Potato Omelet (Tortilla De Patatas) is a common savoury breakfast in Spain. It is usually eaten as a second breakfast around 10 to 11 am. We had this in BraCafe while we were in Barcelona.
I made this Potato Omelet for Ben’s lunch as he is a light eater while he is at work. This is great as it can be eaten warm or cold. This will be a great lunch box item when the kids are back to school next week.
I got this recipe from the Culinaria Spain book as mentioned in this post.
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup/150 ml olive oil
- 2 1/4 lbs/1 kg large potatoes (about 4 large russet potatoes), peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 tsp salt (I used 1.5 tsp only)
- 6 eggs
The hardest part in this recipe is to turn over the omelet. Chick on more for the instructions.
Instructions:
- Heat a scant 1/2 cup/100 ml of olive oil in a heavy iron pan (I used a regular non-stick pan).
- Put the sliced potatoes into the pan, season with 1 tsp of salt and toss once in the oil (I actually toss the sliced potatoes with the salt in a big bowl before I put them in the pan).
- Then reduce the heat and fry the potatoes for 15 – 20 minutes, turning them occasionally.
- Drain off the surplus oil. Beat the eggs with 1 tsp of salt (I only use 1/2 tsp of salt here) until they are frothy, using a whisk.
- Carefully fold in the sliced potatoes and then leave the entire mixture to rest for 5 minutes.
- Heat the remaining oil in an iron pan and put the potato and egg mixture into it.
- Smooth it out and let it thicken for a few minutes on a low heat.
- Turn the potato omelet over with the help of a plate or a lid and brown it in the same way on the other side.
- Serve hot or cold.
Hey, I made these quite often for my kids, but I use less oil. (about 5 tbsp). I posted the recipe last month. My kids favorite!
I was taught how to make this by my Basque student’s mom and learned some tips from the members of the Basque club in Seattle.
The idea is to brown the potatoes in a (usually cast iron) pan before you add the eggs and flip it. You can add diced onion with the potatoes if you like. That is a regional decision, but since you don’t live there it is a matter of taste. I use less oil, too, just enough to lightly cover the bottom of the pan.
They also call it “Tortilla” without saying “de patatas” Putting that on is for us Western Hemisphereans who think tortillas are made of corn or wheat flour.
So cook the potatoes Slow and Low and don’t stir much or they won’t get a crust. Slide the spatula under so you can loosen it for flipping.
Pour the eggs on. When they are set up, it is time to flip! I sometimes put a lid on top to help the top of the eggs cook faster but that is non-traditional.
I usually flip it by putting a plate on top of the pan, flipping the tortilla onto that, then sliding it back onto the pan brown side up. It just takes a minute or two to finish the bottom.
They usually cut it in pie wedges.
It is a basic staple food that every Basque meal served in America has! You need some Basque chorizo alongside. Don’t even get started talking about chorizo with a Basque!
The Spanish Table is a store in Pike’s Place Market pn Western Avenue in Seattle with all kinds of good spanish ingredients and a great knowledge of the area. They have a good cookbook that I recommend. They also have an email newsletter that is fun to read — more Spanish travelogues, but more about food producers than restaurants.
I also use diced, not sliced, potatoes, for what it is worth! That’s the way they taught me.