Spanish omelette
My all time favourite Spanish recipe!
Spanish omelette (tortilla de patatas) is no doubt my all time favourite dish. I have tender memories of my grandma cooking this dish every weekend as I always asked for it! And this is because even though it sounds like a simple recipe with only 4 core ingredients (potatoes, eggs, onion and olive oil) it is one most comforting and rich dishes you can have.
In Spain this dish is traditionally served for lunch or dinner and it is popular as a tapa or “pintxo” in many restaurants although it can also be enjoyed as a main dish. I recommend serving it with some nice rustic toasted bread, or pan con tomate. And of course if it is summer and nice tomatoes are at hand a Gazpacho also pairs amazing.
🌱Vegetarian
🍽️ 4 portions
Ingredients
800g potatoes
1 yellow onion
5 large eggs
Extra virgin olive oil to cook (250-300ml)
2 egg yolks
2 tsp salt
Method
Peel the potatoes and cut potatoes into thin slices with a knife. Peel your onion and finely dice.
Add the potatoes and onion to a large 25cm frying pan, heat over medium-high heat. Once the oil starts bubbling bring to medium heat, cover with a lid and cook for 30-40 min stirring ocassionally. Once the potatoes are fork tender turn off the heat and transfer them to a collander to remove all the oil. Reserve the oil
Transfer the drained potatoes back to the same pan and bring to medium high heat, Cook for 5min while stirring so the potatoes crisp up and develop a golden colour.
In a large bowl beat the eggs, yolks with salt. Add cooked potato and onion and toss to coat. Let mixture sit for about 5 minutes.
In the same pan where you fried the potatoes, pour back 1tbsp of the reserved oil and heat. Pour potato egg mix into the pan, cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes (if you liked the egg fully cooked then do 5min). Flip the tortilla using a big plate, and slide it back to the pan. Run a rubber spatula along the outer edges of the tortilla to define the round shape. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the omelette outer is set but still a bit runny on the middle.
Flip the the omelette onto a plate and serve.
FAQS and Tips
You can prepare the stewed onions and potatoes in advance, store them in an air tight container and refrigerate for up two 3 days until you are ready to cook the omelette
Do I really need that much oil? Yes! This is where the secret for a good Spanish omelette lies as it infuses the potatoes with that incredible flavour (as well as anti oxidants!). But most of the oil is actually no absorbed by the potatoes so you can store it and reuse it for other recipes.
