Tortilla Española

We can’t go to a Tapas restaurant without ordering at least one Tortilla Española.  And it turns out that there isn’t a lot to it.  Just 3 ingredients: eggs, potatoes and onions.  Though somehow I’ve never really been able to make it as good as they do in a restaurant….until I did some research on how to do it right

Baked Tortilla Espanola Recipe

The traditional method involves cooking the onions & potatoes in a large quantity of olive oil (note: not extra virgin) and then giving it a flip halfway through cooking.  Since I’m not a big fan of flipping heavy items in super hot pans, I did some reading to see if there was a compromise involving the oven – frittata style.

And there is.  20 minutes in the oven eliminates the need for an awkward flip that will most definitely require another set of hands – and completely eliminates the risk of prematurely cutting your tortilla in half.

You’ll notice that this requires a lot of olive oil.  About 3 cups.  Long ago I started buying the twin pack of 3 Liter bottles of olive oil at Costco.  And I’m constantly amazed how quickly I go through it.

But don’t let the oil get too hot.  You’re not frying the potatoes and onions, it’s really sort of a confit.

After the tortilla is finished, the onions will basically disintegrate into the dish.  And the potato pieces will have that amazing fluffiness to them – like the inside of a perfect french fry.  With all of this being held together by eggy goodness with a crispy surface.  Wow.

Oh, and don’t throw out that oil that’s left in your saucepan.  A simple side salad is great alongside a slice of the tortilla.  You can use some of this super flavorful oil to make a vinaigrette.  I combined the potato oil and extra virgin olive oil 1:1 and blended with white wine vinegar (3:2 oil to vinegar) along with a touch of dijon mustard and some chopped herbs.