Spanish Omelette in Spain means potato omelette, with or without onion. Everyone has their own secrets for making one of the most fantastic omelettes ever, and discussions can get quite heated when it comes to whose is the best! Iaia always uses onion and can turn out a perfect tortilla with her eyes closed. I still need to keep mine open, especially with the flipping.
This dish is incredibly versatile as it can be consumed hot or cold, served as an appetiser, a main meal, a snack, in a roll, on a plate, in bite-sized squares on toothpicks, with tomato, with mayonnaise, with salad, at a picnic, a dinner party, as part of a buffet…need I go on?
The recipe here is for a large dinner-plate-sized omelette which will provide a good slice for 6-8 people. I used a stainless steel frying pan as it’s the only large pan I have, but I highly recommend using a non-stick pan instead.
What you need:
3 potatoes
1 onion
6 eggs
olive oil
salt
a non-stick frying pan
What you do:
Chop the potato and onion into chunky pieces, as you see above. Heat a generous amount of olive oil so that nothing sticks or burns (you can always drain any excess off before adding the eggs), and gently fry the onions for a minute or two before adding the potatoes. Iaia insists on covering the potatoes as they cook so that their edges become sort of fuzzy instead of sharp. This helps the egg stick to the totties later and gives you a much more attractive finish without any air holes between the potato and egg.
Beat your eggs in a large bowl and add a good pinch of salt. Once the vegetables are cooked, but not falling to pieces, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the egg bowl. Drain any excess oil from the frying pan, but remember you will need a healthy coating to stop any sticking (even in a non-stick pan). Once the pan is well heated again, pour the whole egg and vegetable mix in and move it gently around (without disturbing the edges) so that the omelette cooks evenly, but take care not to turn it into scrambled egg. You can cover a very thick omelette to help with the cooking but don’t walk away!
After a little while, you will have a browned bottom and edge, and curd-like centre. It is time to flip (for photos of this see the Spinach Omelette recipe). Take your pan off the heat and cover it with a plate. Wrap a tea towel over the top and base of the pan to avoid burning yourself, and grip firmly from either side. Flip with conviction, so the omelette flops out onto your plate in one piece. Put your pan back on the heat and slide your now raw-side-down omelette back into the pan to finish cooking. I like to use a spatula to tuck the edges under a little because it gives a lovely rounded edge; this is especially important if you are cooking a larger omelette.
The trick is now to cook the omelette to the ideal point – neither runny nor rubbery. Practice will show you what it feels like to the touch when it is ready. Turn out onto a plate and allow to cool (or not!) before eating.
Iaia's kitchen 