Potatoes. Yum.
Onions. Yum.
Eggs. Yum.
You get the idea…this dish is comprised of three of my favorite things. Potatoes, onions and eggs. Check, check and check. It’s Spanish comfort food at its absolute best. When I turned 30 (not THAT long ago), two of my besties took me to Portugal for my birthday. Needless to say, it was an amazing trip. And it kept getting better, as I then traveled on my own to Spain and Nice. It was the first time I’d really traveled abroad for an extended time on my own, and it was quite the eye-opening experience. Once I got used to being a solo traveler, I relished the chance to just flit from here to there on a whim. Total freedom. I really hit my stride once I got to Seville (or Sevilla, as they say en España). I spent about a week there and while that’s not that long really, I did start to fall into a little daily pattern, as we are wont to do. My first stop each morning was this busy breakfast stand type place where I’d get a café con leche and a thick slice of their homemade tortilla española. I would stand at one of the high tables on the sidewalk, eat my delicious breakfast and plan my adventure for that day. It was a filling, cheap and yummy meal and one that I will forever associate with traveling — the whole passing through, adventure, and endless possibility of it all. Oh to be young and on the move…oh wait! I am! Still. Sorta. Phew.
Tortilla española is good whenever, but if you can restrain yourself, it really does taste better the next day, nice and chilled out of the fridge. Oh, and yes, there appears to be a ridiculous amount of oil in this recipe, but please don’t freak out. Most of it ends up in the pan. I even measured the amount before and after I made the tortilla and ended up using only about 1/2 cup total in the making of it. Also, you can pass the used oil through a sieve and reuse if you like. Waste not, want not.
NOTES:
- Some people believe in thinly slicing the potatoes to get the whole layered effect (similar to scalloped or potatoes au gratin). Personally, I like to do about a 1/3″ dice. The potatoes are small enough that you still get the layering effect, but there’s still a little chunk and heft to them that I like. Your call.
- You can do the whole thing in a 12-inch skillet, preferably non-stick or a REALLY well seasoned non-nonstick. Trust me, you don’t want this stuck to the pan; it makes flipping a big drag. Or, you can cook the potatoes and onions in a larger skillet and use a smaller sauté pan (a 9″ omelet pan works well) to cook the tortilla, which I find easier to maneuver. You’ll get two smaller tortillas from this recipe.
Tortilla Española
1-3/4 cups vegetable oil for frying
2 lb. (about 6 medium) potatoes, preferably ones with low starch like Yukon Gold, peeled and chopped (see note below)
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 medium onion, sliced into very thin half moons
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
Black pepper to taste
In a large sauté pan, heat the oil on medium high until hot. Add the potatoes and sprinkle with about a teaspoon of the salt. The potatoes should basically be submerged in the oil (this is the point where you may start to freak out about the oil. Don’t.) Once they start bubbling away, turn the heat down to medium. Stir frequently. You don’t want to brown the potatoes at this point, just cook them through. After about 10 minutes, add the onions. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
In the meantime, whisk the eggs in a large bowl and add the other 1/2 teaspoon salt.
After the potatoes are onions are cooked through — you should be able to easily cut through a potato with your cooking utensil (spoon, spatula, whatever) — remove them from the oil and drain on a plate covered with paper towel for a few minutes.
Add the potato mixture to the eggs and stir. Let this sit for another five minutes or so to let the potatoes soak up some of the egg. I wouldn’t let it sit too long (once I had to let it sit for an hour and I needed to add more egg because there wasn’t enough liquid to hold the tortilla together in the pan).
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 9″ skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Pour in half the potato/egg mixture, making sure the potatoes are evenly distributed over the surface. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the egg part is completely set at the edges. The inside will be fairly runny still, not to worry. Shake the pan to make sure the tortilla isn’t stuck to the bottom. It should slide around a bit. If it doesn’t, use a spatula to carefully loosen up any stuck bits.
OK, ready to flip. Take your flattest plate that is a touch wider than the pan and place it upside down on top of the pan. To be extra safe, you can place a kitchen towel or hot pad on top of that and then with your hand holding the towel and plate onto the pan (please don’t touch the sides of the pan; it’s rather hot), pick up the sauté pan and flip the pan so the tortilla comes out cooked-side up on the plate. Set the pan back on the heat, and slide the tortilla back into the pan. You can use a spatula to help you slide it in; it should go easily, but you may have some residual eggy mixture on the plate. Don’t angle the plate too much, as that can lead to splitting the bottom open. Let the tortilla cook for 1 minute, then flip again. Flip about 8 more times, cooking each side for about 45 seconds for a total of about 6 more minutes. You’ll notice with each flip that the tortilla is firming up and browning nicely. If it seems like it’s browning too fast, turn the heat down a little.
After the last flip, slide the tortilla onto a clean plate and let it cool for 10-15 minutes. Take a moment; now go make the other one. The first one’s going to go pretty quickly.
