The unshaven Don and Lucio's broken eggs

Huevos Estrellados

Huevos Estrellades (broken eggs over potatoes) is a very popular Spanish tapas dish. This is the story about roaming Madrid in search of Spanish food, beer and culture guided by an unshaven Spaniard.

Exploring Madrid

A few years ago we visited the south of Spain, but our first stop was Madrid. From Madrid's Barajas airport we took the metro to the station nearest to our hotel. The memory of the small Spanish woman with curly, grey hair and a fawn jersey on the train will remain with me. Her fingers counting the beads of her jade rosary while whispering the Hail Mary prayer. A golden glow surrounded her apple-doll face. The train was a concoction of different people. Some had South American features while others were extremely short.

We arranged for a business associate, whom we had never met before in person, to act as our guide. In the hotel foyer a Don awaited us - a cross between a business man and a matador. All of his Spanish ancestors came alive in his dark eyes and black hair complemented his unshaven face.

With pride the history of certain buildings in the old city was explained in our guide's heavy Spanish accent. Cubano immediately clicked with our new guide and they had a good time making jokes and goofing around. It almost seemed unfair to have two handsome guys by my side.

The Don and Cubano getting to know each other better.

As we walked around I could not help to notice a building with female figures. I was baffled by the bare tits on show on some of the figures. A stray Mariachi band played on one of the many squares and gypsies hung around to gather loose coins while a bunch of very tall and very dark African men tried to sell counterfeit handbags and DVD's.

Bare breasts? No-one knows why.

Madrid made such an impression on me that at that stage I wanted to sell everything I own and move to Madrid. Unfortunately life is too short and resources too few, but at least travelling shifts one's horizon. I loved the way that people had the freedom to roam the streets in relative safety until the small hours of the morning. My perception was that Madrilenas lived a very social life where they were not stuck in their homes in front of their television screens, it seemed that they would rather hung out with friends or stroll though the many beautiful parks. One park that really made an impression was El Retiro which was very family orientated and exquisitely manicured. Madrid is a city that never sleeps. The pulse of this vibrant city could be felt everywhere we went.

Our Don took us to Casa Lucio, very famous and very pricey I must add. We assured our guide that we wanted him to order for us, reasoning that we wanted to eat like Madrilenas. Willingly we handed over control to our guide.

Lucio's signature dish, Huevos Estrellados, was ordered. I was disappointed when it turned out to be fried eggs served on potato chips.  The combination seemed quite strange and boring at the same time. But one taste and we were hooked! What a tasty and simple combination for lunch.

Then we were caught off-guard with a hot pot of spicy tripe called Callos a la Madrilena, apparently similar to dishes found in the Balkans or Turkey. At least the chewy tripe was smothered in the smokey flavour of spicy chorizo sausages, not at all bad. A fish dish was served in between; an experience now lost to me. Lastly a delightful traditional Spanish rice pudding was served called Arroz con Leche - sweet and creamy with lots of cinnamon, like comfort food.

We ate like real Madrilenas! I will always remember that afternoon filled with good food and excellent conversation. By sharing food we gained insight into another cultures.

Casa Lucio's Huevos Estrellados

Researching the tapas dish Huevos Estrellados revealed that it is similar to Huevos Rotos (con patatas) meaning broken eggs over potatoes chips. This dish can apparently also be served with Spanish meat like jamon (ham) or chorizo (a type of sausage). Lucio calls it Huevos Estrellados or star eggs referring to the star shape of the egg yolk when it is cut with a knife. Casa Lucio is world renowned for this dish, so it's worth a try!

We tried to prepare this real Spanish dish of Huevos Estrellados here in our own kitchen in Johannesburg, trying to capture this travel memory. Maybe it is not exactly the way that Lucio prepares it, but this is our take on it. Here is a link to a video of Casa Lucio's kitchen - note the stove. We also added vinegar which is probably not the way it is done, but chips without vinegar will just be wrong!

Lucio's broken eggs on chips - Huevos Estrellados
Serves 1 - 2 as a starter dish
Author: Dulcie&Cubano

Ingredients
2 large potatoes cut into thick chips
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
1 large egg
Salt, balsamic vinegar and pepper to taste
Method
Fry potato chips in oil until golden.Remove chips from oil and transfer to a warm serving dish. Add salt and vinegar to taste. Fry egg in pan lightly. Do not overcook, the egg must be very underdone -  ensure that the yolk is still runny - because the heat of the chips will cook the egg. Top the potato chips with the fried egg. Break the yolk with the tip of a knife so that the runny yolk is visible. Season with ground black pepper.