Spanish Omelette | Tortilla de Patatas

As you may well guess, I have cooked thousands of tortillas in my life. There are about 25 different ways to cook tortilla and I have cooked them all: onion first, onion after, caramelised or not, no onion, potato slow-cooked or fried... the mind boggles. But after all my research, I believe this is the best recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large or 3–4 medium waxy potatoes (charlotte is ideal), peeled and halved

• 1 Spanish onion, peeled and halved

• 8 eggs

• salt

• 400 ml olive oil

METHOD

1. Thinly slice the potato halves, cut side down, so that you end up with half-circle shaped slices. Do the same with the onion.

2. Pour the olive oil into a deep frying pan and add the thinly sliced onion. Place over a high heat so you are cooking the onion from cold. Once the onion starts to sizzle (this should take about 5 minutes), add the sliced potatoes. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring from time to time, until they are soft and cooked throughout. The potatoes and onions should have browned in some corners because of the contact with the bottom of the pan. If this hasn’t happened drain away some of the oil and caramelize them a bit in the pan. Remove the potatoes and onions from the pan and set aside.

3. Break the eggs into a large bowl but don’t whisk them; check there are no pieces of shell. Add the hot potatoes and onions to the eggs and season with salt while the potatoes are sitting on the top. Carefully mix through; use a fork to break up the eggs but don’t over-mix – justcan, leave the mixture to rest for half an hour to allow the flavours to develop.

4. To make the tortilla place a non-stick pan over a medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. When the pan is hot add the egg mixture. If you don’t have a non-stick pan add the mixture to a very hot pan but reduce the heat to its lowest setting straight away; this will stop the tortilla sticking to the pan. Do not stir the contents of the pan!

5. Depending on the depth of your pan and the amount of heat from your stove, the cooking time will vary so you will need to use your judgement. After about 3 minutes you should be able to ease the tortilla from the edge of the pan using a fork or spatula. At this point, cover the pan with a plate (which should obviously be wider than the pan). Hold firmly with both hands and flip the pan over on to the plate. Slide the tortilla back into the pan for the other side to cook. Place back on the heat for another 2 minutes (I like it when the middle is still soft and a little runny).

NOTE: If this is the first time you have made a tortilla you might want to practise the flipping action with a plate and an empty pan first!