London lunch box: a recipe inspired by José Tapas Bar

Chef Laoise Casey creates cheap, easy-to-cook lunch boxes inspired by things she has eaten in some of London's best restaurants #Joselunchbox
Laoise Casey
Laoise Casey19 October 2015

There has been far too much talk of winter creeping up on us. It’s nearly here. Autumn is the prequel, warning us with darker evenings and mornings and a brisk chill in the air.

One of my useful characteristics as well as avoidance and procrastination, is denial. I highly recommend it. As far as I’m concerned it’s still summer and I’m sitting in a little tapas bar in Barcelona with a glass of Manzanilla munching on Ibérico ham and croquetas. This is one of the benefits of eating out – for an hour or so you can lose yourself in another world.

Like at the wonderful José Tapas Bar, Bermondsey. Spanish chef José Pizarro now has a number of restaurants to his name, but the original was this tapas and sherry bar on Bermondsey street. This is a proper tapas bar and at busier times there’s standing room only. Padron peppers, smoked beef, patatas bravas, pisto (a type of Spanish ratatouille) and a daily changing list of specials all go a long way to shielding you from the onslaught of winter.

Our lunch box is inspired by one of its specials this week, a cauliflower and Spanish Manchego cheese tortilla.

What you will need:

½ a small cauliflower

2 tbsp. olive oil

40g Manchego cheese, coarsely grated

3 eggs

Sea salt, black pepper to season

Equipment

Knife

Bowl

Whisk

Small frying pan

Plate

Cost to make per portion: £3.40

Preparation and cooking time: 15 minutes

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How to make it:

Slice the cauliflower into small bite-sized florets. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the cauliflower, season with salt and pepper and cook until just tender and golden brown. Remove from the pan, strain the oil and set aside. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and season. Add the cauliflower and grated cheese to the eggs. Heat the drained oil in a small frying pan until quite hot and add the egg/cauliflower/cheese mixture. Cook for a minute on a high heat then turn down the heat and cook gently for 5–6 minutes. Run a spatula around the edges and when nearly set slide the tortilla on to a plate, place the pan on top and quickly flip over to cook the other side. Allow to cool and serve cut into wedges at room temperature. For the best results use a small pan to cook the tortilla.

Laoise is the author of cuisinegenie.ie. Follow Laoise Casey on Twitter @cuisine_genie and Instagram @laoisecooks.

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