Spanish Tortilla #2 - Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner

Sunday morning and ready for part two of Spanish Tortilla weekend. My dad is up visiting from California and we’ve been cooking all kinds of things this weekend. Untraditional Spanish Tortilla yesterday morning, baby-back ribs last night, a more traditional Spanish Tortilla this morning and a slow-cooked brisket coming up this afternoon.

Unfortunately he will miss the brisket as he is going to be heading home this morning, but we’ve had a great time sharing stories. As a matter of fact we talked about how often we used to eat Spam on camping trips when I was a kid. My dad and I used to go camping at least five times each year. We would head up into the mountains, find a logging road and head to some remote place where you would never see another soul for the weekend. I think we must have eaten Spam on sandwiches, with eggs and bacon and just plain. Ahh… the good old days, ignorance is bliss. Thinking about this makes me want to pick a day and head out for a nice long weekend of camping and cooking in the woods. Where should I go….

So today I’m very happy to say that we all loved the Spanish Tortilla and the recipe worked out very well. It only took me 40 minutes from start to finish and the recipe was super easy. The dish had a good balance and cooking with the olive oil added a delicate fruity taste.

Here is the recipe, adapted from Mark Bittman.

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

• 1 1/4 pounds of potatoes, 3 or 4 medium (i used red-skinned potatoes)
• 1 medium onion
• 1 cup of olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 6 extra-large or jumbo eggs

Method

Peel and thinly slice potatoes and onions. (I didn’t peel, I like the skins myself so you can skip this if you’d like. If you have a mandoline it makes this step super easy.) Meanwhile, heat the oil in 8 to 10 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. After 3 or 4 minutes drop in a potato slice. When tiny bubbles appear around its edges, add potatoes, onions, a good pinch of salt and a liberal sprinkling of pepper. Gently turn mixture in oil with a wooden spoon, and adjust heat so oil bubbles lazily. You are simmering the potatoes and onions in other words.

Cook, turning the potatoes gently every few minutes, until they are tender when pierced with a small knife, or like me, when you take one out and eat it and it tastes good. Adjust heat so they do not brown. If potatoes begin to break, they are overdone; stop cooking immediately. As potatoes cook, beat eggs with some salt and pepper in a large bowl. I would do a large pinch of kosher salt!

Drain potatoes in a colander, reserving oil. I’ve read about saving the oil and added it to new oil when you make the tortillas next time. Hmm, sounds good. Wipe out skillet and heat over medium flame for a minute. Add 2 tablespoons of oil. Gently mix warm potatoes with the eggs in another bowl and then add to skillet. As soon as the edges firm up, after a minute or so, reduce heat to medium low and cook 5 minutes.

Insert rubber spatula all around edges of tortilla to make sure it will slide from the pan. The top will still be runny. Carefully slide out onto a plate. Cover with another plate, and holding plates tightly, invert them. Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet and use the spatula to coax tortilla back in. Cook 5 minutes, then slide from skillet onto a clean plate. Serve warm (not hot), or at room temperature.

Notes: The dish is best cooked over moderate heat. You are not browning the onions in the olive oil. If you have a non-stick skillet of the 9 or 10 inch variety this will work best. Mark’s recipe tells you to flip the tortilla over with the use of a plate. If you don’t want to risk it put it in the oven pre-heated to 400 degrees for the last few minutes to set the eggs on top! Make sure your pan is oven proof though. We have All Clad and they work perfect!

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