Salvador Dali knew it all started with the egg. So do good cooks. If you can cook an omelette you've got the basics. It's quick, it's easy, it's tasty. So here you go. My version of a Spanish or Catalan omelette. 

You will need (to feed 4): 

• Potatoes - 3 or 4 - waxy variety
  
• Eggs - 6 
  
• Onion - 1 small 
  
• Sea Salt 
  
• Black Pepper 
  
• Olive Oil 
  
• Parsley - fresh (optional) 
  

Method: 

Par-boil your potatoes - about 10 minutes will do. Drain & set them aside to cool for 15-20 minutes. When the spuds are cool(ish) thinly slice your onion. Heat a decent lug of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add your onions & slowly fry them until soft (translucent). Meanwhile beat up six eggs in bowl. Season your eggs with salt & pepper. Chop up handful of fresh parsley - stalks & all. Keep a little parsley to one side and add the rest to your beaten eggs. Slice the potatoes & layer them over your sweltering onions. Add another glug of olive oil if necessary. Keep the heat very, very low & let the whole lot cook for about 10 minutes but not burn! Jiggle your pan frequently - you know you want to. Stab the spuds with a knife to make sure they're cooked through. It is! Right then, pour in your beaten eggs making sure all the potatoes are covered. Let it all cook away until things start to slowly bubble. Turn on your grill. When you're happy the omelette is cooked at the bottom put the pan under the grill on medium heat for about 5 minutes. When it all looks lovely & golden remove pan from under grill. Get a dinner plate. Place it over the top of the pan. Turn the lot upside down. Your omelette should fall naturally onto the plate. If it doesn't - oh dear... But that hasn't happened so you're now left with a beautiful tortilla just crying out to be wolfed down. Sprinkle the last of your chopped parsley over the top & prepare to gorge. That's it!!!! 

Suggest a simple side salad & some fresh baguette (or similar) to go with this. Couldn't be easier. 

See you next Friday. Enjoy... 

Chicken, everyone loves it. Well almost, except of course if you're a vegetarian. If so, turn away now! 

This goes perfectly with the home-made spud wedges I described last week and is great any Friday, or any other day for that matter. Why? Because it's quick, easy & damned delicious. The recipe couldn't be simpler, the stress levels are pretty much zero, the results will send your taste-buds into orbit and you'll save a fortune on the horrible take-away you'd have otherwise ordered in. What's not to love? OK - here we go...  

What you'll need to feed 4: 

• 4 chicken fillets (crazy eh?) 
  
• Garlic - crushed (or even mildly disappointed) 
  
• Paprika
  
• Chilli - about half finely chopped 
  
• Olive oil - a generous dollop
  
• Oregano - dried - about a teaspoon should do it 
  
• Red or white wine vinegar - a splash 
  
• Pepper - ground black variety - to taste 
  
• Sea Salt - to taste 
  

Veggies: 

• Courgette - large or 2 small 
  
• Red onions - 2 
  
• Peppers - of your choosing 
  
• Cherry tomatoes - a handful 
  
• Black olives (I prefer the unpitted variety as they have more flavour, but it's up to you) 
  

The above are suggestions - mess about with this as you please... 

Chicky Prep: 

Take any nasty 'googly' bits off your chicken fillets with good sharp knife. Place 'de-googled' (apologies here to the faceless search engine entity trying to rule the world & manipulate our minds) on a big plate or dish. 

Now to the marinade: 

Lug about 3 tablespoons of Olive Oil into a suitable receptacle, i.e. a bowl. Add your splash of Red or White Wine Vinegar. Sprinkle in the Oregano. Add the crushed (nay devastated) Garlic, chopped Chilli, a touch of Paprika and few twists of Salt & Pepper. Give the whole lot a damn good stir then pour it over your chicken fillets. Slop 'em around for a bit until both sides are well covered. Cover & set aside for about an hour if possible, but half an hour will do the trick. 

If that wasn't easy enough this is a real no-brainer. Roughly chop all the veggies above. Chuck 'em all in an oven-proof dish, add salt & pepper to taste with a good dollop of olive oil and that's it. You're done! Set the oven to 180 degrees and crack open a beer! When the oven's hot stick in your veggies for 30 minutes. 

In about 10 minutes - get frying! 

Heat a pan on the hob - remember you don't need more oil as it's all in the marinade. When the pan is nice & hot bung in your chicken. Let it all nicely caramelise (or char) on each side - but don't burn it! Crank down the heat & let the blighters sizzle way for about 5-6 minutes on each side. When they're nicely cooked take them off the hob, whip open your oven door, and add the chicken fillets to your glorious veg. Mix the lot together & stick it back in the oven for 10-15 mins. 

At the end you'll have a lovely healthy plate of food that looks like the one above. 

Here are a few pics to mull & salivate over just to get you in the mood. Link to Spud-Wedges below that again. 

Until next time we meet through the virtual ether - so long & enjoy!