Torta is a Filipino omelette made out of meat and vegetables. My mother cooked this often when I was young, and then, I called them little hamburgers, just because she made smaller servings of them, and they did look like little patties of beef. My mother-in-law prepares them in 9-inch dish – like a mega omelette. So here’s a recipe, combining what I’ve learned from both moms, and my own little twist: cooking with butter and olive oil.
Ingredients
1.5 lbs of ground beef
1 small onion (or 2 shallots), finely diced
2 small russet potatoes, skin removed, cut into small cubes
2 small tomatoes (or 1 handful of cherry tomatoes), diced
salt and black pepper, to taste
8 eggs, beaten with 3 tbsp of water
1 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp of butter
2 tbsp of olive oil
Directions
1. Over medium heat, brown the ground beef in a skillet.
2. About half way through the cooking process, add the cubed potatoes, diced onions (or shallots), and mix well. Be sure to stir often, and the ingredients might stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
3. Add about 1/2 cup of water, and continue to cook on medium to high heat.
4. Cover, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
5. When water is evaporated, remove lid. Check on the potatoes. Once they are tender, add in the diced tomatoes, and cook for about 3 more minutes.
6. Set aside mixture.
7. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and add corn starch. The corn starch helps keep the torta in tact.
8. In a clean skillet, heat of the olive oil and butter over medium heat. When the butter is melted, pour half of the beaten eggs.
9. Cook for about 2 minutes or until half of it is cooked. Be sure not to mix anything, leave it alone in the pan.
10. Pour half of the meat and potato mixture on top of the eggs and cook for another 2 minutes.
11. Here’s the tricky part – flipping it over. The easiest way is the loosen the eggs with a spatula, and flip pan over a plate. Slide the beef side onto the pan, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
12. Tricky part, again – getting the torta out of the pan and onto the plate.
Once that’s all done, repeat the process with the remaining half of ingredients. Eat with rice.
