Tortilla Española
Before getting into Spanish omelets, I'd like to take a moment of silence to appreciate the world's greatest Spanish tortilla. It's at Cal Pep in Barcelona and it's ding dang perfect. Perfectly jammy eggs, sweet confit onions and a hit of salt contributed by the teeny tiny diced Spanish chorizo laced within. Did you take a moment? Great! You’ll notice there are some interchangeable words for this dish: Spanish omelet, tortilla, tortilla Española, Spanish tortilla etc. I really wanted to recreate the Cal Pep version and do it justice which meant testing many different techniques, times and ingredients until I think I got it just about right. The one thing they do that's genius is coat the top in a thin layer of aioli to give it an extra dose of creaminess and a touch of pizazz from the garlic. Now, onto tortilla.
Tortilla requires three things...
1. time
2. lots and lots of olive oil
3. a small pan
YOU NEED A SMALL PAN. Flipping a tortilla is very tough and the larger the pan, the more difficult it becomes. If you are serious about tortillas, you'll want to seriously invest in a small nonstick pan, 7 inches-ish in size. Yah? I made an IGTV video with the recipe, so if you have any questions at all, you should watch it! Or, ya know, reach out!
INGREDIENTS:
1 juiced lemon
1 tablespoon herbs ( I picked thyme, chives and parsley)
1 shallot (chopped)
A big pinch of salt
A big pinch of pepper
LET’S COOK:
Heat all the oil in a nonstick pan over medium-low heat (it seems like a lot, but after the recipe I'll offer suggestions of what to do with your leftover oil)
Once the oil is hot (meaning if you drop in a potato bubble are created around it) put all the potatoes into the oil, with a big pinch of salt and confit for 10 min
Next add all the onion, followed by another pinch of salt
Carefully stir the potatoes and onions and cook for 8 minutes
Add the chorizo and cook for another 2 minutes
Strain potatoes in a colander over a mixing bowl, keep oil!
Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl with the rest of the salt and fold in the potato mixture
Set aside covered for 15 min
Heat the small nonstick pan with 1 tablespoon of the leftover oil
Once the pan is hot, add the eggs
Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the pan to make sure the egg doesn't stick - cook for two minutes
Remove the pan from the heat and cover with a plate face side down. QUICKLY flip the eggs onto the plate and then slide it back into the pan so the top is now the bottom (if you're confused, watch the video!)
Cook for another minute
Flip it onto a clean plate and let it sit for 10 minutes
Cover in aioli and eat!!
So now you've got almost a cup of this oil and since you didn't poke around at the potatoes too much you'll notice the oil is pretty clear! That means it's good to use it again. Because it's now flavored with all the onion and potato goodness it will complement roasted vegetables really well, it will also flavor soups, scrambled eggs and even my honey jalapeño black beans!
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