Traditional Spanish Tortilla (Tortilla Española)
TRADITIONAL TORTILLA ESPAÑOLA (Spanish Tortilla)
There’s nothing better than a slice of Tortilla Espanola with a fresh tomato salad on a summer day. This recipe is home on a plate for me, and considering many of our summer travel plans may be cancelled, we can at least pretend we’re in Spain.
For those of you who don’t know much about me yet, I was raised in Spain until I moved to the US when I was 6, but I still visit my dad and family in Spain 1-2 times per year. I grew up watching my grandma making delicious meals, which is why I’m not surprised that her first reaction to looking at my blog was where all the Spanish recipes she had taught me were.
What I love about Spanish food isn’t just the fact that it’s delicious (I know I’m biased), but it has a way of bringing people together. It reminds me of my family crowding around a table and all taking a fork out of my grandma’s tortilla for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Living in the US, I’ve realized how little people know about Spanish culture and traditional Spanish food, so. I hope this recipe brings a bit of traditional Spanish food into your household, because once you try tapas you’re not gonna want anything else!
Ingredients:
For the Tortilla Española (Spanish Tortilla)
3 large Yukon Gold Potatoes (do not use Russet)
1 yellow onion
7 eggs
2 cups good extra virgin olive oil (do not substitute for any other oil!*)
1 tsp salt
For the Side Tomato Salad:
A few large good quality tomatoes, quartered
Olive oil
Splash of red wine or sherry vinegar
Pinch of salt
Directions:
For the Tortilla Espanola:
Start by peeling your potatoes.
Using a mandolin set to 3/16” thickness, slice your potatoes into equal slices (you can also do this by hand, just make sure all slices are of equal thickness). It is WAY faster to use a mandolin and they’re very inexpensive. You can find the one I have here.
Slice your onion on the same setting on the mandolin or cut into thin slices.
Add a tbsp of olive oil to a high-sided skillet on medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook for 5-7 minutes until soft.
Add the rest of the olive oil and heat to medium-low heat.
Add in your sliced potatoes.
Keep at a low rolling boil for about 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently, until potatoes are soft but not too brown. If you start to see a lot of browning, turn your heat down - you do NOT want to fry this, just cook gently in the oil.
Once potatoes are cooked, turn off your heat and break up some of the large pieces, so you have some small and some big, since you want a bit of texture to your tortilla. Using a slotted spoon to drain off excess oil, transfer potatoes to a bowl to cool.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs vigorously until frothy.
Once your potatoes are cooled, add to your eggs with a slotted spoon, draining as much of the oil as possible.
Mix the potatoes and eggs and taste. Add salt if necessary.
Get a 10” nonstick skillet up to medium-high heat.
Pour your mixture into the pan, and take a spatula to continuously loosen the tortilla from the sides of the pan.
Once your tortilla has started to pull away from the pan at the sides, it’s ready to flip (4-5 minutes).
To flip, carefully slide a large plate onto your skillet. Place your hand firmly on top of your plate, and flip in one quick motion.
Slide the tortilla back into your pan and continue patting down the sides with the spatula.
After 2-3 minutes or once the sides looked cooked, turn off the heat and flip back onto your plate.
And you’re done! Serve for breakfast, lunch, or dinner with the tomato salad and enjoy a taste of Spain in your own kitchen!
*Note: olive oil is what is going to give your tortilla it’s unique taste. If you use another oil, it will not taste the same. There’s few ingredients so I highly recommend not to substitute any of them*
