Saints, Feast, Family
- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring -
July 19
Saint of the day:
Saints Justa and Rufina
Patron Saint of Seville; potters; guilds of alfareros (potters) and cacharreros (sellers of pottery)
The Story of Saint Justa and Saint Rufina
St. Justa and St. Rufina, Virgins and Martyrs (Feast - July 19) These martyrs were two Christian women at Seville in Spain who maintained themselves by selling earthenware. Not to concur in idolatrous superstitions, they refused to sell vessels for the use of heathen ceremonies and when the worshipers broke up their stock-in-trade, Justa and Rufina retorted by overthrowing the image of a false goddess. Whereupon the people impeached them for their faith before the governor. The prefect, after they had boldly confessed Christ, commanded them to be stretched on the rack and their sides to be torn with hooks. An idol was placed near the rack with incense, that if they would offer sacrifice they should be released; but their fidelity was not to be shaken. Justa died on the rack; the judge ordered Rufina to be strangled, and their bodies to be burned. They are greatly venerated in Spain, and no doubt their names represent historical martyrs in that place. But their Acts are unreliable and one of the martyrs appears to have undergone a change of sex in the course of the ages, for Justa was originally called Justus.
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=441
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justa_and_Rufina
Prayer:
Dear God, give me courage,
or perhaps I lack it more than anything else.
I need courage before men against their threats
and against their seductions.
I need courage to bear unkindness,
mockery, contradiction.
I need courage to fight against the devil,
against terrors and troubles, temptations,
attractions, darkness and false lights,
against tears, depression, and above all fear.
I need Your help, dear God.
Strengthen me with Your love and Your grace.
Console me with Your blessed Presence
and grant me the courage to persevere
until I am with You forever in heaven.
Amen.
Visit:
According to tradition, they are protectors of the Giralda and the Cathedral of Seville,
and are said to have protected both during the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.
Catedral de Santa María de la Sede de Sevilla
Avenida de la Constitución, s/n.
41001 Sevilla
Telephone: +34 902 09 96 92
Tradition:
Their Procession
Recipe
Tortilla de Patatas
Ingredients
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Six eggs
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Two potatoes, peeled, cut in half, and sliced horizontally
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One large onion, sliced
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Salt
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One litre of olive oil (trust me on this)
Directions:
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In a large stockpot over medium high heat, add 3/4 litres of olive oil. When it is hot but not smoking, add the potatoes and onions. Lower heat to medium. Cook, poaching the potatoes and onions until the potatoes are fork tender, about 10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, in a large bowl, crack your eggs and beat. Add salt. At this time, get all the things you are going to need for the tortilla. A large plate, two frying pans, one medium, one smaller (optional). IMPORTANT NOTE: THEY MUST BE NON-STICK FRYING PANS. If not, your tortilla will stick and the whole process is ruined.
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When your potatoes and onions are done, strain them, reserving two tbsp of oil. Let them cool for at least 10 minutes. When your potatoes are cool enough to touch, then mix them in with your scrambled eggs.
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In a medium frying pan, add one tbsp of your reserved oil. Heat over medium heat until almost smoking.
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Now add your egg and potato mixture, and as soon as it hits the pan, start stirring the eggs so that they coagulate and the uncooked part goes to the bottom, and you get some cooked egg on top……like this:
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Simultaneously, as you are stirring the centre, with your wooden spoon, drag it along the edges to make sure that it is drying up.
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This enables you to make sure that the tortilla is not sticking on the edges, so it will flip loosely onto your large plate. Keep doing these movements until you see little runniness in the middle, and it seems like it is drying up.
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When you feel that there won’t be enough egg mix lost when you do “The Flip”, then place your large plate (it must be larger than the circumference of your frying pan) on top of the pan,
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And with a flick of your wrist, flip the tortilla onto the plate, and then slide back into the frying pan.
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At this point, you can choose if you want to place it into a smaller frying pan. I learned this tip from a proper Catalan, who said always move your tortilla into a smaller frying pan to get that nice rounded shape.
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If you do switch to a smaller frying pan, then add the remaining one tbsp of olive oil, and heat over a low flame. Either way, if you do or you don’t, you have to start to tuck in the edges of the tortilla, to give it a nice round shape on the edges. And, now the key is if you want it a bit runny, or “JUICY” as they would say here, you either cook it for two more minutes, or seven more minutes. Since I like mine in between, I cook it for five more minutes.
