Home, Cooking: Tortilla Español

When I was sixteen, I spent a school year abroad in gorgeous Barcelona, Spain, desperately homesick and eating all kinds of things that terrified me and provoked my disgust. It didn’t help that the program I attended advised that we eat anything that was put in front of us to avoid rudeness, This injunction, paired with my host family’s desire to be welcoming and instruct me in the typical local diet, meant that I was eating heaping plates of calamari in dark black squid ink sauce, live oysters, and fried fish once or twice a day. 

Some might say that sounds like a dream. I didn’t see it that way. I still don’t love fish, but one thing my host family served that I would always be excited to eat was tortilla española, a very simple, teenager-friendly dish of potatoes, onions, and eggs that my host mother seemed to be able to make on autopilot. There was a sandwich of baguette rubbed with tomato and layered with thinner cuts of tortilla española that was my saving grace, available at any bakery in the city and always good to eat. 

When I returned to the States, I tried many times to replicate this dish, but usually ended up with a soggy, eggy mess. It wasn’t until I gave in and purchased a non-stick pan that I was able to make the round, striated disc I remembered happen in my own kitchen. This is a great March dish, with potatoes from the market and a few of those increasingly precious eggs. For now, it’s excellent to eat with a green salad on the side; when we get to tomato season, don’t forgot those sandwiches.  

(adapted from an Epicurious recipe that’s no longer online!) 

Tortilla Española

Adapted from the New York Times

Ingredients

• 1¼ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (3 or 4 medium) sliced as thin as possible (with a mandoline if you’re brave)
• 1 medium onion, likewise sliced thin as you can manage
• 1 cup olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 extra-large or jumbo eggs

Directions

1. Get out an 8- or 10-inch nonstick skillet. If you’re using an 8-inch for the frittata, you may want to use a 10- or 12-inch skillet to cook the potatoes and onions, just to have more space to stir them gently. 
2. Pour the oil into the skillet you’re using for the potatoes and onions. Set the heat to medium. After the oil is heated up, put in a potato, and wait until little bubbles gather on the outside edges. Once the bubbles appear, put in all the potatoes and onions, with some salt. Cook, turning gently on occasion, until the potatoes can be pierced by a small, sharp knife. (You don’t want them to brown, or to cook so much that they break apart.) 
3. As the potatoes are cooking, beat the eggs with salt and pepper in a big-ish bowl, preferably one with a pouring spout. Set up a colander or strainer over another big bowl. 
4. When the potatoes and onions are done, pour them, with all the oil, into the colander. If you’re using the same skillet for the tortilla, wipe it out with a paper towel, 
5. Set the skillet you’ll use for the tortilla on the burner and heat it over medium for a minute. Add two tablespoons of the reserved oil. Take the potatoes and onions that are in the colander and gently mix them (again, taking care not to break the potatoes) into the eggs. Pour the egg, potato, and onion mixture into the skillet. 
6. Watch the skillet. After about a minute on medium, the edges should start to set. When they do, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for five minutes undisturbed. The top will still be runny. 
7. Here comes the flip. Take a rubber spatula and run it along the sides of the pan to loosen up the edges. (If you’re using a nonstick pan, this should be no problem, due to the miracle of modern chemistry.) Find your flattest plate, and put it on top of the skillet. Flip the tortilla onto the plate. Add a bit more oil to the skillet. Then, slide this baby, runny side down, back into the skillet. Cook for five more minutes on medium-low. 
8. Turn it out onto a plate. That’s it! The traditional advice is to eat this when it’s cooled to room temperature, and to avoid refrigerating it. I have certainly eaten it right out of the pan, and refrigerated it for future use, but it’s true that the old ways taste best.