Tilapia/Eggplant Torta

Finally, another cooking video! Aren't you guys proud of me? Anyhow, this dish is called torta, which is essentially a Filipino omelet. It can be prepared in many ways. Here, I am using eggplant as a base and adding fish meat with the egg to add a bit more protein and substance. However, it can be made with the eggplant alone, or it can even be made without the eggplant, using just egg and meat. It's a very versatile meal as you can change the meat to almost anything as well. In the past I've used ground beef, ground turkey, and even minced shrimp. Essentially, anything that goes with egg will work well in this recipe.



There's also a funny story involving this video. My husband was in and out of the kitchen while I was cooking. He had been asking me for eggplant torta and dilis (salty, dried, fried anchovies) for a week, so I decided to make it, and he knew it. However, he also saw me defrost 3 tilapia fillets. My usual preparation of tilapia on Filipino food nights is to deep fry it, so that's what he was expecting. After I was finished cooking, I called him to eat. He saw the torta, the rice, the dilis and the tomato, but he kept looking around like he was expecting something else. I saw him look in the oven and the deep fryer. He checked the microwave and opened the fridge and freezer. Eventually he outright asked me where the tilapia went. I told him to eat his dinner, then I'd tell him. But he wouldn't have it. He was determined to find the tilapia before he ate dinner. He really wanted that tilapia. I told him he would not find it unless he ate his dinner. He then began searching through cabinets. He looked in the trash. He even checked the dishwasher! I couldn't stop laughing and he was laughing too. I think it took me about 15 to 20 minutes to convince him that I would tell him as soon as he sat down to eat dinner. Eventually he did, and lo and behold, just like I said, he found the tilapia with his first bite. The funniest part is that this isn't the first time I've made tilapia/eggplant torta, so he should have known it was in there. Oh well, it made for a nice laugh and a cute memory.

On that note, I'm off to do more work.

Take care!

Colleen