Spanish Tortilla {Spanish Omelette}

I’m pleased to present this post and recipe that I developed in partnership with Kitchen Fair and their delightful, Made-In-America, non-toxic products. Please visit Kitchen Fair to peruse their top-grade pans.

My little brother, Luke, recently moved into a new place. To celebrate the new digs, I wanted to get him a little something for his kitchen. I showed him the goods on the Kitchen Fair website and asked him to pick one and explain his criteria. His choice was the Expression 10-inch Stainless Steel Fry Pan because of its every day usability. I was pretty thrilled to know that it had a patented, non-toxic PFOA Free, Eterna® Black Galaxy non-stick coating because most non-stick coatings aren’t that well thought out. The pan was so gorgeous when it arrived that I couldn’t resist taking it for a test drive, so to speak. My ultimate test of any non-stick pan is a classic Spanish Tortilla {Spanish Omelette}; that mainstay of tapas bars, Spanish homes, and restaurants. If a pan can turn out good eggs, it’s a pan worth owning.

The idea with a Spanish Tortilla {Spanish Omelette} is to gently fry some very thinly sliced potatoes and onions until tender, then toss them with beaten eggs, salt, pepper, etc… and return the works to the pan. It is a simple but perfect combination of eggs, onions, and potatoes. What comes next is not difficult, but might be different than what you’ve done with frittatas or omelettes before; you slide a flexible spatula down along the inside of the pan to lift the cooked egg and allow the still liquid egg to flow underneath it. Rotate around the edge repeating this, tilting the pan gently as needed, until no liquid egg remains. For this reason, you want to be sure to use a frying pan that has a good, thick bottom and ability to retain and disperse heat evenly. When this is accomplished, you slide the partially cooked Spanish Tortilla onto a waiting plate. THIS is where the non-stick coating will show you whether it is good or not. The Kitchen Fair Expression pan rocked the even heat and the non-stick coating tests.

…And the Spanish Tortilla {Spanish Omelette}? Well, shoot. This is a glorious example of simple food being simply wonderful. Substantial amounts of tender potatoes and onions held together by light egg, the Spanish Tortilla is more about those potatoes and onions than it is the egg. The egg is the method by which the yielding potatoes are formed into a finger-food worthy of legend. It can be served hot, warm, or cold and is served plain just as often as it is adorned. I topped today’s Spanish Tortilla with a fistful of arugula, some pea shoots, and some very thinly sliced prosciutto (even though paper thin Iberico ham would be more in keeping with the country of origin), for a seriously simple meal-in-one.

Cook’s Notes

• It is absolutely advisable to use a sturdy, dead-slick, non-stick pan with a thick, even bottom for making a Spanish Tortilla {Spanish Omelette}. The Kitchen Fair Expression 10-inch Stainless Steel Fry Pan is obviously a perfect choice. In its absence, use a pan that fits the above description.
• You can leave the skins on your potatoes or remove them, as you wish, but you will want to slice them as thinly as you can. I find a mandoline or v-slicer is best for the job. If those terrify you, use a cut-proof glove while slicing the potatoes and onions. Is there no mandoline handy? The thin slicing blade on a food processor in its place.
• The onions and potatoes should be sliced to the same thickness.
• When you first add the potatoes and onions to the pan, it will be slightly crowded. This is okay. Add a pinch of salt and gently toss around until it begins to soften. Have a lid or sheet pan/larger pan to cover the frying pan while you’re cooking the potatoes and onions. This will trap some of the heat and moisture and help to soften the potatoes.
• It isn’t necessary to let the potatoes cool more than 5 minutes before adding to the egg mixture. It is okay if the egg starts cooking around the potatoes as this is, in fact, the ultimate goal. It is, however, important to get it back into the pan fairly quickly so you can control the process and have it cook up in a nice, compact Spanish Tortilla shape that holds together.
• Having a flexible spatula that you can slide along the underside of the cooking egg to lift it and allow the liquid to trickle underneath is not negotiable. I recommend GIR Spatulas for their flexible-yet-sturdy, heat-proof construction.
• The flipping of the Spanish Tortilla might be a little nervous-making if you haven’t done it before, but I promise it’ll be easy as long as you have a truly non-stick pan. I’ll break it down for you. First, run your flexible spatula around the inside edge of the Tortilla to make sure it isn’t sticking to the pan. Next, place a large, heat-safe plate on top of an oven mitt on the counter. Lift your pan with the mostly-cooked Spanish Tortilla and line up the pan over the plate. Scoot the pan about 1/3 of the way toward the center of the plate and tilt the pan gently toward the plate. Shimmy it a little back and forth to help start the tortilla moving, then slide the pan away, allowing the tortilla to transfer onto the plate. Carefully slide your hand into the oven mitt lifting the plate with the Spanish Tortilla on it. Flip the pan upside down and position it over and on top of the tortilla. Hold the pan and plate firmly together and flip over again so the tortilla is now cooked side up in the pan. Tada! You can now return the pan to the heat to finish cooking!
• You need to let the Spanish Tortilla {Spanish Omelette} rest before slicing to give the structure a chance to set up nicely. This means a minimum of 20 minutes of cooling time before slicing it into wedges or cubes. If you dig in before then, it’ll have a distressing tendency for the layers of potato to slide around and apart.
• Serve plain, as is, or garnished with greens and thinly sliced meat. Spanish Tortilla {Spanish Omelette} can be enjoyed as an appetizer, as a light meal, or served as part of a substantial repast.

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Spanish Tortilla {Spanish Omelette}

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Rebecca Lindamood

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Ingredients

  

For the Spanish Tortilla:

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil divided
• 4 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes scrubbed and very thinly sliced
• 1 small yellow cooking onion peeled, cut in half, and very thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
• 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced or pressed through a garlic press
• 8 large eggs room temperature
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Optional Garnish:

• 1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
• 2 cups arugula or other mixed spring greens and shoots
• 8 paper thin slices prosciutto or Iberico ham

Instructions

 

• Swirl 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a 10-inch, heavy-bottomed, non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add in the potatoes and onions and 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt. Toss to evenly distribute the salt and oil. Cook, turning frequently with a flexible spatula, for 5 to 6 minutes, then toss in the garlic and stir until fragrant. Put a lid on the pan, turn the heat to medium low and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, opening and flipping the contents around, or until the potatoes are tender. Let them cool without the lid for 5 minutes.
• While the potatoes cool slightly, whisk the remaining salt,eggs, chopped parsley, and black pepper in a large mixing bowl until even in colour. Toss in the potatoes and onions and gently mix to combine thoroughly. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and return it to medium heat. Pour the egg and potato mixture into the pan and let it cook, undisturbed, until the eggs on the bottom begin to set, or about 2 minutes. Slide a flexible spatula under part of the cooked egg. Lift the cooked bit gently and tilt the pan to allow the uncooked, liquid egg from the top to pour under it. Repeat this procedure around the edge of the pan until all the pools of uncooked egg have been cooked this way and the tortilla is completely set on the sides. Slide the Spanish Tortilla onto a heat proof plate. Flip the pan over the tortilla and, holding the plate tightly to the pan, invert it so the uncooked portion of the tortilla is now face down in the pan. Return the pan to medium low heat for 2 minutes, or until the bottom side of the tortilla is set up.
• Allow the Spanish Tortilla to cool for at least 20 minutes before turning out of the pan and slicing.
• If you prefer, you can serve topped with diced bell pepper, arugula or mixed greens, and thinly sliced prosciutto or Iberico ham.

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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