Tired of the same old potato dishes? Try the legendary Spanish preparation known as Tortilla Patatas! It’s not quite scalloped potatoes, nor Potatoes Anna, nor French Pommes Boulangère… But it is easy, flavourful and filling. And goes with everything!
In classic old-world Spanish, ‘Tortilla’ literally means ‘omelet’. No relation whatsoever to the new-world flatbread we all know so well. And the Potato Omelet we bring you today is as authentic an example as you’ll find anywhere…
Classic components
Tortilla Patatas is really a simple dish of peasant origins which contains only three main ingredients: potatoes, onions and eggs. But, as is often said of dishes which exceed one’s expectations, the result is greater than the simple sum of the ingredients. This one is an unofficial National Dish of Spain.
One reason for that is that the potatoes and onions are pre-cooked before being assembled into the omelet. You slice them thinly (1/8 in / 1.5 cm) and simmer them for 20 minutes in oil – until the pota-toes are fork-tender. Then you drain them and add them to the eggs, which have been beaten thor-oughly with the customary pinch of salt.
Cook carefully…
After that, it’s time to get the mixture into a skillet pre-heated to medium with a couple of tables-poons of your favourite oil for lubricant. Watch the omelet carefully as the first side cooks, swirling the pan and/or running a rubber spatula between the omelet and the pan to keep it from sticking. The first side takes only about 3 or 4 minutes; until the bottom of the omelet is set.
Then invert the omelet out of the pan onto a large dinner plate, add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, and slide the inverted tortilla back into the pan to cook the second side. That should take just another 3 to 4 minutes.
Serve hot from the pan, cut in wedges like a pie or quiche…
Goes with everything
As we mentioned in our preamble to this post, Tortilla Patatas goes with just about everything. Espe-cially anything that fried, scalloped or hash brown spuds associate with. But it’s also a natural for dishes that traditionally get mashed, boiled or baked potatoes. And it turns any simple main into an elevated dining experience…
~ Maggie J.