The Times Magazine - UK (2022-06-11)

The Times Magazine 37

fresh eggs. My mum’s are

normally from her hens, laid that

morning, so she’s got an unfair

advantage. Whether you make it

her way or my way, it’s delicious.

• 8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil


• 1 onion, very finely sliced


• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped


• 220g jar tuna steaks in olive
  oil, drained


• 1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf
  parsley


• 5 free-range eggs


• Sea salt and freshly ground
  black pepper

1. Pour 3 tbsp olive oil into a large
   frying pan over a medium-low

PHOTOGRAPHS

Emma Lee

TUNA TORTILLA

Serves 2

This is a dish we cook regularly

at home in London. I love to eat

it either hot or cold, with a strong

extra virgin olive oil mayonnaise.

My mother’s version of this dish

is simpler, with just egg and tuna,

resulting in the flatter style of

tortilla preferred in northern

Spain. Always use good-quality,

heat. Add the onion and cook for

10-15 minutes until really lovely

and soft. Add the garlic and cook

for a few minutes more.

2. Tip into a bowl and add the
   tuna. Flake the tuna with a fork
   and mix everything together. Stir
   in the parsley.


3. In a separate bowl, beat the
   eggs, then pour them over the
   onion and tuna mixture and
   season well.


4. Pour the remaining 5 tbsp oil
   into an 18-20cm nonstick frying
   pan over a high heat. When the
   oil is hot, add the egg mixture.
   Swirl the pan until the mixture
   starts to set around the edges,
   then reduce the heat to medium-

osé Pizarro was a latecomer

to cooking. Not for him the

normal tales of helping his

mother or grandmother in

the kitchen from a young age.

“I started cooking in my twenties.

When I was a boy, I wasn’t

allowed to be in the kitchen much

at all,” the 50-year-old chef

recalls. His mother was busy

helping his father on the family

farm in Extremadura in western

Spain, but still found time to put

three meals on the table. “It was

her way of showing her love.”

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t

have early food memories. He

still found a way to sneak in “to

absorb the atmosphere and take

in all the lovely smells”. Now

all it takes is a subtle smell of

chickpeas or a stew to take him

back. “Wonderful memories are

invoked every time I cook.

Whenever I put certain

ingredients together on a plate,

I remember something from the

past – happy memories of family

and friends.” Here he picks some

of his favourite dishes, which,

with his five restaurants, have

helped him become the godfather

of Spanish cooking in this

country. Tony Turnbull

J

low and cook for 4-5 minutes

until the tortilla just starts to set.

The bottom and sides should be

golden, but the middle will still be

quite loose.

5. Cover the pan with a flat lid or
   board and carefully turn out the
   tortilla onto it. Don’t worry that
   it is still quite runny. It will all
   come back together when you
   continue to cook it.


6. Slide the tortilla back into the
   pan and, over a low heat, use a
   spatula to tuck the edges under
   to give it its characteristic curved
   look. Cook for a couple more
   minutes, then turn onto a board
   and serve. It should still be juicy
   in the middle when you cut it.

Eat!

JOSÉ PIZARRO

José Pizarro