Pasteís de Nata
From “Portuguese Cooking” www.bonechi.com
For the pastry:
Plain flour, 250g
Butter, 210g
For the Filling:
Fresh cream 250ml
4 egg yolk
Plain flour 15g
Castor sugar 100g
Finely grated rind of one lemon
Icing sugar (for decorating)
cake tins measuring approx. 8-10cm in diameter and 1 cm deep
To make the pastry: 
Sift the flour into a bowl and mix (using a hand mixer) with sufficient lukewarm water to obtain a soft, smooth dough. Leave to stand for 15 minutes. In the meantime, soften the butter by squashing it with the back of a fork. Briefly knead the dough by hand then shape it into a block. Roll the block out to obtain a sheet 1 cm (half an inch) thick; Spread one-third of the softened butter over it, leaving a free border of about 2 cm (One inch). Fold the sheet over in three, knead once more by hand then shape it into a block again. Roll the dough out again and spread another third of the butter over it, fold, knead, then make a block again. Repeat these steps, using up the last third of the butter. Let the block stand for 15 minutes.
Roll the dough out to 3-4mm thick, (1/3 inch); cut it into 10-12cm (4-5 inch) wide strips then roll these up, one by one, into tight cylinders. Cut the cylinders into 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick slices; put one ‘spiral’ of pastry in every cake tin, using wet thumbs, fit the pastry over the bottom and sides of the tins to line them. (Do not allow the pastry to go over the rims).
To make the filling:
Mix all the ingredients in a pot, heat over low temperature and bring to the boil mixing gently all the time. As soon as the custard starts to boil, immediately remove from the heat, and allow it to cool to lukewarm before pouring it into the individual tins. Smooth the surface of the custard, then bake in a preheated oven at 220˚(410-450˚F) until golden brown on top. Remove the pastries from the oven, allow them to cool in their tins, then lift them out. Serve the Pastéis dusted with icing sugar.
Spanish Tortilla
On Thursday I made Spanish Tortillas for my daughter’s school’s Family Festival. It involved having a food stand and I made tortillas and pāo de queijo. I have been doing this for the last five years. Having lived in Spain and experienced their fabulous tortillas, (and tried to perfect them over the years), I thought I would share my recipe.
People think of a tortilla as being a bread-based wrap, but not in Spain. A tortilla is a Spanish Omelette made with potato and egg, (0nion too if you want it). It is made of simple ingredients but tastes fabulous. In Spain it is always accompanied by a crusty baguette, or eaten as a bocadillo (sandwich).
My Spanish Tortilla
800-900g potatoes
A dozen eggs
Tsp salt
Olive oil
(Add finely chopped sautéed onion if desired)
A 26cm shallow non-stick frying pan
Peel and chop into cubes the potatoes. Boil the potatoes until cooked, 
but not overcooked. Drain. In the non-stick frying pan, coat with olive and place the cooked potatoes in the lightly fry on all sides.
In a bowl, mix the eggs and salt. When the potatoes are lightly fried, add the potatoes to the egg mixture and mix. In a frying pan, coat the bottom with a good dollop of olive oil, then turn the temperature to high. Pour the egg/potato mixture into the hot pan, then as soon as the bottom is sealed, turn down to a low heat. Leave to cook for about 10 minutes being careful that the base doesn’t burn.
Put a knife around the sides to make sure the omelette is loose, then place another frying pan over the frying pan and invert it 180˚so the omelette flips into the new frying pan. Then slide it immediately back into the hot pan to cook and flatten it down. This can be a messy business so be careful and quick. The other side should only take about 5-6 minutes. Flip it onto a plate and it will be cooked when it is golden brown. Cut into triangle slices. It can be eaten either hot or cold.
