Tortilla española (Spanish omelette)

PROTOCOL: Spanish omelette/tortilla de patatas/tortilla española.

AIM: To cook and enjoy a delicious tortilla de patatas.

MATERIALS:

7-9 Eggs (see 6 for details)
4-5 Medium potatoes
1 Medium onion (this in not optional, otherwise you will be referred politely to protocol “Tortilla sin cebolla”)

Salt (see steps 3, 6 and 8 for details)
Olive oil (also sunflower oil)
Milk (optional, see 8)
Nutmeg (optional, see 6)
Knife (it’s easier if you have chef’s and a carving knife)
Nonstick frying pan (it’s better if you have 1 big (28 cm) and 1 medium (24 cm))
Spatula
Plate big enough to cover the frying pan’s rim (see step 13)
Company (don’t be greedy, this tortilla is meant for at least 4 people)

STEPS:

1.) Chop onion finely.

2.) Fill the big frying pan half way with olive oil and fry chopped onion (low fire as video 1)

- NOTE: Don’t let onion reach golden brown point, turn off fire if gets there before adding potatoes (see step 4)

3.) Cut potatoes in irregular small wedged slices (as in video 2) and salt them.

4.) Fry potatoes and onion until golden brown.

Adjust fire so frying strength is similar to video 3.

Taking advantage of their wedged shape turn slices upside down often so they are fried evenly.

They should start looking like this:

It is normal that the break or crumble on the process of turning them upside down. Eventually they will look like in video 5.

5.) Once fried, take potato slices and onion bits and let the excess oil drip using a sieve or a colander. They should look like picture 3.

6.) Whisk 7-8 eggs (depending on size) in the meantime. Then:

Add a pinch of salt
Optional: add a small amount of nutmeg.

7.) Add fried potatoes to freshly whisked eggs and mix thoroughly.

8.) Leave mixture resting for at least 15 min and then check its consistency. It should look like video 6.

- If it’s too runny, you can wait for a bit longer, but there is no much you can do.
- If it’s too thick you can add an extra egg or a bit of milk.
- It should taste nice already. Last chance to correct salt if needed

9.) If are going to use the same pan remove most of the oil before heating. If you are going to use a slight smaller pan add a bit of the oil you used to fried the potatoes.

In a smaller pan your tortilla will be thicker and easier to cook.
Oil should be enough to cover the pan with a thin layer, like pic 6.

10.) Once pan is hot enough (fire at medium-high), cook potato-onion-egg mixture for 1-2 min. Time depends on tortilla thickness and how runny do you like it. You can always cook it for a bit longer if it hasn’t cook to your liking.