Inspired by Omar Allibhoy, I recreated one of my favorite all-time dishes with this Tortilla Española. I first encountered the dish as a naïve, hungover, food-deprived 21-year old in Madrid. After successive nights of ecstatic partying, our gracious hosts prepared what looked to be a ‘puffy omelet.’ At the time, I was kind of agnostic about eggs – take ’em or leave ’em – and prepared to be satiated with a few simple bites. What happened next, even in my slumberious haze, was nothing short of a revelation. Was this cheesy? Was this buttery? What is this creamy texture that somehow holds tight, and oozes deliciousness over every tastebud?
Turns out, this was a simple fortification of potatoes, onions, eggs, salt, pepper & EVOO. And that’s IT.
One of the simplest recipes I’ve made, but takes concentration and is definitely an ‘active’ recipe. But absolutely worth it – breakfast, brunch, dinner. Amazing food here.
Ingredients
- Four fist-sized waxy potatoes
- One yellow onion
- 7 eggs
- glugs upon glugs of EVOO
- salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- pour oil, realistically 3/4 of a cup, in to a wide, non-stick skillet. heat on high.
- quarter the onion, then slice it. once pan is heated, add to pan.
- while onions are heating, and they need time to caramelize & brown, half then slice the potatoes.
- once onions have nice color, add potatoes to the pan and mix actively for the next 15 minutes, or until potatoes have great color as well.
- while potatoes are frying, crack eggs in a large bowl and whisk with salt and pepper
- after potatoes & onions have browned, turn off stove and drain excess oil (strain & save it – can be reused about five times and has a great subtle flavor)
- place potato/onion mixture into the eggs and let stiffen for about five minutes.
- put skillet on stove and heat to medium – add mixture
- heat for four-five minutes, moving subtly the entire time
- place a large plate on the top of the skillet, press down firmly and flip. this is easier than it sounds, but still pretty harrowing.
- slide the now-forming tortilla onto the skillet again, and heat other side for four-five minutes, again shaking subtly.
- slide off onto plate, let cool for five minutes and slice.
- i like to add crisp greenery and an acidic element (tomatoes) as well as an herb (parsley), but you can literally make this as sweet or savory as you’d like.
- enjoy.