flip the omelet into it, or if your scared you can simple leave it in the pan and slice it and get it from there if your scared you'll break it, we never break it though it's experience ha ha.
(8)Serve by cutting big cake like slices and serve, in my household it can stand alone it doesn't need any side dishes. It can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, whenever, hot, cold, room temperature, as a side or as a main dish, even cut into little squares for appetizers. It's all up to you.

P.S.
The garlic is optional, but everything is better with garlic, the ham is optional to, but I love biting into the salty ham.

If interested in my Tata's version I already posted it in my blog which is as Nuria told me, a combination of "Tortilla a la paisana + Tortilla de chorizo and Tortilla Española"

http://nathanscomida.blogspot.com/2008/08/tortilla-espaola-spanish-frittata.html

Tortilla Española (Spanish Frittata/ Omelette?)

I don't know how to say it in english, "Tortilla Española" is a thick frittata type egg cake you could call it, that is heavy on potatoes. The classical Spanish one is simply thin slices potatoes into rounds, deep-fried, folded into beaten eggs with salt, pepper and parsley then fried in a large pan into a thick egg pie thing...

But my grandmother does it different, I like to think of hers as "Tortilla Española" on steroids, and I am courageous enough to say it's way better than the simple potato one.

Oh yeah and even though this dish is originally Spanish, Cubans love Tortilla Española, ha ha some even call it "Tortilla Cubana", I have noticed that most Cubans cut the fried potatoes into cubes (we do in my house to) for this type of omelette, but I noticed Spanish cooks do it into rounds, well whatever here is my grandmothers AWESOME version.

Ingredients:
-4 large or 8 small potatoes peeled and cubed into small pieces
-Canola, Sunflower or other oil to deep fry potatoes
-14 large eggs
-1 small green bell pepper minced
-1 small red bell pepper minced
-1 whole onion minced
-1 whole head of garlic peeled, finely minced (preferably mashed to a paste in a mortar or press)
-1/4 bunch of minced cilantro or parsley
-2 spanish chorizos (casing removed sliced into rounds)
-1 cup of pork ham chopped
-1/4- 1/2 cup thinly sliced pimiento stuffed Spanish Green Olives
-salt to taste (be careful many people tend to either over salt this dish or make it bland)
-Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (to fry the omelette?)

Directions:
(1)Heat cooking oil enough to pan-fry/ deep-fry cubed potatoes, when oil is hot enough (test it with a wooden spoon if it bubbles around it's ready). Add your potatoes and fry them this may take 20 minutes, meanwhile you can prep everything while the potatoes fry. When potatoes are done set aside in a plate with paper towel on bottom, very lightly salt them.
(2)Now heat extra-virgin olive oil in a large pan on medium high, sautee minced onion and bell peppers until onion is translucent, if using parsley add the minced parsley to this (if using Cilantro don't it will wilt badly) and sautee together, now add garlic and sautee until fragrant.
(3)Now add the ham and the Spanish Chorizo and fry until everything gets infused (maybe a couple minutes)
(4)Turn of heat, now in a large bowl, crack all eggs into it, and beat until it foams, add some salt to this, now add all the contents you sauteed, and fried potatoes fold in, mix in sliced olives and fold some more. If using cilantro add it now (if you used parsley don't add cilantro)
(5)Now heat extra virgin olive oil in a large pan on medium high, not a lot just enough to lightly coat, add the egg mixture, don't touch it, gently push around a little every time the egg slightly cooks to allow it to cook sort of evenly, be patient, push in sides gently try to let the egg kinda flow and slowly cook but don't break into it, then set heat on medium and cover with a large plate, let it cook on medium to medium low for about 6-7 minutes, uncover, see if it settled a bit and is more firm but not fully cooked it so now do the following.
(6)Turn off heat, place plate over it, use a large towel to hole the plate onto the pan and grab the pan, flip it over so you flip the omelette on one side, now turn pan back on lightly oil with extra-virgin olive oil, gently slide it back in slowly, shake the pan a bit not the omelette, cover for 5 more minutes to fully cook on other side.
(7)Turn of heat, clean the large plate you used, now use it again to flip the omellete into it, or if your scared you can simple leave it in the pan and slice it and get it from there if your scared you'll break it, we never break it though it's experience ha ha.
(8)Serve by cutting big cake like slices and serve, it can stand alone it doesn't need any side dishes, it can be eaten for breakfast with a glass of milk and fresh seasonal fruit on the side or even alone with a cup of coffee or cafe cubano, you can have it as lunch by itself with a salad on the side and beverage of choice, or simply for dinner along with rice, beans and a salad at least that's how we eat it in my house, you can even have it as a late night snack cold from the fridge (I'm bad sneaking into my fridge at night tsk tsk,)