National dishes from our favourite holiday destinations, part 3: Spain

For Zineb Hattab, Spanish cuisine is far more than gastronomy – it is memory, heritage and lived community. Raised as the daughter of Moroccan immigrants on the Costa Brava, between Girona and the small coastal town of Blanes, she developed her relationship with food through fresh seasonal ingredients, large family meals and hours spent cooking together.

“I grew up in a household where ​‘farm to table’ was simply the norm and never questioned,” Hattab recalls. ​“That gave me an awareness of seasonality and fresh produce from a very early age.” Respect for food also played a central role in her childhood. ​“We often slaughtered the animals we ate ourselves. Because of that, I always knew where food came from and associated animal products with the living being behind them.” At the same time, she remembers the many hours spent in the kitchen with her large family: ​“That’s where I learned that cooking together is also an expression of love.”

Her career path was anything but conventional. After studying engineering in Barcelona, Hattab initially worked as a software developer in Switzerland before leaving everything behind at the age of just 24 to become a chef. She went on to work in some of the world’s most renowned restaurants, including Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana, El Celler de Can Roca and Andreas Caminada’s Schloss Schauenstein. Later, she moved to New York, where she worked, among other places, at Cosme.

In 2020, Hattab finally opened her own restaurant in Zurich: KLE, a restaurant with a purely vegan philosophy and an uncompromising commitment to quality. Success followed quickly. GaultMillau named her ​“Discovery of the Year”, while Michelin awarded her both a Green Star and a Red Star, making her the first vegan chef in Switzerland to receive this distinction. With her additional venues DAR and COR, she continues to demonstrate how modern, emotional and surprising plant-based cuisine can be. One of the dishes that best reflects her connection to her Spanish roots is also one of Spain’s most iconic culinary classics – the Tortilla de Patatas. The Spanish staple has accompanied her since childhood. ​“In Spain, potato tortilla is simply part of everyday life – for breakfast, lunch or dinner,” she says. For her wine and pinchos bar COR, she reinterpreted the dish as a fully plant-based creation served on crispy pan con tomate, just like a traditional pintxo. ​“It’s one of my favourite versions ever,” she says. ​“I love it served on pan con tomate – exactly like a classic pintxo.”

The biggest challenge? Letting go of old ways of thinking. ​“Most chefs – myself included – were trained using animal products. One of the biggest challenges was first having to forget all those ingredients and techniques in order to develop new approaches.” Today, she sees this as one of her greatest strengths. ​“We no longer focus on what is missing. Instead, we focus on everything the plant world has to offer – and it has exceeded our expectations by far.”

With her version of the Tortilla de Patatas, Hattab demonstrates just how far modern plant-based cuisine has evolved. Far removed from old stereotypes, it has become a cuisine capable of surprising, delighting and creating genuine emotional connections. ​“Veganism used to have a very dogmatic image that put many people off,” she says. That is precisely what she hopes to change through her restaurants. ​“Our job is to create delicious dishes that surprise and inspire people and encourage them to approach plant-based cuisine with an open mind.” For Hattab, the future is clear: ​“A colourful, plant-rich diet based on natural ingredients is the future.”

Ingredients for the tortilla

• 1 kg onions, finely sliced
• 500 g potatoes
• 1 litre vegetable or sunflower oil

Ingredients for the batter

• 45 g chickpea flour
• 400 g silken tofu
• 275 ml soy milk
• 65 g potato starch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon kala namak (black salt)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Step 1

Peel the onions, cut them into thin strips and place them in a pan with a splash of sunflower oil and a generous pinch of salt over low to medium heat. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until very soft and caramelised – about one hour. Meanwhile, wash the potatoes and cut them into slices approximately ½ cm thick. Place them in a saucepan and cover with enough oil so they are completely submerged. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent them from sticking to the bottom. After about 30 minutes, the potatoes should be soft enough for a knife to slide through easily. Let them cool slightly in the oil before draining.

Step 2

Spread the chickpea flour evenly on a baking tray and roast at 160°C for about 30 minutes, stirring every ten minutes to ensure even colouring. Remove from the oven and increase the temperature to 180°C. Once the flour has cooled, blend it together with the remaining ingredients until smooth and silky. Carefully combine the caramelised onions, potatoes and tortilla mixture in a large bowl. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a medium-sized non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Pour in the mixture, reduce the heat and spread it evenly with a spatula. Cover with a lid and cook for about ten minutes, until the edges begin to set.

Step 3

Remove the lid and place the pan in the oven for another ten minutes, until the surface has just set. Carefully remove from the oven and place a plate over the pan. Turn the tortilla out onto the plate and gently slide it back into the pan so the other side can cook. Cook over low heat for a further 10 minutes, until the underside is beautifully golden brown. Transfer to a serving plate and let it rest briefly before slicing. Serve with aioli or a mayonnaise of your choice.

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