spanish omelette | Iaia's kitchen

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.

Oscar and I work in the evenings and often don’t get home before 10 pm during the week. With only a bit of fruit between lunch and then, dinner is always a bit of a desperate affair, often involving bits of cheese, salami, avocado…in short, anything that doesn’t require cooking and can be shoved quickly into a roll or forked hastily into a hungry mouth.
Pre-cooking an omelette and leaving it to cool while we are at work means that we have something more substantial to accompany our bread, and one of our favourites is Iaia’s spinach omelette, to which she usually adds ajos tiernos (spring-garlic). As I find the ajos a little strong for late evening supper, I prefer to use a small clove of normal garlic to flavour the gorgeously convoluted dark green leaves. I know this recipe is simple, but it is one of Iaia’s staples, so it really can’t be left out!

What you need:
3 eggs
a small bunch of spinach
a clove of garlic
salt, nutmeg
olive oil

What you do:
Wash your spinach carefully and chop it roughly. Wilt in a non-stick frying pan – the water from washing will be enough, no need to add any – then leave to drain in a colander while you get the eggs and garlic ready. I like to microplane my garlic rather than slice it, but if you prefer little slivers, by all means, slice away. Once peeled and prepped, gently fry your garlic in about a tbsp of olive oil; make sure you don’t burn it, or it will be horribly bitter.
Add the cooked spinach and continue to fry until there is hardly any wateriness left. Remove from the heat. Beat your three eggs in a medium-sized bowl, adding salt and a little nutmeg or any other seasoning you fancy. Put your spinach into the same egg bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed.
Get your pan good and hot, and coat it with a little oil. Pour your egg and spinach mix in. If the mix is very deep in the pan (ie. you have a small pan), you will need to gently push it around (without disturbing the edges) so that the omelette cooks evenly, but take care not to turn it into scrambled egg. After a few minutes, you will have a browned bottom and edge with a curd-like centre. It is time to flip. 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 everything over with conviction so that 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 finish, which is especially important if you are cooking a larger omelette. Heat off. Omelette out. Eat hot, or leave to cool for a delicious roll filling.