Easy Spanish Tortilla makes a great midweek meal. Ideal for using up leftover cooked potatoes, it’s simple and quick to make and very, very tasty.
Easy Spanish Tortilla – Potato and Onion Omelette
A proper authentic Spanish Tortilla (potato and onion omelette) may be a simple, humble dish, but it is a thing of beauty and whenever I am at a Tapas bar I will always include a slice. Now I am not going to claim that this Easy Spanish Tortilla is the real deal. To the contrary. But it is really easy and it does make a great tasty midweek meal. One that I make regularly.
Although it’s great for using up leftover cooked potatoes, I like this so much I have been known to cook potatoes just to make it. I simply thinly slice and cook them in boiling water until just tender. As they are thinly cut they only take a few minutes to cook.
Why I make an Easy Spanish Tortilla rather than the real deal.
The trouble with the real deal is that the potatoes are cooked in a lot of olive oil. And I mean a lot – at least 150ml/¼ pint (1 cup) for a four person Tortilla. So if you want the real deal you will need to cook the potatoes and onion together from raw in the olive oil, over a low heat so that the potatoes effectively simmer, rather than fry, in the oil.
While you do not use all the oil, as it is drained off before continuing, the potatoes do soak quite a lot of it it up. This gives the authentic Spanish Omelette its wonderful flavour. While that may be fine as a treat when eating out, it hardly makes for a healthy everyday dish.
So I opt for this Easy Spanish Tortilla instead as it still tastes darn good. Like my Baked Tomato, Spinach and Mozzarella Tortilla, it is also delicious eaten hot or cold .
Easy Spanish Tortilla
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 150 g cooked potatoes sliced
- 6 free range eggs
- 2 tbsp milk
- salt and fresh ground black pepper
- pinch grated nutmeg
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onions for 5 to 10 minutes until softened and beginning to colour.
- Add the potatoes and continue to cook for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile beat the eggs, milk seasoning and nutmeg together in a bowl with a fork until well combined.
- Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables. Cook over a low heat and draw the mixture from the edge of the mixture as it begins to set from the edge of the pan to the middle. Easing the remaining runny mixture to the edges,
- When there is little runny mixture left, cook over the heat for a few minutes until the egg mixture is set.
- To brown the top, slide out of the pan onto a plate flip over and cook for a few minutes or place the frying pan under a hot grill for a few minutes until browned.
- Cut into wedges to serve
Notes
Nutrition
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- Fry onions until softened then add the potatoes.
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- Beat together the eggs, milk and seasoning until well combined.
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- Pour into the pan.
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- Draw the edges of the mixture into the centre of the pan, allowing the edges to fill again.
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- When there is little runny mixture left allow the tortilla to cook until the egg is set.
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- Borwn the top by flipping over or under a grill.
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- Cook the top until golden.
monica T K
This looks great Jacqui, I usually do the original one and you’re right it uses masses amounts of Olive Oil. What do you think are the best potatoes to use?
Also looking forward to the veggie shepherds pie. I’ve recently stopped eating red meat and generally following a healthier diet, so this is great (maybe without the butter….)I’ll let you know what the meat eating youth think!
Monica T K
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Ive used both waxy, new/salad potatoes as well as floury maincrop potatoes and find they both work, but I think I like them best with floury potatoes, Maris Piper is my prefered potato. That said floury potatoes do tend to break up more easily so you need to take care not to overcook them. As for the veggie shepherd’s pie I am sure the meat-eating youth will be satisfied, its one veggie dish I always get away with without any complaints from mine.
Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook
This is perfectly delicious, Jacqui! Thanks for sharing!
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
Honestly, Jacqui, you and I are so on the same wavelength sometimes – I could have written the whole first section of this post, all the same things from simple humble thing of beauty, to always order it in a tapas bar, to making potatoes especially for it…I was nodding the whole way along! Such a lovely dish and one of my all time favourites…I love it! Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare! Eb x
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Thank you Eb I tend to agree we certainly seem to have similar tastes!