Spanish Omelette - Tortilla de Patata

Tortilla de Patata or Spanish Omelette is one of the most well-known dishes in Spain. Served in many restaurants and bars, is a delicious national dish that most people love and miss when they leave Spain.

Luckily, we live in Spain where we can easily get yummy tortilla de patatas when we go out for tapas. Not many tapas are vegetarian, but Spanish omelette is naturally 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 slightly change my mum's recipe to make it a bit healthier using less oil but 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. With these five simple ingredients, you can make at home the perfect Spanish tortilla.

This recipe is a great dish to bring to parties or to prepare a delicious Tapa's night. The best part? You will be able to find all the ingredients easily and make a delicious Spaniard dish at home.

Our Spanish Omelette is:

• A family-friendly recipe
• Made with just 5 ingredients
• Spanish recipe
• Vegetarian
• Easy to make
• Gluten-free

What is tortilla de patata?

Tortilla de patata as well known as Spanish Omelette or Spanish Frittata is a national dish from Spain made with potatoes (papas) and eggs (huevos). It's a simple but delicious recipe enjoyed normally for dinner or lunch but served as well as a snack in a baguette (bocadillo de tortilla) or as a side dish or tapa.

About our recipe

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. We try making it healthier than the traditional recipe which would suggest deep frying the potatoes.

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 into 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 is 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 make Spanish Tortilla de Patata

Ingredients

• Potatoes. For tortilla de patata, you can use Yukon Gold potatoes which are quite similar to the potato normally used in Spain called Monalisa. If you want to speed up the process, you can buy already cut frozen potatoes.
• Onion. White onion is commonly used for this recipe. Shallots or red onions can be as well used for Spanish omelette.
• Eggs
• Sea salt. You can as well use regular table salt.
• Olive oil. Virgin olive oil or extra virgin olive oil. Other vegetable oils can be used as well such as rapeseed oil or sunflower oil.

Step by step method

If you already have it at home, a frittata pan will make your life easier when cooking a Spanish Omelette. Some people call this meal Spanish Frittata. It makes it easier to flip and cook the omelette.

1. Peel and cut the potatoes. 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. If you want to prepare this step ahead of time, leave the peeled and cut potatoes in water until you are ready to use them.
2. 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.
3. Using a big mixing bowl, add the eggs. Add the eggs to a big mixing bowl. Whisk until they are perfectly combined. Then add the cooked potatoes and onion and the sal to the egg mixture and mix all the ingredients using a big wooden spoon or spatula.
4. 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.
5. Flip your tortilla. Here comes the fun part of making Spanish 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

Serving Suggestions

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 the next day in some bread to make a yummy breakfast sandwich called bocadillo de tortilla.

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 this delicious food served with olives, bread, a fresh salad or even grilled vegetables makes for a perfect dinner.

This national dish can be served warm or at room temperature. You can keep it in the fridge for 3-4 but in my opinion, any leftovers should be eaten the next day.

We do not recommend freezing Tortilla de Patata as the consistency of the potatoes will change and make the dish not as enjoyable.

FAQ and Tips

• Can Tortilla de Patata be frozen? We do not recommend freezing Tortilla de Patata as the consistency of the potatoes will change and make the dish not as enjoyable
• What type of potatoes should I use? In Spain we use Patata Monalisa, but you can use Yukon Gold Potatoes which are easier to find in other countries.
• Can this dish be prepped ahead of time? Yes! You can make your Spanish Omelette the day before or hours before serving. As well, you can leave the potatoes already peeled and cut, which is the part that takes the longest. Simply leave them in water so they stay fresh.
• Is Spanish Omelette gluten-free? Yes, it should always be gluten-free!

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4.45 from 9 votes

Spanish Tortilla de Patata

Delicious and simple Spanish Tortilla de Patata recipe.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: spanish

Keyword: Spanish Omelette, Spanish Tortilla de Patata, Tapas

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 295kcal

Ingredients

• 4-5 medium size potatoes
• ½ medium size onion
• 6 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon Olive oil

Metric - US Customary

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

Calories: 295kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 246mg | Sodium: 688mg | Potassium: 1008mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 361IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 3mg

Other Spanish Recipes:

• Vegetarian Paella
• Sun-dried Tomato Pate or Vegan Sobrasada
• Spanish Gazpacho