Spanish Omelette
Tortilla Española is a classic at Spanish tapas restaurants. I have a bit of a mixed opinion about these - on the one hand I love the soft, fluffy texture of the omelette, but I find that it leaves a bit to be desired in terms of flavor. That being said, I've found it to be a great backdrop, like a foundation for other more flavorful tapas. This was my first time making these and I didn't execute it quite right (I used 2/3 of the ingredients I listed below because I was cooking for just myself, and I overcooked it by quite a bit at the end), but it still tasted pretty good and I'm looking forward to improving my technique on this dish.
Active Time: 30 min
Total Time: 50 min
Ingredients
> eggs (6)
> onion (1 small/medium)
> potato (1 large)
> salt
> olive oil
> chives (optional)
Instructions
1. Heat olive oil (probably around 2 cups is sufficient) over medium-high heat in a saucepan or deep pan.
2. Thinly slice one medium sized onion, and add it to the oil to deep-fry.
3. Peel and slice potato into thin slices. You may also want to cut the potato lengthwise once; you don't want the potato slices to be too large. Add these to the oil as well.
4. Fry for another 12-15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, or until the onions seem well caramelized.
5. In a mixing bowl, add six eggs. Pull the onions and potatoes out of the oil and add them to the mixing bowl. Stir with a spatula until the eggs, onion, and potato are mostly incorporated.
6. Cover with foil and let sit for around 15 minutes.
7. Add a little bit of oil to an appropriately sized nonstick pan (probably around 6-9 inches, depending on the size of your eggs, potato, and onion). Turn the heat up to medium.
8. Add the egg mixture and cook using typical omelette techniques - pull from the sides using a spatula to let the uncooked egg at the top run underneath.
9. After a couple of minutes, flip the omelette by inverting it on a plate and sliding it back in. Cook the other side for a minute or two. Slide out onto a plate to serve. Enjoy!
10. (Optional) Top with some chives!
Notes/Tips:
> Make sure that you put in the potatoes into the oil around 5 minutes after the onions. This will give you sufficient time so that the onions will be caramelized without overcooking the potatoes.
> The amount of ingredients you use will depend largely on your pan. Aim for around a 1 inch thickness or perhaps slightly less than that in the final product - this will likely yield the best texture.
> Letting it sit for 15 minutes is a technique that supposedly helps with the final texture. No idea why though - I read it somewhere and it probably doesn't matter much if you don't do this.
> Make sure you don't overcook the omelette! The key to this dish lies in the texture - you want the middle to still soft and perhaps slightly undercooked.
> If you don't have chives like me, I topped it with some thinly sliced green onions.