Spanish Tortilla

Detoxification is a process and can be a gentle cleansing or a more rigorous therapy, where many foods are completely avoided over a long period of time.

The detoxifying program you would choose would depend for the most part on the condition of your elimination system and your ove-rall health.

It certainly is a poor man or woman who cannot find a few eggs, a couple of potatoes and an onion in their store cupboard!  The ever-practical Spaniard realized this and thus created their marvellous "tortilla" -- an easy-to-make dish that could be savoured by rich and poor alike.

Not only cheap to make the tortilla, or Spanish omelette, is immenseley adaptable:  you can eat it hot or cold, depending on the weather and your mood;  you can enjoy a small slice as a "tapa" (snack) in between meals;  or, accompanied by a multi-coloured mixed salad and crusty, fresh Spanish bread, you have a marvellous main meal!  Should unexpected guests come knocking at your door ... just whip out the ever-adaptable toritilla, pour them a glass of smooth, Spanish wine and they are bound to be delighted!

Unlike the better-known French omelette which should be made quickly and over a high heat, the Spanish omelette needs to be cooked more gently, so that the middle is not too runny.  The French omelette is best eaten straight away and always hot.  Its Spanish counterpart, on the other hand, improves if left to rest for at least five minutes before eating, keeps well for a couple of days in the fridge, and can easily be re-heated in the microwave, unless you prefer it cold.  As with the French omelette, the Spanish tortilla is made in a frying pan (preferably non-stick) but, unlike the French version, both sides need to be cooked.  For this reason, it is possible to buy special tortilla frying pans -- a sort of double pan which allows you to just swish it over and cook the other side!

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I have to say, I prefer the traditional method of placing a plate on top of the pan, turning the tortilla out and then returning to the pan to cook the underside.  But, perhaps the simplest method is to just place the frying pan under the grill to brown the tortilla.

Whichever way you choose to prepare it, once cooked, leave it to cool a little, cover with a large plate, then gently ease the omelette out.  It should be circular, about an inch-and-a-half thick, and it is usual to cut it in slices or wedges.  Having said that, you can divide it into small cubes, pop a cocktail stick on top, and serve along with other "bits and pieces" as apéritifs.  Spanish recipes for tortilla vary slightly from region to region -- also what you have in the fridge and what you fancy!  You can replace the potato with, say, spinach, leave out the onion, add a bit more garlic, etc, etc.  Just use your imagination!

Below is a recipe for a traditional potato-and-onion tortilla.

TORTILLA -- Spanish Omelette

Ingrediants:

• Olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed with 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and diced
• Black pepper
• 6 eggs, beaten

Method:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan.
2. Add onion, garlic, pepper and potatoes.
3. Gently fry until golden-brown and potatoes slightly softened.
4. Tip potato-and-onion mixture into bowl containing the beaten eggs.
5. Stir and transfer to a large frying pan containing clean oil.
6. Cook over a low heat for 10-15 minutes.
7. Transfer pan to a preheated hot grill until top is browned.
8. Alternatively, turn upside down onto a plate and return to pan to brown underside.
9. Carefully tip onto plate and slice as you would a cake.

Conventional, mainstream (allopathic) medical practitioners have yet to latch on to this concept, since they're only trained to treat diseases and symptoms specifically without treating the patient as a whole.

Spanish Food Recipe

One common detox diet is the combination of nothing but fruits and water for a given period.  The promotion of chemicals being matabilized by our bodies can be helped with certain vitamins, herbs and supplements.  Some supplements will help the mobilization of toxin's in our fat and other toxin deposit's located throughout the body.

Whilst on your travels in Spain and pausing to take a breath from site-seeing, you have surely experimented with ''tapas'' at a welcoming bar.

If this is the case, it is more than likely that you have come across the small, tasty filleted fish, preserved in olive oil, sliced garlic and chopped parsley, and highly popular throughout Spain.  This delectable dish is usually known as ''boquerones'' but, depending on the area, can also be called ''anchoas''.

Boquerones are small, fresh anchovies.  Accompanied by crisp, fresh Spanish bread, a glass of ruby-red wine or refreshing Asturian cider, they are a delight to eat.  Moreover -- as with many traditional Spanish dishes which comprise the renowned Mediterranean Diet -- they are extremely healthy.

Like its friend the sardine, the anchovy is an oily fish, packed full of proteins and minerals, protecting against heart disease, and ''good'' for cholesterol.  What's more, in many areas of Spain -- in particular the Mediterranean coast -- fresh anchovies are extremely cheap.  On first coming to Spain, I happily enjoyed many tapas of boquerones, completely unaware of one fact ... all those little anchovies I had eaten were not cooked!  For a moment, I deeply regretted asking my Spanish neighbor, Carmen, how to make them!

Fortunately, Carmen went into immediate action and saved the day!  She frog-marched me to the local fishmongers, bought a kilo of the little fish, took me home and showed me ''her way'' of preparing them.  They were so delicious that I quickly recovered my passion for boquerones and have been enjoying them ever since!

Methods for preparing boquerones tend to vary slightly from family to family.  However, the basic principles are always the same.  You first have to clean and fillet the fish, which is simple enough, but rather tedious until you get the hang of it.

If you suffer with acne, or if your skin is dull, rough or blotchy, a detox could be exactly what you need.  Other symptoms of toxic overload can be lethargy and frequent headaches or simply feeling below par.  Detoxing will not only help your skin but the other major elimination organ, the liver.  In fact your whole system will benefit!

Next, you soak the fillets, either in white wine vinegar or a mixture of half vinegar and half water.  The vinegar will clean and bleach the fish and also soften any remaining little bones.  Some people sprinkle the fish with salt;  others (myself included) feel that the fish is salty enough already.  The fish has to be left for a good few hours soaking in the vinegar.  Again, this tends to vary, with some Spaniards leaving them overnight in the fridge and others just waiting a couple of hours.  Also, some families change the vinegar/water-and-vinegar mixture once during this process, whilst others don't bother.

Once you have thrown away the vinegar, the bleached fillets are covered with a good quality virgin olive oil, which will preserve them.  You can add as much, or as little, sliced garlic as you wish, plus freshly chopped parsley.

So ... here is the actual recipe.

BOQUERONES

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo fresh anchovies.
• White wine vinegar.
• Virgin olive oil.
• Garlic.
• Parsley.
• Salt (optional).

Method:

1. Top and tail anchovies.
2. Slit along underside and discard innards.
3. Open out fish.
4. Remove central bone by lifting from tail end upwards.
5. Rinse well.
6. Place a layer of anchovy fillets in a shallow dish.
7. Sprinkle with salt (optional) and pour on plenty of vinegar.
8. Repeat with another layer, changing direction.
9. Leave to soak in vinegar for a few hours or overnight.
10. Pour off vinegar.
11. Very gently rinse fillets.
12. Cover fillets in virgin olive oil.
13. Add slices of garlic and chopped parsley.As one of the most common causes of lethargy is constipation, learn more about colon detox today

It is so pleasant to find something in life that is a delight to the senses, affordable, healthy and does nobody any harm (apologies to any vegetarians out there and, also, the little anchovies ...).  So ... do make the most of fresh anchovies whilst you are in Spain and enjoy!

The human body is like one big process of input and output.  Some things we intake such as food and water which the body requires diffuse into the body;  we then pass the by-products which are of no use, or surplus to the body's requirements.  Drugs, on the other hand, diffuse almost entirely into the body as this is what they are designed to do.