Spain · Spanish cuisine (everyday and tapas)
Tortilla de patatas
A thick, golden Spanish omelette of tender olive-oil-poached potatoes and soft onion set in beaten egg, with a juicy, slightly runny centre: the everyday Spanish classic served warm or at room temperature.
Cookhuddle Editorial Cookhuddle | Spain
Editorial selection: recipes cross-checked against several documentary sources. They have not been tested in our kitchen: follow the precautions given and adapt times to your own oven.
Photo: Tamorlan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source · cropped
translation Translated from Spanish. Translation by Cookhuddle Editorial. Read the original
Read this recipe infrançais · translationespañol · originalEnglish · translation
- Servings
- 4
- Preparation
- 15 min
- Cooking
- 31 min
- Resting
- 22 min
- Total
- 68 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
Cuisine / tradition: Spanish cuisine (everyday and tapas) (ES) — declared by the author
- Main dish
- Snack
- Everyday
Ingredients
For 4 servings
- 800 g waxy potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 150 g onion, thinly sliced (optional)
- 300 ml extra-virgin olive oil, for poaching the potatoes
- 6 piece eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Method
- Step 1. Peel the potatoes and slice them about 3 mm thick. Slice the onion thinly. Sprinkle the potatoes with 1 teaspoon of the salt.
- Step 2. Heat the olive oil in a deep 24 cm non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Add the potatoes and poach them for 18 to 20 minutes, turning them gently, until tender but not browned.⏱ 20 min
- Step 3. Meanwhile, in a small pan soften the onion in 2 tablespoons of oil taken from the big pan for about 12 minutes, until translucent.⏱ 12 min
- Step 4. Drain the potatoes and the onion in a colander set over a bowl, keeping the oil, for about 5 minutes.⏱ 5 min
- Step 5. Beat the eggs with the remaining salt in a large bowl. Fold in the potatoes and onion and leave to rest for 10 to 15 minutes so that the eggs soak into the potatoes.⏱ 12 min
- Step 6. Heat 1 tablespoon of the reserved oil in the same clean pan over medium-high heat. Pour in the mixture, spread it flat and cook for 2 minutes, shaking the pan. Lower to medium-low heat and cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, loosening the edge with a spatula, until the base is golden and the edge set but the centre still runny.⏱ 7 min
- Step 7. Place a flat plate over the pan and turn the tortilla out in one confident movement. Slide it back into the pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes for a juicy centre (5 to 6 minutes for a firmer one). Slide onto a plate and rest for 5 minutes before cutting.⏱ 4 min
Story and cultural note
Tortilla de patatas (or tortilla española) is made, according to purists, from potatoes, eggs, oil and salt, and whether it should contain onion is Spain's great kitchen debate: the chef Alberto Chicote defends onion for juiciness, cooked apart so that it does not flavour the potatoes, while others leave it out. Cooks also disagree on whether the centre should be juicy or fully set, and some modern versions add extra yolks or leek. This recipe includes the onion, as an option, and a juicy centre.
Tips for success
Cook the potatoes gently in plenty of oil until tender but not coloured: they should set with the egg, not fry. Drain them well, but keep the oil for another use. Let the potato and egg rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking. Use a flat plate for flipping and do it in one confident movement. Stop at the point you like: 3 to 4 minutes on the second side is juicy, 5 to 6 is set. A juicy tortilla leaves the centre of the egg only lightly cooked: for pregnant women, young children, older or frail people, choose the set version (5 to 6 minutes on the second side, centre firm and no longer runny).
Serving and presentation
Serve warm or at room temperature in wedges, on its own, in a slice of bread as a bocadillo, or as a tapa with a little aioli.
Diet and allergens
Information declared by the author. CookHuddle does not verify or certify it. If you have an allergy, check the ingredients yourself.
DietVegetarianGluten-freeDairy-freeNut-free
ContainsEggs
