Thursday 29 September 2011

Tapas: Tortilla Espanola - Spanish Omelette

Tortilla Espanola


A display of Tapas wouldn’t be complete without a Tortilla - Spanish omelette. A very simple, inexpensive dish made of just potato, egg and onion.
It’s one of those dishes that crosses all regions of Spanish cooking, it can be served hot or cold but most commonly found cold as part of tapas.
The onions and potatoes are slowly cooked together - sweetening the onions and leaving the potatoes with a gentle crunch as you bite through the Tortilla.
Once you have tried this recipe you can start experimenting by adding extra ingredients like peppers or chorizo too.
The most important ingredient in the Tortilla is the eggs so make sure you use the best eggs you can find as this makes a huge difference to the flavour. I always go for free range organic eggs whenever possible.

Serves: 2 as a main dish or 6 as part of tapas

5 free-range organic eggs
Handful baby potatoes, peeled and sliced into discs
1 medium Spanish onion, sliced
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

On a low heat cook the onion and potato together in a little oil. Season and cover with a lid for about 20 minutes, giving it a shake or stir every now and then to make sure nothing sticks to the pan. The potatoes and onion should be cooked but not coloured. Turn off the heat and leave to cool for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl beat up the eggs and season. Add the cooked onion and potatoes to the eggs and give it a good stir to coat.

Get a clean frying pan very hot on a high heat, add a glug of olive oil, pour in the mixture and turn the heat right down to the lowest setting.
Leave the egg to cook very slowly; it can take up to 20 minutes. Every now and then use a flat edged knife to score the edge of the pan - ensuring the tortilla keeps a round shape.

When the tortilla is almost cooked to the top you can do two things: either use a plate to turn it over and slide back into the pan (this is what the Spanish do but it can get messy!) or place the tortilla under the grill for a minute or two.

Cut the tortilla into wedges and serve warm or cold.

The tortilla should be moist and full of flavour.

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