Tortilla de patatas Madrid-style: Go to work on a huevo (Potato)

Member Name: ms_memory

Product:	Potato
Date:	16/02/09 (127 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious, fairly straightforward recipe for a cheap and versatile dish.

Disadvantages: Requires lots of peeling and slicing - but it's worth the effort.

I've included this under potato recipes because that's the main ingredient. Equally, it could be under breakfast and brunch or party recipes - it's pretty versatile.


'Tortilla' is Spanish for omelette (and is not to be confused with the tortilla in Mexican cuisine, which is a rolled-up flatbread filled with cheese, veg, meat etc. and a whole other review!). Spanish tortillas are one of my favourite dishes and on my last holiday to Madrid I ate one every day for breakfast - what can I say, I'm easily pleased! There are loads of varieties with different ingredients, but this is the classic Madrid version you'll find in the capital's cafes.

Tortillas aren't that complicated to make and I usually have all the ingredients at home. They're tasty, with the combination of sweet onions, fluffy potatoes and savoury egg, plus the carb-protein mix also makes them very filling.

This recipe was given to me by a Spanish friend who often makes fantastic tortillas to take to parties. They can be eaten hot or cold (the tortillas - not my friend!), either in slices, or cut into little squares and eaten with cocktail sticks if you want to serve them as a starter. N.B. I wouldn't reheat it due to it being made with eggs.

It serves 4 as part of a meal (e.g. with salad).

You will need:

4-5 meduim-sized potatoes
4 eggs
3 large Spanish onions
Oil for frying
Salt for seasoning


Directions:

Peel the onions and slice thinly. For this part I like to light a candle on the worktop as it somehow stops the onion fumes getting to my eyes.

Break the eggs into a bowl or jug and beat them together.

Peel and cut the potatoes into very thin slices. Chuck them in a bowl, cover with salt and mix them around a bit.

Warm up a few dashes of oil in a large frying pan and add the potato slices, making sure it's not too hot when you drop them in. You should allow them to turn golden but not crispy. When the potatoes are so soft that you can break them up with a wooden spoon, add the onions to the pan and more oil if necessary.

When the onions are also soft, transfer the whole mixture to a large bowl and squeeze out any remaning oil with the wooden spoon, pouring it off.

Fold the beaten eggs into the potato-onion mixture, using a fork. Do this carefully, so that the potatos don't break up any further. Add some more salt.

And now for the special touch: leave the mixture to sit for 15 minutes or so. This is what makes the tortilla fluffy, so I'm told!

Put the mixture back into the frying pan and fry in a little oil - you'll find it's a lot more solid than the omelettes we usually make in Britain. When it's time to turn the tortilla after a few minutes, do so by putting a large plate over the frying pan (it must overlap the pan), flipping the pan and plate upsde down. Put the pan back onto the hob and slide the tortilla, cooked side up, back into the pan.

Pierce a few holes in the tortilla with a fork, so that the heat can come through from the base of the pan.

Continue to cook the tortilla until it's completely solid.

And there you have it: ¡Que aproveche! - enjoy!

Summary: Holiday food at home