Sunday, April 3, 2011

Tortilla Espanola de Patata - Spanish potato omlette

inspired by Angel and Ignacio

For 1 tortilla you need:
4-6 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 big potatoes
4 eggs

a low pan,of 24-26cm diameter

Chop the onions and cut potatoes into more or less 1-2 cm cubes.
Heat the oil in the pan and fry onions just a little bit, then add the potatoes and some salt. There should be enough oil in the pan covering the bottom part of the potato and onion mix.Add more oil if the potatoes are dry or start to burn.
Fry the potatoes till soft.
Take the potatoes off the pan into a bowl and let them cool down a bit. I usually mash the potatoes with a fork. This seems to be Burgos-Valliadolid style. However the Barcelona school prefers the potatoes to be left in chunks. Both taste wonderful.
Slightly beat the eggs so that the whites and yolks mix, add a little salt.
Add the cooled potato and mix well.
If necessary add a little oil to the pan and pour the egg-potato mix in the pan.
On medium heat cook the tortilla for about 7 minutes, lift the hardened tortilla a bit from the edges with a wooden spatula to see that it´s not burnt in the middle.
Take a big enough plate that covers the whole pan, turn the pan upside down quickly and return the tortilla carefully to the pan.
Cook for a minute or two. it is important not to over cook the tortilla otherwise the egg becomes too hard and a bit chewy.
Slide the tortilla from the pan to a plate and eat warm or cold. Cut into smaller pieces also serves nicely as finger food at a party.

Tortilla de Patata