two springtime side dishes

so a few weeks ago I was again craving potatoes, and my good friend Patty was going to Chile for a month and demanded that I come over and cook her something.
The funny thing was, that when I was biking over to her house, I saw her out walking...going shopping.  She told me to just let myself in and start cooking.
She lives in a Villa compound, she has a separate private home, this villa compound is like being in little Western World.
Anyways, I made her these two dishes, it was the week before Easter and these would be perfect Easter sides.  I also made a bread pudding...but I was less impressed with that, so I'm not going to post about it.
please don't judge me for not making my own puff pastry, yes I know how to make it, and I'll talk about that another time I guess.

Potato Tart
7-8 good sized white round potatoes, halved and thinly sliced
one package of puff pastry
parmesan cheese
1/2 red onion sliced
salt & pepper
fresh chopped parsley

boil the potatoes until they can be pierce with a fork, remove from water and dry on paper towels or kitchen towels
roll out the thawed puff pastry and cover with a layer of shredded parmesan cheese, leave a 6cm(2in) border
layer the cooled potatoes with the red onions prettily over the parmesan
top with more red onions, season with salt and pepper
turn the edges over to close the sides of the tart
bake at 200C for 15-20 min until the pastry is golden and browning on the edges
top with more fresh cracked black pepper and the freshly chopped parsley
enjoy

Braised Peas, Leeks and Little Gem Lettuce with Mint
ok...so I didn't alter this recipe at all! (although I'm sure it would taste even better with a healthy splash of white wine instead of water to wilt the lettuce)
just follow this link here!
 Mine looked like this -

tortilla española con pico de gallo

oOtherwise known as tortillas de patatas,  this is a delicious down to earth meal that can be eaten at nearly any temperature and for any meal.
Basically it is a potato omelet.
lately I have been on a potato kick....and when I say lately...i think I mean all the time.
when I get mochi, I get purple potato flavor...when I go to the cafe with friends, I get the white sweet potato latte...if I can, I put potatoes in everything lately.
alright...so for the tortilla:
3-4 large sliced potatoes
1 medium onion sliced, or 1/2 a large onion
2 cloves of garlic crushed
4-5 eggs depending on their size, large-ish
olive oil
salt pepper

fry the potatoes with the onions in the olive oil until the potatoes are tender and start to color and the onions are starting to caramelize, add the garlic, cook another 1-2 minutes.
in a separate bowl beat the eggs until they are well blended
remove the potatoes and onions from the heat, allow to cool briefly, then add the potatoes to the eggs, mix loosely, return the frying pan to the heat and add the egg/potato mixture, make sure the potatoes and onions are spread evenly around the pan.
allow the eggs to solidify a bit, lift the sides of the omelet and allow more liquid egg to run underneath
repeat this process until the egg it relatively solid on top
with a large plate cover the frying pan and flip the omelet onto the plate, then slide the uncooked side back into the frying pan cook for a few more minutes until the other side is crisp
remove from heat and cut with a pizza cutter

pico de gallo
sweet tomatoes chopped
red onion chopped
yellow pepper chopped
cilantro roughly chopped
lime juice
salt
roasted corn kernels (optional)
jalapeño or anaheim chile chopped (optional)


mix all ingredients to taste and serve on top of slices of the tortilla, can be served with soy sour cream or standard sour cream if you are not dairy free

this can be a gluten and dairy free meal