A proper Spanish tortilla is not the same as a Mexican tortilla. It has its own flavor, and it is more like a frittata or omlette... Nevertheless, it has it's own style...
**** READ THIS WHOLE RECIPE BEFORE YOU COOK IT!!!! ****
This week's Carnival of Recipes is hosted at Meanderings, so please stop by... I may be off-line so I cannot guarentee that I'll be able to link to the actual post - I apologize, Michelle!)
You need
- 2 eggs
- 2 small (the size of a small lady's fist, each ) potatoes - red skinned works great; probably 2 cups sliced
- 1 largish (the size of one-and-a-half of a small lady's fist) onion, sliced thinly (perhaps 3/4 to 1 cup total)
- 2-3 cups extra virgin olive oil
- freshly ground sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
Take the potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced, some salt (to taste - but I would suggest you be generous, especially if using sea salt) with the onion and garlic (if used) and the olive oil and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are just tender.
While the potatoes and onions are gently cooking, beat the hell out of the eggs in a large bowl (everything will eventually go in this bowl, so make sure it's big enough). Make sure they're frothy... very frothy!
When the onions and the potatos are *just* tender, drain them - but you MUST reserve about 4 tablespoons of the oil! Let the veggies drain and cool a bit, then mix them with the eggs. Let them soak for 5-10 minutes to blend flavors.
Now, heat a small skillet (8 inches), preferably non-stick, with some of the reserved olive oil - perhaps 2 tablespoons - at medium-high heat. When the oil is heated, pour in the egg mixture and press it out so that it is evenly distributed around the skillet.
Reduce heat to medium-low and cook (shaking occasionally to keep it un-stuck) until pretty much cooked through.
--- Here's the semi-tricky part ---
Slide the semi cooked tortilla out onto a plate, cooked side down. Then, invert the plate over the skillet (there's the tricky part) so that the uncooked side is on the bottom of the skillet.
There ought to be enough oil left that it shouldn't stick (which is why a non-stick skillet works best...) while you cook it through.
When it IS cooked through (make sure you keep shaking it so it doesn't stick), slide it off onto a plate with some paper towels to soak up excess oil, and let it cool to room temp. Cut the "omlette" into squares about 1/2 to 1 inch square, and indulge.
Green onions are a good addition, while finley chopped parsley (scattered thinly) is an excellent garnish.
If you have had problems, e-mail me at romeokat -at- gmail (dot) com with where things seemed to go wrong, and I will try to help you fix it. However, if you are careful and have a good non-stick pan, it should work beautifully...
Here is another recipe, from Taunton's Fine Cooking magazine which may say explain the process better than I can. It's slightly different, but still an excellent recipe.
