Curious Matt: In my search for a gorgeous Spanish dish to tie in with our silly February sale on Spanish wine, I asked Dublin based food supremo Daily Spud for a truly delicious recipe that she could post on the Curious Wine Blog. We never doubted her for a minute. Over to you Spud!

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Daily Spud: When Matt asked me whether I had anything Spanish up my sleeve, I wondered what he could possibly mean. Did he think that I had I been shopping in Zara, perhaps, or that I was concealing a mini-matador about my person? Clearly these boys are curious by name and curious by nature.

But it turns out that the key word missing, but implied, in the original question was recipes. Did I have any Spanish recipes up my sleeve. Different matter entirely… (and sighs of relief all ’round, I can tell you!)

As it happens, I most certainly do keep at least one Spanish recipe with me at all times - the ultimate Spanish potato recipe, in fact - that all-time classic, the Spanish omelette. It’s one of those dishes that really is a perfect coming together of simple, good ingredients. Just eggs, onions, potatoes, salt and olive oil. You need no more than that. Except perhaps a glass or two of Spanish wine to accompany the finished product, that is.

This should feed about 4-5 people for lunch, along with salads and a glass of vino, or slice into cubes for serving tapas-style.

You’ll need:
•    About 500g potato (3 small to medium-sized spuds)
•    About 200g onion (2 small-ish onions)
•    6 large eggs
•    1 tsp salt
•    olive oil for frying

The Pan and Plate:
•    Size (of pan) is important – I use a 24cm pan for this size of tortilla
•    You’ll also need a flat plate a little wider than the pan, so that you can turn the pan (with the tortilla in it) onto the plate

The Steps:
•    Peel the potatoes and slice very thinly. Place the sliced potatoes in water until you’re ready to use them.
•    Slice the onions thinly.
•    Heat some olive oil in a pan.
•    Add the onions, stir and fry over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until they start to soften.
•    Drain the potatoes, pat them dry and add to the onions.
•    Lower the heat, then stir and fry for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, adding some more olive oil if the mixture is sticking. Once the potatoes begin to soften a little (after about 10 minutes), you can start to break up the slices as you stir.
•    In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the salt and the cooked onion and potato mixture to the bowl. Stir to mix. The heat of the cooked mixture will start to cook the eggs.
•    Now put some more olive oil into the pan and pour in the egg mixture.
•    Cook over a medium heat for about 7 minutes or until the tortilla appears fairly solid right through and there is little or no liquid egg on the surface of the tortilla.
•    At this point, if you’re feeling confident, you can cook the other side of the tortilla by placing the plate on top of the pan, turning the plate and pan over, and then sliding the tortilla gently back into the pan for 3-4 minutes. Alternatively, you can place the pan under the grill for 5-6 minutes to finish cooking the top that way and then turn it onto the plate when ready.

Curious Matt: Sticking to the white with this one, Spud - the award-winning Mocen Verdejo.

Sincere thanks to Daily Spud (winner of Irish Web Awards Best Food & Drink Blog 2009)

In continuing our food and wine matching success with Ireland’s top food bloggers, Daily Spud has come back to give us another challenge. After the success of part one, we were delighted to get on board again, and with Spud’s curiosity over Italian potato dumplings, we decided to revert to the homeland of Gnocchi for our wine choices.

It’s hard to knock Italian wine when it comes to food matching, so we sent a bottle each of Dievole’s white Malvasia and red Sangiovese. Here’s what Spud had to say about them:

The white, Dievole Dievolino Bianco Malvasia, was a very pleasant little number, smooth and with a little citrusy tang, which went down a treat with the gnocchi and made for a very happy first date. The red, Dievole Dievolino Rosso Sangiovese, with its healthy tannin hit, was a cracker which warmed up beautifully and for which all present declared immediate and undying love. It was, however, a little bit much for the delicate gnocchi in their creamy cradle and they were not quite ready for what was a more robust relationship. Still, no shame in that. Someday, the gnocchi will move on to meatier sauces and, when that happens, that lovely red will be ready and waiting.

