Spanish Omelette (Tortilla)

Spanish Omelette (Tortilla)

DifficultyMedium

Servings8

Cook time45 minutes

The classic Spanish Omelette is a fantastic alternative for Breakfast, Brunch or even served as a Tapas side dish. The ingredients are simple and straight forward. Potato, Eggs and Onion. What I love about this dish is the simplicity. I like to whack everything in the food processor. This really only take a few seconds of whizzing up and you have the complete base for your Omelette. The photos do the talking, but come on! crispy buttery Potato, Onions, Eggs and Spice. This is my go to day off Breakfast or Brunch. This recipe does require a little patience and also a tad bit of confidence. After all I am asking you to flip a large Omelette on its head. But trust me, its not as hard as it sounds, and once you do it, you can have a small win in the kitchen and high five whoever might reciprocate. A Spanish Omelette for me is like if a Potato Pancake married and a Biryani. Its crispy on top (once flipped) and fluffy and creamy inside. A little history for you which I found interesting. According to legend, during the siege of Bilbao, Carlist general Tomás de Zumalacárregui invented the "tortilla de patatas" (the Spanish Omelette) as an easy, fast and nutritious dish to satisfy the scarcities of the Carlist army. Some do say it was a housewife who accidentally invented this dish and offered it to the General who stopped by her house for dinner. As there are so many different accounts, we'll probably never know the real origin of the Spanish Omelette, but what is certain is that this delicious Spanish dish emerged from necessity between the late 18th and early 19th Century. Captivating the palate of poor and rich alike.
Enjoy!

Ingredients

Spanish Omelette

  • 300 GRAMS Peeled Potatoes
  • 1 White Onion
  • 2 TBS Olive Oil
  • 5 Large Free Range Eggs
  • Pinch Salt & Pepper
  • Saffron, OPTIONAL

Instructions

Spanish Omelette

  • 1

    Peel & Cut- Peel the Potatoes and Onion. Then cut them into thin slices or add them into a food processor with slicer attachment. Wash and pat dry with clean towel. Set aside.

    Oil in Pan- Add oil into a non-stick Frying Pan. Then heat up on medium.

    Cook Vegetables- Once oil is hot, add your Onion and Potato. Fry until caramelised and Potato is cooked through. (NOTE)

    Eggs-

    Crack the Eggs into a bowl and season with Salt and Pepper. Whisk together.

    The Omelette-

    Once the Potato and Onion is cooked through. Turn off heat and pour whisked Eggs into the Frying Pan. Stir carefully so that the Egg is coating all the vegetables.

    Cooking the Omelette-

    Turn heat back on and adjust to the lowest temp. Cook until the eggs have almost set on top. Around 20 minutes. Don’t stir. (NOTE)

    The flip-

    Use a spatula to loosen the omelette from sides of frying pan. Then get a large plate (larger then the pan) lay flat on top of frying pan and flip upside down so your omelette is now on the plate. (NOTE)

    Back to pan-

    Carefully slide the omelette back into frying pan and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until golden brown underneath.

    Serve-

    hot or cold with a simple salad on the side. I love to put a pinch of dried chilli flakes and Saffron Butter drizzled on top. (NOTE)

    Enjoy!

Equipment

  • Non-Stick Frying Pan
  • Large plate or Chopping Board- for the flip

Notes

Cook Vegetables-

The potatoes become soft when cooked and they are very fragile. Just be careful with them when turning over after caramelising. This ensures you maintain some texture in Omelette. Also please please please make sure your pan is NON-STICK. I have had a disaster Omelette stick to pan before and its not fun.

Eggs-

You can absolutely add some spice to this recipe. This recipe is just the base for whatever you like. I have done more fancy versions of this Omelette using Saffron and Paprika. Check out my “Best way to bloom Saffron” post for good tips!

Cooking the Omelette-

If you are worried about the bottom of Omelette burning whilst cooking. Just slightly lift it up with spatula to check every 5 minutes. If it is then your heat is to hot or Pans base is not thick enough.

The Flip-

This bit can be a little bit stressful but just be confident and don’t doubt your flip. Really helpful using a spatula to loosen up the sides first. If you don’t have a plate that is larger then your pan. Use a Chopping board instead. Awesome option because it is flat and easy to slide Omelette back off.