tortilla española

~Seguido en español~

This is a classic that any aspiring cook, novice or experienced, should master if interested in Spanish cuisine. The biggest mistake for non Spanish cooks is using too little olive oil. The potatoes and onions should be swimming in hot olive oil. This can be a deterrent or barrier for many outside of Spain given how expensive olive oil is, or if you are trying to cook with minimal oil for more healthy cooking. Regarding the expensive argument: olive oil is not cheap here in Spain either. Family cooks here are very talented and efficient at draining most of the oil from the potatoes before adding to the egg mixture and reuse this oil for future cooking. Regarding the health argument: olive oil is more healthy than most other oils used in frying. But that being said, la tortilla española, like many popular dishes in any country, is a dish to eat in moderation and in smaller quantities. In Spain it is typically served as a smaller tapa size portion, or on a small to medium size bocadillo sandwich. My recommendation: if you are going to try to cook the tortilla as it is intended, go big on the olive oil. 

Ingredients for 4 to 6 people depending on size of tapa or sandwich

• 3 large potatoes
• 6 eggs (you will separate the egg whites from the yolks when cracking)
• 1/2 sweet white large onion
• Olive oil (enough so potatoes and onions are covered in oil as they gently fry)
• Salt

Preparation:

Wash and peel the potatoes. Cut them into small, square pieces and add several healthy pinches of salt to potatoes and mix to coat.

Cut and peel the onion also into small pieces.

In a large frying pan heat more olive oil than you would ever dream of cooking with and once hot but not smoking or burning, add the potatoes and onion and allow to fry over low heat. Stir occasionally to make sure not to burn. Patiently allow to fry so the potatoes and onion eventually soften and absorb some of the olive oil. You are not looking for the typical crispy fried potato here, you are looking for rich, soft, buttery, olive oil infused fried texture.

While the potatoes are cooking, add the egg whites into a large bowl and reserve the yolks on a separate plate.

Beat the egg whites until foamy and opaque, and once they are beaten, add the yolks and fold in. This will help give the tortilla a lighter density. 

When the potatoes are well poached (they should be soft and well infused with olive oil) remove with a colander and drain the oil into a separate container for future use. Fold potatoes into the eggs until well mixed. 

Let the mixture rest a few minutes so that the potato soaks with the eggs and achieves a rich juicy consistency. At this time taste a bit of the egg/potato mixture for salt level. It should be a savory level of salt at this time. If it is bland add a few pinches of salt and mix to taste again, be careful not to over salt here because there is no going back. 

While the potato is resting, heat a medium skillet over medium heat, covering the bottom with some of the oil reserved from having fried the potatoes, stirring so that the entire surface is covered with oil. When it is hot but not burning, toss the mixture of eggs, potatoes and onion and wait a minute or so for the edge "crust" of the tortilla to boil. Gently slide a silicon or soft edge tool along the edge of pan and tortilla to separate and move the pan several times back and forth so that the tortilla finds its shape and does not stick to the bottom. Then leave it one or two minutes until the bottom of the tortilla has cooked and the top side of the tortilla has stabilized without too much liquid. You are going for a golden brown on the cooked side. It is better to get a slightly less golden brown than to burn.

With the help of a large plate big enough to cover the pan, invert the pan and slide the uncooked side of the tortilla back into the pan. With a spatula give it the rounded shape along the edges and shake the pan several times so it settles into place. Leave it to cook on medium and move pan occasionally so not to burn. Test if done by sliding a butter knife through middle of tortilla. If there is no raw egg then it is done.

Use plate to invert and take out from pan, and serve with the most aesthetic side up. 

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Ingredientes: (para 4 personas)

3 patatas grandes

6 huevos

1/2 cebolla grande blanca dulce

Aceite de oliva y Sal

Preparación:

Empezamos lavando y pelando las patatas. Las cortamos en trocitos pequeños y cuadrados y le ponemos sal.

Cortamos y pelamos la cebolla también en trozos pequeños.

En una sartén con mucho aceite (cuando esté caliente) echamos las patatas y por encima ponemos la cebolla y lo dejamos freír todo a fuego lento y vamos removiendo mientras se hacen y procurando que no se quemen y se vayan enterneciendo.

Aparte, ponemos en un cuenco las claras de los huevos y reservamos en un plato las yemas.

Batimos las claras casi a punto de nieve y cuando estén batidas se echan las yemas y se mezclan con movimientos envolventes. Se sala al gusto.

Cuando las patatas estén bien pochadas se sacan con un colador y se escurren del aceite para incorporarlas a los huevos y así se mezcla con todos los ingredientes.

Se deja reposar unos minutos para que la patata se empape bien y quede más jugosa.

Mientras reposa la patata se pone a calentar, a fuego medio, una sartén mediana cubriendo el fondo con el aceite de haber frito las patatas y la cebolla y se remueve para que toda la superficie se impregne con aceite. Cuando esté caliente, echamos la mezcla de huevos, patatas y cebolla y esperamos unos segundos a que salta la “costra” de la tortilla. Movemos la sartén varias veces paa que no se pegue. (la dejamos uno o dos minutos)

Con ayuda de un plato o tapadera le damos la vuelta y con una espátula le damos la forma redondeada y hacemos el mismo proceso. La dejamos cuajar y removemos continuamente.

Volvemos a darle una vuelta más y la dejamos cuajar siempre a fuego lento.

Para sacar por última vez y ya para servir, le damos una última vuelta para dejarla por la parte más estética y lo hacemos siempre a fuego lento a fin de que cuaje por dentro, a no ser que guste un poco cruda.