“Real men don’t eat quiche (‘Kwitchey’)” -C. H. McClure

Many years ago we went to San Angelo to watch the roping fiesta. Part of the reason we could do this was that we could stay with Sally’s brother, Bill, at “good buddy air patch “ (a.k.a. Goodfellow Air Force Base) his previous assignment had been to Saragosa, Spain where he had indulged himself into the culture of northern Spain, its people, language, wine, and cooking. One of his favorite dishes, which he proceeded to teach me, was called “tortilla.” It’s not the flat bread Texans are used to, it’s a sort of “coarse potato omelette” as James Michener said. Years later I fixed it for a friend who ranched in East Texas, who thought it reminded him of quiche. But he said “real men don’t eat kwitchey, so we’ll call it Texas aig pie!”Like many Spanish dishes this one starts with an iron skillet, olive oil and an onion. The chopped onion goes in at moderately high temperature, immediately followed by slices of potatoes. When the onion is soft, and the potato begins to brown, we throw in a handful of chopped olives with pimentos, garlic salt, some bell peppers and tomatoes, even. Depending on your taste some pepper, black or red is good. And you might want oregano, and thyme, but the Spanish keep seasoning simple. When it’s near done, pour in enough beaten egg to cover, and using a spatula, lift the veggies to get egg all through the tortilla. We put grated cheese on top and pop it in the broiler for a minute, but in Spain they used two skillets, and flip it. There, It’s a big deal with a lot of fanfare. By the way, I’ve never had leftovers, and never seen anyone not like it!