Recently a friend of mine came over for dinner. And for some reason (thank God!) I asked her if she ate meat. I don’t know why I asked, but when she said she was a vegetarian, I was in a little bit of trouble – especially as my dinner party repertoire really isn’t vegan friendly. I immediately turned to my friends on Facebook and one suggested I made ‘tortilla de patatas‘, the traditional Spanish omelette – and honestly, I knew I couldn’t deliver. So I prayed my friend liked cheese and wine, and more cheese, and salad, and more wine, of course. The evening was a success, but it really got me thinking.
I am a very proud host (Mr. O and yours truly do put on a decent show when we entertain), but I was intrigued – and as I was on my way to the stunning Finca Cortesin, in Spain, I had a brilliant idea: ask their great executive chef Lutz Bosing, to give me a little lesson. In less than a couple of minutes, he tweeted back saying he was game for it and on my second day at Finca Cortesin, I learned from the very best.
So if you fancy trying something new, here is how you can make a remarkable ‘tortilla de patatas‘:
The ingredients
You will need eggs, potatoes, onions, salt and olive oil. As simple as that. You can see on the image garlic (which we used to make alioli) and roasted green peppers which we used as a garnish.
Preparation
The first thing you will need to do is cut the potatoes. You can do it like a normal person, or chef-style like Lutz did. You can cut them in any shape you like, but I will follow Lutz’ lead – in small thin slices.
Cooking
After this, you need to boil the potatoes. And interestingly, you do so with olive oil instead of water (a revelation for me), obviously in very low temperature – it is important that you don’t let it start frying.
After 1o minutes or so, you let the potatoes cool down and only start the next part of the process once they are cool again (so maybe best to do the potatoes bit a bit before the cooking). The same procedure applies to the onions, which are to be cooked the same way (and separately, of course).
Then the magic begins! Get a bowl and crack the eggs, and whisk them, like you would if you were cooking a normal scrambled egg dish. Add salt, of course.
Once you have added the onions, and whisked, you can then add the potatoes. You can see where this is going….
Now it is time to start cooking, and the first step is to have a frying pan with olive oil (notice the quantity, not a lot!)
Pour the contents of your bowl in the pan, and watch for the magic to happen.
You will need to decide how cooked you like your eggs – it is nice to have some moisture on them, in my opinion.
The really difficult part of this dish is to flip the tortilla (and pray that it lands where it should). You should cook the other side for a bit and then leave it to rest.
Enjoying
And then, after a few minutes (honestly), you will have one of the Spanish classics in front of you – a fabulously looking tortilla de patatas, or Spanish omelette.
It tasted delicious, and I will be never be caught short again when a non-meat eating friend comes round!
Have you ever attempted to make a Spanish omelette (or tortilla de patatas? Do send me photos if you try!
xo
Mrs. O