Tortilla de Patatas
Spanish Potato and Onion Omelette
Potatoes and onion are cooked slowly in olive oil until soft, not crisp, then bound with egg and set into a thick cake. Whether it should contain onion at all is a national argument. Whether the middle should be soft or firm is another. This one has onion and a soft centre, and can be cooked firmer.
It is eaten everywhere and at every hour: a wedge at the bar mid-morning, a tapa with a drink, a light supper at home.
The Spanish recipe read cooks 300 g of onion for half an hour until sweet, starts the potatoes in cold oil so that they soften without colouring, and sets the tortilla for only three or four minutes before turning it.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 700 g waxy potatoes (such as Charlotte or Désirée), peeled
- 300 g onions (2 medium), thinly sliced
- 300 ml olive oil, most of which is drained off and can be reused
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
Method
- Cook the onion Heat 3 tbsp of the oil in the frying pan over a low heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until very soft and pale gold. Tip into a large bowl.
- Cook the potatoes Cut the potatoes into slices about 3 mm thick. Put them in the pan with the remaining oil, starting from cold. Cook over a medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, turning gently, until completely tender but not browned. The oil should bubble lazily, not fry.
- Mix Drain the potatoes in a sieve over a bowl and keep the oil. Beat the eggs with the salt in the bowl with the onions, add the hot potatoes, stir and leave for 5 minutes.
- Set the first side Wipe out the pan, add 1 tbsp of the reserved oil and heat over a medium-high heat until hot. Pour in the mixture, shake the pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, running a spatula round the edge, until the sides are set and the top is still loose.
- Turn Lay the plate over the pan, hold it firmly and turn pan and plate over together in one movement, over the sink the first time. Slide the tortilla back in, tuck the edges under and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more for a soft centre, or 5 to 6 minutes over a lower heat for a firm one.
- Rest Slide onto a clean plate and rest for 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, in wedges.
Food safety
A soft-centred tortilla contains lightly cooked egg. Use British Lion-marked eggs, which UK food safety advice considers safe to eat runny, or cook the tortilla until firm throughout.
The potatoes are stewed in oil, not fried. If they brown, the heat is too high.
Strain the leftover oil and keep it for the next tortilla.