Seafood Torta (torta De Mariscos)

Place unpeeled onion and garlic, bay leaves and 1 teaspoon salt in stockpot
or large saucepan with water. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce
heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add shrimp and cook 3 minutes, skimming any
froth. Remove shrimp with skimmer or slotted spoon, drain well, transfer to
bowl and set aside to cool. Remove and discard onion and garlic. Add squid
and cook 3 minutes. Remove, drain and set aside. Reserve stock for another
purpose (it makes delicious fish soup). When shrimp are cool enough to
handle, peel, devein and chop fine. Combine shrimp, squid, crab meat,
chopped onion, tomatoes, parsley and chiles in bowl. Toss well to
distribute ingredients. Sprinkle with flour and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon more salt
and toss again until no flour can be seen. Beat egg whites in bowl until
slightly stiff peaks form. Beat in yolks, 1 at a time, until thoroughly
incorporated. With rubber spatula, carefully fold eggs into seafood
mixture. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant but
not quite rippling. Reduce heat to low. Pour or spoon seafood mixture into
pan, smoothing it with spatula to spread it evenly down to bottom of pan.
Cook uncovered 8 minutes. Flip cake by sliding onto pan lid or plate and
slipping it back into pan. Cook until golden on underside, about 3 minutes.
Serve hot, cut in wedges. Yields 8 servings.

Each serving: 182 calories; 280 mg sodium; 241 mg cholesterol; 6 grams fat;
9 grams carbohydrates; 23 grams protein; 0.66 gram fiber.

Comments: This is a great party dish, and it would also be wonderful at
brunch, made as small individual omelets. You can vary the seafood as you
like, but the combination shouldn’t be too watery and should add up to
around 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds. The tricky part of the dish is flipping the
“pancake” or “omelet.” Use a 10-inch nonstick frying pan that comes with a
matching flat lid and slide the torte onto the lid when it’s done on one
side.