Tortilla de Patata or Spanish Omelette is one of the most well-known dishes in Spain. Served in many restaurant and bars, especially tapas bars, is a delicious national dish that most people love and will miss when they leave Spain.
Luckily, we live in Spain where we can easily get yummy tortilla de patata when we go out for tapas. Not many tapas are vegetarian, but Spanish omelette is vegetarian and you may find vegan options if you go into a vegan café. We lived in Germany for more than three years and we had to learn how to cook the perfect tortilla at home. We adapted my mum's recipe to make it a bit healthier using less oil keeping the taste still the same.
Spanish omelette or tortilla de patata is made with a few simple ingredients. Olive oil, potatoes, eggs, onion (optional) and salt. That's it, with these five simple ingredients you can make at home the perfect tortilla.
About our recipe
I know that each family has their own recipe when it comes to the traditional tortilla de patata. At home, we cook our tortilla de patata quite simple and without making a mess but keeping the taste amazing. That was our goal. I've known people that would take 3 hours to cook an omelette, no jokes. This is a simple recipe that everyone should be able to execute and have a delicious meal ready in 50 minutes.
- With or without onion. You could divide Spain in two, people that have their tortilla with onion and people that think that onion in an omelette is a no-no. We love onion so our recipe is made with onion and we think this ingredient gives the tortilla a lovely sweet touch.
- Fried or baked potatoes. The traditional tortilla de patata is made by slowly deep-frying the potatoes. There are different reasons why we prefer to cook our tortilla by baking the potatoes, but the number one is because it's healthier. If you give me two well-cooked tortillas one with deep-fried potatoes and the other one with baked potatoes, I won't probably be able to tell you the difference, so why not make it healthier?
- Tortilla consistency. Another big topic when it comes to making a tortilla is how cooked the egg should be. Some people will serve their tortilla with the centre quite gooey and other people prefers the egg completely cooked. You can adapt this part to your taste. We like our egg mostly cooked but keeping the omelette moist.
- Potato shape. Some recipes call for thinly sliced potatoes and others for bigger chunks. We kept it the way I've always seen my mum doing it at home. Once the potato is peeled, we cut them into long wedges and then slice them into small pieces. The shape will be then similar to a triangle.
How to prepare Spanish Tortilla de Patata Step by Step.
If you already have it at home, a frittata pan will make your life easier when cooking a Spanish Omelette. It makes it easier to flip and cook the omelette.
- Peel and cut the potatoes. For tortilla de patata, look for good quality potatoes as they will impact the flavour of the omelette. Yukon Gold potatoes are quite similar to the potato normally used in Spain called Monalisa. Once the potato is peeled, we cut them into long wedges and then slice them into small pieces. The shape will be then similar to a triangle. You can always use a mandolin to cut the potatoes as it will save you time.
- Finely slice the onion and add the onion and cut potatoes onto a baking tray. Drizzle some olive oil on the top, cover with tin foil paper and bake for about 30 minutes. We place a silicone baking mat on our tray before so the potatoes don’t stick to the bottom and the tray doesn’t get dirty. It's important to cover the baking tray as you don't want the potatoes to be crispy. The potatoes will be ready when they soften and you can easily cut them with the side of a fork.
- Using a big mixing bowl, add the eggs. Whisk until they are perfectly combined. Add the potatoes and onion when ready into the egg mixture and mix all the ingredients using a big wooden spoon or spatula.
- Heat some oil in a frying pan to medium heat and pour the egg and potato mixture. Make sure the mixture is evenly spread out. Leave cooking for a couple of minutes and when the bottom part starts to brown, get ready for the most challenging part! First, make sure the egg is not sticking to the pan by running a spatula along the outer edge of the tortilla.
- Using a big plate (it needs to be bigger than the pan surface), place the plate facing down on the top of the pan. Hold the plate with one hand firmly and flip the pan using the other hand. Slowly, bring the tortilla into the pan again, to cook the other side. Leave cooking for a few more minutes and when ready, repeat the flip using the serving plate. If using a frittata pan, simply flip the pans so the omelette will cook on the other side
How to serve Tortilla de Patata
Tortilla de patata or Spanish omelette is normally served as a tapa in most restaurants or cafés. When making it at home, it's normally served as a main dish with a lighter side dish such as asparagus, a green leafy salad or chopped tomatoes and bread. Leftovers can be served next day in some bread to make a yummy breakfast sandwich.
We prepare tapas night at home when we have people over or we are in Ireland visiting the family. The centrepiece of the tapa's night is the Spanish omelette. We prepare garlic and white wine mushrooms, homemade gazpacho, romesco sauce, and patatas bravas as well. All these delicious food served with olives, bread, a fresh salad or even grilled vegetables make for a perfect dinner.
This national dish can be served warm or room temperature. You can keep it in the fridge for 3-4 but in my opinion, any leftovers should be eaten the next day.
Spanish Tortilla de Patata
Ingredients
- 4-5 medium size potatoes
- ½ medium size onion
- 6 eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
Instructions
- Peel and cut the potatoes. Once the potato is peeled, cut them into long wedges and then slice them into small pieces. The shape will be then similar to a triangle. You can always use a mandolin to cut the potatoes as it will save you time.
- Finely slice the onion and add the onion and cut potatoes onto a baking tray. Drizzle some olive oil on the top, cover with tin foil paper and bake for about 30 minutes at 200C.
- Using a big mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until they are combined. When the potatoes and onion are baked, add them into the egg mixture and mix all the ingredients using a big wooden spoon or spatula. Add salt and mix one last time.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan to medium heat and pour in the egg and potato mixture. Make sure the mixture is evenly spread out. Leave cooking for a couple of minutes and when the edges are set (it should take around 5-7 minutes), get ready for the most challenging part! First, make sure the egg is not sticking to the pan running a spatula along the outer edge of the tortilla.
- Using a big plate (it needs to be bigger than the pan surface), place the plate facing down on the top of the pan. Hold the plate with one hand firmly and flip the pan using the other hand. Slowly, slide the tortilla into the pan again, to cook the other side. Leave cooking for a few more minutes and when ready, repeat the flip using the serving plate.
Nutrition
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Woody says
Or just put the frypan under the grill to cook the second side.