kellycrull.com - expat life in Spain

I can’t in all good conscience continue writing about life in Madrid without including a recipe for Tortilla Española. Tortilla Española is one of the most commonly eaten foods in Spain. It is a favorite appetizer served at cafes and bars and at home. It can be eaten warm or cold at any time of the day.

Prep. Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
400ml or 2 cups of olive oil (aceite de oliva)
4 medium-sized potatoes (patatas)
1 onion (cebolla) (optional)
5 eggs (huevos)
salt to taste (sal)

Preparation:
Pour the 425ml of oil into a medium-sized skillet. While the oil is warming to a medium heat, wash 4 potatoes and peel them.

Slice the potatoes very thinly.

When the oil is hot, add the potatoes. If you want to add onion, cut up the onion very finely and add to the skillet.

In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat together 5 eggs.

When the onion is tender, and the potatoes can be easily broken apart with a fork, scoop the potatoes and onions out of the oil with a slotted spoon and add to the beaten eggs.

Add salt generously and mix. Drain most of the oil from the skillet into a bowl (to use again next time!), leaving just enough oil to coat the skillet.

Pour the egg, potato and onion mixture back into the skillet. With a spoon, smooth over the mixture in the skillet.

After 2 minutes is the tricky part. You need to flip the tortilla mixture up-side-down. Find a plate that is of equal size or larger than the size of the skillet. Turn the plate up-side-down and cover the top of the skillet. Now, with one hand on the plate and one hand on the handle of the skillet, quickly flip the skillet up-side-down, allowing the tortilla mixture to fall onto the plate. Slide the tortilla mixture from the plate into the skillet.

Although you should only have to flip the tortilla once, you may have to repeat this process once or twice more as needed. You don’t want to turn the tortilla brown, but you want the tortilla to hold together. It takes practice to learn when to flip the tortilla, especially if you are only going to flip it once.

When you flip the tortilla and return it to the skillet, use the spoon to reshape the tortilla. When the tortilla is more-or-less solid, get a clean serving plate, and slide the tortilla from the skillet onto the plate. Cut into wedges or squares.

There you have it. Tortilla Española!

¬°Buen aproveche!