And here’s the original post, with the original recipe below.

First Timer’s Gnocchi

* You need to keep the mash as dry as possible and, for that reason, floury spuds are preferred. I’ve seen Russet potatoes recommended and, here in Ireland, where floury spuds are the norm, the ubiquitous Rooster variety is probably a good choice.
* Using some egg in the mix makes things easier to bind and is recommended for beginner gnocchi-makers.
* A light touch is needed when handling the dough to avoid any gumminess.
* It takes practice, practice, practice…

You’ll need:
* 500g potato, preferably floury
* 125g plain flour (you may need slightly more or less than this amount)
* 1 egg, beaten
* salt and freshly ground black pepper

The Steps:
* Scrub the potatoes and boil or steam them in their skins until tender. Depending on the size of the individual spuds, that could take anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes.
* Drain the potatoes, then place a cloth or tea towel over the pot and allow to sit for about 10 minutes.
* Peel the potatoes and either put them through a potato ricer, if you’ve got one, or mash gently in a large bowl using a fork or masher.
* Drizzle the beaten egg over the mash, add about 100g of the flour and season with some salt and pepper. Mix and bring together as a dough using a wooden spoon or spatula, adding more flour if the mixture is too damp - you want a dough that’s soft and pliable but not sticky.
* Knead the dough briefly on a lightly floured surface.
* Break off pieces of the dough and roll into logs around the thickness of your thumb. Then cut the logs into pieces around 2cm long and (using plenty of flour so that the pieces don’t stick) press each piece against the inside of a fork, so that it forms little ridges on one side.
* Set the pieces aside on a floured plate or board until ready to cook.
* To cook, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cook the gnocchi in batches of around 20 or so. For each batch, drop the pieces into the boiling water and wait until shortly after they float back up to the top of the pot (this should only take a couple of minutes). Then remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl.
* Dress your gnocchi with garlic cream sauce (below) or with whatever other sauce takes your fancy.

The Variations:
* You can, of course, add other flavourings to the basic gnocchi mixture to suit whatever kind of sauce you’re planning on serving it with. You could also incorporate a little grated parmesan if you felt so inclined.

The Results:
* This makes around 4 dinner portions of gnocchi.

Garlic Cream Sauce

This really isn’t too much more than a simple white sauce with cream substituted for some of the milk and with some added garlic, parmesan and sage.

For the sauce:
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 tblsp butter
* 1 tblsp plain flour
* 100ml milk
* 250ml cream
* 2-3 tblsp grated parmesan
* 1 tblsp lemon juice
* salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the sage garnish:
* 1 tblsp butter
* 15-20 fresh sage leaves (or more, if your sage leaves are very small)

The Steps:
* To prepare the sage leaves, place a small frying pan over a medium heat. When heated, add 1 tblsp butter, allowing it to melt. Add the sage leaves and stir and fry for 3-4 minutes, until they start to go brown and crispy. Remove the leaves from the pan onto a piece of kitchen paper to soak up the excess butter, then crumble the fried leaves into a small bowl and set aside.
* To start the sauce, place a large pan over a medium heat. When heated, add 2 tblsp butter, allowing it to melt.
* Add the garlic and stir and fry for about a minute.
* Add the flour to form a paste (roux). Stir continuously and cook for about 2 minutes.
* Very gradually, start adding the milk, stirring continuously and making sure it’s well combined.
* Once the milk is incorporated, continue by gradually adding in the cream, still stirring.
* Allow the mixture to come to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes.
* Add the parmesan and stir to combine. Check and add salt to taste (I added about 0.5 tsp) plus a couple of twists of freshly ground black pepper.
* Add the lemon juice and stir to mix.
* The sauce is fairly thick, thin to your desired consistency by adding water if you like.
* Pour over gnocchi or other pasta and sprinkle with the fried sage leaves.

The Variations:
* Add extra parmesan or some cheddar if you feel like having a cheesier sauce.

The Results:
* Sauce for about 4 portions of gnocchi or other pasta.

Recipe originally posted by Daily Spud on thedailyspud.com on August 2nd.