Mastering My Mistakes: How to Make the Best Tapas Menu

Mushroom Tortilla

Cold Tomato Soup With Ham and Hard-Boiled Eggs

Garlic Shrimp

To get his mushroom tortilla out of the pan, José uses a quick, confident twist of the wrist. If you’re timid, as I was, you’ll end up with smooshed eggs that slide slowly to the side.

When making the tortilla, the first move is to sauté the onions, then the mushrooms. My instinct was not to crowd the pan, but José fills every bit of surface area so nothing burns.

José beats the eggs into submission, until they are shiny and creamy. Then, when they’re in the pan, he corrals them to the middle, stirring hard. I now understand that my passive approach was a fail in progress.

I’ve never been able to get a tortilla out of the pan intact—I even tried using a fish spatula once. That’s why José’s trick is genius: He places a plate on top, then flips the skillet.

Blender blades can heat up the soup if they’re working really hard, so José throws in a few ice cubes to keep the temperature cool.

This tip would make F&W’s Mad Genius jealous. In order to chop hard-boiled eggs for topping the tomato soup, José pushes the whites, then the yolks, through a small strainer.