Zucchini Omelet and a CONTEST That Smells of Spain

Tapas are small snacks, served warm or cold, that people in Spain eat during the day, around noon or in the early afternoon, and also in the evening. You can get tapas in almost every bar in Spain, whether it's little sandwiches or fancy little dumplings, meatballs or veggie balls, omelets, or simply melon wrapped in thin slices of serrano ham, or delicious olives. There are tons of possibilities, and every bar, or tapas bar, has its own specialty.

Tapas also means "cover." Supposedly it was served on a small saucer set on top of a glass of wine, so that the wine wouldn't lose its aroma on the way to the customer.

Zucchini omelet

I decided to go back to the flavors of Spain once more and make tapas at home. I got help from a book full of delicious tapas ideas that I bought there, and I'm sure I'll use it many more times. Tapas are a wonderful idea not only for dinner, but also for a brunch with friends. This time I made a zucchini omelet, and it came out fluffy and moist. It's perfect for nibbling on with a glass of good wine.

Directions:

Cut the zucchini into slices 1 cm thick and steam them, or cook them in a pot of boiling water, for about 3 minutes, until the zucchini is tender but not overcooked.

Crack the eggs into a bowl, season with salt and pepper, and beat well with a fork.

Finely chop the onion and garlic.

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a nonstick skillet about 20 cm in diameter. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Take them out, add them to the eggs and stir, then pour another tbsp of olive oil into the skillet and heat it very hot.

Mix the egg mixture with the zucchini and pour it all into the skillet. Stir 5-6 times. Cook until about 2/3 of the omelet has set, then put a large plate over the skillet and flip the skillet upside down so the omelet lands on the plate, cooked side up. Slide the omelet back into the skillet with the cooked side up and keep cooking until the whole thing is set. Turn it out onto a cutting board, cut it into bite-size cubes (about 3-4 cm), stick a toothpick into each piece, and serve, preferably still warm.

Enjoy!

CONTEST

When I was buying books for myself in Spain, I bought one more copy especially for my readers. So it's time for my first contest.

There are 2 prizes.

The first prize is the book "Tapas" by Richard Tapper, which has 60 pages of recipes for all kinds of tapas, meaning snacks. Today's omelet recipe comes from this very book. NOTE: the book is in English. The recipes aren't long, though, and shouldn't be hard to translate. It has tons of recipes for small bites like omelets, tortillas, vegetable snacks, and snacks with fish, seafood, fruit, or meat. Most of the recipes have a lovely photo of the finished dish. This book gives lots of ideas for how to liven up get-togethers with family or friends, or an everyday dinner. I'm also adding paella seasoning to the book. The 20 g package contains 5 sachets of seasoning.

The second prize is powdered saffron. The package contains 4 portions of saffron, 10 g each.

Here are the CONTEST RULES:

To win the book and the seasoning, you need to:

• make one of the recipes I suggest
• take a photo of the dish (the quality of the photo will not be judged) and post it on my Facebook page, Smaczne przepisy po polsku (Tasty Recipes in Polish), or email it to me at konkurs@flowerek.com, with the word KONKURS (contest) in the subject line or caption
• leave a comment on the blog under the recipe you made, starting with the word KONKURS
• you must meet all of these conditions

To win the saffron, you need to:

Write below this post, or below the post announcing the contest on Facebook, how you would use the saffron and in which dish. The most interesting suggestion, according to me and my husband, will win.

I'm waiting for your answers, photos and comments until July 22, 2012, 11:59 PM.

Join in, and please pass the word along!

One more note: for organizational reasons, the prizes will be shipped around the middle of August.

And here are my suggestions for dishes (these are dishes that remind me of Spain in some way, although not all of them have Spanish roots):

• Braised young cabbage
• Crema catalana
• Fish à la pizza
• Spanish-style chicken
• Gazpacho
• Garlic soup
• Fried calamari
• Scallops with cauliflower puree
• Salmon appetizer
• Eggs stuffed with salmon
• Baba ghanouj appetizer
• Grapes in gorgonzola and nuts
• And today's zucchini omelet

Good luck!