This morning I decided to make a Tortilla de Patata, otherwise known as a Spanish Omelet. This dish is one of my favorites and it brings back a lot of memories. In college, my husband and I spent a month backpacking through a tiny piece of Europe. We ended up in Barcelona. Barcelona was fantastic (and it wasn't because of the plentiful sangria! well sort of). We stayed in a touristy part of town on the street Las Ramblas. There were tons of street vendors, amazing restaurants, and the water front wasn't far away. We spent our time visiting architectural endeavors by the famous Gaudi, touring museums featuring Salvador Dali, Picasso, and Gaudi among many other things.
Anyway back to the omelet! One of the best things I had to eat in Barcelona was the Tortilla de Patata. Lucky for me my husband told me that his mother knew how to make the Spanish Omelet. One of the first things I did on my return to the States was get a lesson.
The Spanish Omelet is a staple. You can eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Sometimes in Spain they would toss it on a baguette. I like to serve it with a side salad. And it is great to make on the weekend so you are assured you have an easy meal to eat for breakfast during the work week or to take for lunch. The best part about it is it requires so little ingredients!
I decided to make my own version (go figure). Now for those of you that are interested in making this omelet - a word of warning. It requires the ability to flip your pan upside down and then replace the omelet in the pan for cooking on both sides. This takes practice. So even if you don't get a beautiful round saucer like omelet the first time it will still taste great. Here is a great STEP by STEP with photos.
So I chose to use some other ingredients instead of the traditional ones.
2 - Leeks
4 - Purple Potaotes
4 - eggs (mixed with a fork)
1 cup of sesame oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 - 4 inch diameter pan
1. Chop the leeks and clean them in a colander
2. Peel potatoes, half, and then slice in thin half moon shapes
3. Put a bit of oil in a large frying pan, turn of the heat, then toss in the leeks.
4. Once the leeks have been in for a minute or two toss in the potatoes. Mix well with the oil. If necessary add a tad more.
5. Season with sea salt & cracked pepper.
6. Let the onions & potatoes caramelize a bit and become translucent
7. Turn off the heat.
8. Pour the onions & potatoes into a bowl and then add your eggs. Make sure to mix everything. Let the mixture stand up to 20 minutes so it binds (this binding can be skipped, but it helps!)
9. Heat your 4 inch diameter pan with oil - cover the bottom - it is very important to use enough oil so that the mixture does not stick to the pan. (You can always add more)
10. Once the pan is very hot, add the mixture slowly. Use a spatula to make sure the edges of the pan do not stick to the mixture. If they do, add oil. Also make sure it doesn't stick by shaking the frying pan a bit so that your mixture moves and isn't connected on the edges.
11. Let it cook. I would say that you want to see the edge cooked to about a 1/2 inch.
12. Turn the heat off. Take a plate larger than the fry pan and lay it over the top. Walk the pan over to the sink and hold the plate firmly and flip the tortilla over onto the plate.
13. Return the tortilla to the pan (may need to add more oil) continue to heat, shake the pan, same idea as before. About 5 min.
14. Flip the tortilla again. You can tell if it is ready by sticking a knife in the middle, if its firm its ready to go! If not...
15. Return to heat
16. May need more flipping - check it out.
NOTE - Try adding peppers, garlic or other herbs to experiment! No matter what it will taste great.
Yummy!
Check out the details of the link at the top for the visual step by step.
I want to know. Have you had a Tortilla de Patata? Have you made it before? What modifications have you done to make it your own?
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