Tortilla de espárragos trigueros

The story

Tortilla de espárragos trigueros is a flat Spanish omelet set around thin green asparagus, the kind Spaniards call trigueros. It is a spring dish rather than a feast-day one. Asparagus is in season in Spain from about March to June, and in those weeks the tortilla is common in Spanish tapas bars and restaurants. Its timing does put it on many Lenten tables. On the days when the Catholic calendar asks people to abstain from meat, which are Ash Wednesday, the Fridays of Lent and Good Friday, the rules have long left room for vegetables, fish, eggs, milk and honey. Directo al Paladar's Holy Week menu sets a potato and asparagus tortilla next to Lenten potaje, patatas viudas and huevos de vigilia, and makes a point of cooking with what the season brings. Some cooks add potato; others keep it to eggs, asparagus, olive oil and a little garlic or onion. Directo al Paladar suggests eating it hot from the pan with a slice of pan de payés, a rustic country loaf. For a Holy Week lunch, serve wedges with a tomato salad and a bowl of olives, or make two tortillas for a brunch table.