A ‘Schmancy’ Spanish omelette recipe to enjoy and egg-y facts
October 23, 2011
A ‘Schmancy’ Spanish potato omelette recipe to enjoy and egg-y facts
I love a good egg! Eggs are my answer to mid-week dinner madness or for the Sunday night ‘let’s keep it simple’ dinner.
If you have eggs in the house, you have the means of making a quick & easy lovely meal. A glass of wine and a good egg – I get excited just writing about it!
The options are many when it comes to how they might be cooked and enjoyed. When it was too hot to cook last night, I was inspired to cook this lovely Spanish omelette (also known as Tortilla de Patatas). It is super easy, nutritious and very delicious – the foodie hat-trick!
This weekend ahead, we have a wonderful Spanish online cooking class. We’ll be cooking together a Paella, a delicious rose Sangria, Scallop tostadas, a glorious tomato salad as well as Spiced Pepitas. I can’t wait. So no Spanish omelette recipe but delighted to be sharing it with you all here to enjoy.
Before we get to the lovely tasty Spanish omelette recipe to enjoy, let’s first cover some ‘egg-y’ facts & helpful tips when it comes to eggs.
1) When cooking with eggs, naturally fresh eggs are best. To tell if an egg is fresh, submerge it in cold water -if it is fresh, it will sink to the bottom. This is because the air cell within the egg is very small. As the egg ages, more air enters the egg (the shell is porous) and this means it starts to loose its freshness. An older egg, if submerged in water, will begin to float and stand upright.
2) Given the shell of an egg is porous, eggs can absorb strong odours. To avoid this, eggs are best stored in the cardboard egg carton you bought them in.
3) Eggs need to be stored in the refrigerator (not in the door but in the main body of the fridge). An egg stored at room temperature will deteriorate more in one day at room temperature than if it had been refrigerated for one week.
4) Take eggs out of the refrigerator ahead of time, before cooking commences. It may take 30-60 minutes for an egg to reach room temperature. If you use an egg when it is still too cold, the shell will likely crack when placed in boiling water. Cold egg whites also do not whisk well and cold egg yolks will not blend well in sauces and mayonnaise. If you need to speed up the process of getting an egg to room temperature before using it, you can place the egg in lukewarm water for approximately 10 minutes.
5) The colour of the eggshell (brown or white) is determined by the breed of hens and not their nutritional value. Their nutritional value is the same.
6) Leftover egg whites can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for approximately 7 days. They may also be frozen for up to one month. I like to freeze my leftover egg whites in ice cube trays. Ziplock bags are also great. Always label how many egg whites are in each package. It just makes life a lot easier when a recipe might call for 5 egg whites. For the record, 1 large egg white = approximately 2 tablespoons or approximately 25 grams.
Leftover egg yolks can be stored in the refrigerator, covered and with a small amount of cold water, for a couple of days.
TORTILLA DE PATATAS ~ SPANISH POTATO OMELETTE RECIPE
I love eggs as a main meal. You just have to think a little outside the square sometimes for that extra ‘wow’ factor. This is a dish that developed in lean times when the need to cook using whatever ingredients you had on hand was essential.
Don’t skimp on the quality of the eggs here. A really great quality egg makes all the difference as to how great your tortilla can be and trust me, it really can be great. This has my family going back for more but if your family aren’t quite as hungry as mine are, this is super delicious the next day. Just wrap your leftover tortilla in some greaseproof paper and voila, you have a little slice of Spain in your lunch box!
I have added some lovely Sherry vinegar and just a touch of brown sugar to this dish which gives the dish a beautiful depth and richness. You can leave both these out if you prefer a more authentic dish.
Tortilla de Patadas ~ Spanish Potato omelette recipe
Spanish Potato omelette recipe - Tortilla de Patadas
Equipment
- Oven proof frying pan
- Grill or oven
- A large plate
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 500 g floury potatoes
- 1 brown onion diced
- 1 garlic clove crushed or very finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar substitute for balsamic if need be
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 8 eggs
- Sea salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your grill to high.
- Cut the potatoes into thickish slices using a sharp knife.
- Gently whisk the eggs and season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Place a large non-stick oven-proof frying pan over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of oil.
- Add the potatoes, tossing from time to time, for approximately 15 minutes. Add the onion and cook for five minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook for a further 30 seconds or until cooked and aromatic.
- Add the sherry vinegar and sugar to the pan and stir for a minute or two. Remove from the heat and gently mix the potato and onion mixture into the eggs.
- Heat the reserved 1 tablespoon of oil in the same frying pan over medium heat. Add the egg, potato and onion mixture and as it starts to cook, gently agitate the pan. After 1-2 minutes, cover the pan with a large oiled dinner plate, flip the pan and turn the tortilla out onto the plate.
- *** If you are not keen or confident to do this above step, please read below for an easier version.
- Gently slide the tortilla back into the pan but this time with the uncooked side down. Turn heat down to low.
- After a minute, transfer the tortilla to under the hot grill and cook for approximately 2-3 minutes or until the top is set. It is fine for the tortilla to still have a little wobble to it. Keep in the pan for approximately 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
- *** If you would rather not flip the tortilla, you will still get an excellent result but cooking it in the pan for five minutes longer without flipping. Place the frying pan in the oven or under the grill for approximately 2-3 minutes. Your omelette will then be set enough so that you can confidently place a plate (larger then your pan) over your pan and carefully invert the Spanish potato omelette onto the plate.
Nutrition
2 thoughts on “A ‘Schmancy’ Spanish omelette recipe to enjoy and egg-y facts”
All interesting thanks Nellie. Going back a step to the Brownies and a couple of points. I was raised by a Dad who grew all our veggies and if we did not eat them then – no sweets! Life was difficult as he grew huge marrows which happens to be my leastest favourite vegetable, in fact about the only one I don’t like. And my Mum never made brownies with, or without, nuts. Bit beyond the family budget. So, I chuckled when I see you having to accommodate nut loving nippers who don’t love them in brownies. I’d still be putting nuts in them and thinking “more for me if the little tackers leave them”. Which reminds me of all the blank looks I have got when asking for chocolate nibs. Anyway, moving on, being a heart watcher I tried some mods to the brownie recipe and have been happy with the results. One less egg and rice bran oil in lieu of butter. Have been using very dark chocolate too which would also probably be a little bitter for the youngsters. Which brings me to the “if you have an egg…….” The omelette recipe calls for 8 eggs, gulp (heart again). How many mouths do you wrap around that Spanish job Nellie? I’m not an egg fascist but I do try and limit a bit.
That’s all from me. I’ll do something about the Salvo project.
Cheers
Robin
Hi Robin. I know 8 eggs must sound like a lot but this recipe (the Spanish tortilla) should feed four people so only 2 delicious free range eggs each is all (I admit we sometimes have more than a portion – can’t help it!).
Your version of my brownie recipe definitely sounds a little lighter & healthier. Well done to you! We do only use dark chocolate also – a must with this one. PS – I am with you on the marrows! Take care.