Cassie’s Ruminations

Tortilla de Patatas – Spanish Egg and Potato Omlette

This is classic Spanish home cooking at its best – simple ingredients come together to make a dish greater than the sum of its parts. I’ve been seeing recipes for these around a lot recently, and finally decided to make one myself. My primary inspiration came from Elise of Simply Recipes, especially the comments on her recipe, which were very enlightening. This is a very cheap, hearty, and tasty meal that makes great leftovers. Many of the comments spoke of Bocata de Tortilla, which is a sandwich made with leftover tortilla and fresh tomatoes. Yum! I added 6 oz of chopped Canadian bacon for a bit more protein, browning it slightly after the onion was cooked. Chorizo or prosciutto would be great too.

Tortilla de Patatas
Serves 4

1/8 cup olive oil
1 lb yukon gold potatoes
1 very small yellow onion
8 eggs
kosher salt

Beat the eggs lightly in a large bowl and set aside.

Dice the potatoes into small bite-sized chunks. Grate the onion. Pour the olive oil into a 12 inch cast iron skillet and heat over medium heat. When hot, add the potatoes and cook until they are tender and are nicely browned on all sides. Add the onion and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes, or until the onions are starting to caramelize.

Remove the potatoes and onion to the bowl with the eggs, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible, and stir to combine. The heat will start to cook the egg. This is just fine. It will help to suspend the egg and onion nicely throughout the tortilla as it cooks.

Pour the whole mixture back into the skillet. Season with kosher salt to taste and gently stir until you see the eggs forming curds. Let cook until the edges are browning and the middle is somewhat set. Place a large heat-proof plate over the top of the skillet, and carefully invert the whole thing to remove the tortilla to the plate. Immediately slide the tortilla back into the pan, now with the cooked side up. Cook for another 5 minutes or until it is nicely browned on the bottom and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.