It’s Tortilla Time Any Time

It’s sort of funny that I’ve found myself being exponentially more social during this crisis than any other time in recent memory. Every night my wife and I are on FaceTime or HouseParty for at least an hour and half with friends or family. Apparently a virus makes the heart grow fonder!

We were chatting with our friends Ari and Ishani the other night when Ishani, a life-long but pleasantly non-militant vegetarian, pointed out that the meaty nature of my blog would sadly not pertain to people like herself. Not true! I LOVE vegetables and all manner of non-carnivorous fare. And as proof I decided to write today about Tortilla Española, one of my simple and solid go-to dishes.

Nothing could be more straightforward than a Spanish tortilla. It’s simply eggs, potatoes, onions, olive oil, salt and pepper. To me it is the cornerstone of Spanish cooking. I lived in Spain when I was 15 and have been deeply involved with this amazingly diverse country ever since. I’ve traveled to every corner; from the pintxo-filled streets of San Sebastian in Pais Vasco to rugged sea cliffs of A Coruña in Galicia to the volcanic craters of the Canary Island and to the Moorish-tinged world of Andalucia. These places, all remarkably different yet unmistakably Spanish, have one thing in common: Tortilla Española.

This ubiquitous dish can be found everywhere and at any time. Tortilla Española usually hangs out all day on the counter top, aioli nearby. Over that first teenage summer sojourn abroad, I’d wake up to the smell of cafe con leche coming from the kitchen, my kind, plump homestay-mother toiling away at some cooking duty. I’d belt down a cup of the sweet milky coffee and rush out the door, tortilla in hand, to my morning class. Years later, I came across tortilla again while wandering the tapas-packed streets of Logroño. Here the tortilla came studded with chorizo and mushrooms. Over and over tortilla re-emerged throughout my Spanish travels; sometimes made with tuna or bacalao, sometimes hiding tangy-spicy Basque Guindilla peppers, and of course just the classic potato and onion.

Honestly, the classic is my favorite. Not just because it’s the easiest to make. There’s something in harmony between the sweetness of the onions, the earthiness of the potatoes and the savory richness of the eggs that come together in perfect unity. Plus, anything that acts as a vehicle for a good, garlicky aioli has a place in my heart and on my plate.

I’m not going to start throwing full recipes on here because, frankly, I don’t fully believe in them. That’s not to say I go in blind making something for the first time. Just that I think the best way to make something is to get the “theory” behind the dish. I usually look at a bunch of recipes for the same thing and then adapt my own method based on a couple of different ideas. Such is true for how I make my Tortilla Española. Here’s my general technique:

First, it’s important that you use a good waxy potato. If it isn’t waxy it’ll fall apart on you during the first step. I use a mandolin to thinly slice (⅛mm) a medium onion and enough potato to fill a medium, non-stick, frying pan about ⅔ full. Remove the vegetables from the pan and pour 1 cup of olive oil in. Put one slice of potato into the unheated pan. Heat the pan over a medium-high flame and wait until small bubbles start to form around the edges of the “test potato slice”. Once you start to see bubbles, add all of the potatoes and onions to the pan and season with a big pinch of salt and pepper. It’s going to look VERY full, but that’s ok. Everything will settle as it cooks. Adjust temperature to medium so the bubbles are active, but not rioting. Fold the vegetables over every now and them to make sure everything cooks evenly.

While the potatoes and onions cook, crack 6-10 eggs (depends on the size of eggs, your pan etc) and whisk until frothy with salt and pepper. Once the onions are limp and translucent and the potatoes have just cooked through, remove them from the heat and drain the oil off, reserving the oil. Add just enough of the reserved oil back to the pan to coat the bottom and discard the rest. Let the vegetables continue to drain for about 5 minutes or so and then add them to the eggs. Stir them well into the egg mixture, but don’t break up the potatoes. Let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes.

Once everything has hung out together for a bit turn the heat back on under the oiled pan to medium. Once hot, add the egg and vegetable mixture to the pan. It should come almost all the way to the top of the pan. If you need to hold back so it doesn’t overflow, hold back some egg, not the solids. You want a densely packed tortilla. 

Let the mixture cook on medium, adjusting so it doesn’t cook too quickly on the bottom, until it looks like it’s well set but still very runny on top. Here comes the tricky part. Run a knife around the edge of the tortilla to loosen it up a little. Put a plate on top of the pan and, quickly and confidently, flip it over. I’m telling you, this maneuver is all about confidence so be brave and be quick! Once you’ve successfully flipped your tortilla onto the plate, slide it back into the pan, runny side down. It might look a little sad during the stage, but don’t worry, it will get pretty again.

NOTE: If you’re too scared to do this step, you have my permission to cheat. Before you start, preheat your oven to 350-400oF. Put the unflipped tortilla in the oven until the top no longer looks runny. This is technically more of a frittata than a tortilla...but I won’t tell

For the bold, we continue with a freshly flipped, half-cooked tortilla. Back on the burner, continue to cook the tortilla, using a spatula around the edges to tuck the gently down the sides of the pan. This will make it look neater at the end. Cook for another 10-15 minutes or until the tortilla feels pretty solid. Using the same plate method, flip the tortilla out of the pan. DO NOT EAT YET! Tortillas are not served hot, but either warm or room temperature. Once it’s cooled, serve with a healthy dollop of garlic aioli. Buy the aioli...it’s a lot less of a pain in the ass.