I’m sorry but how utterly magical is a Spanish tortilla? Three ingredients. Potatoes. Onions. Eggs. That’s it. But together they become something altogether greater.
Looking down at these aggressively basic ingredients knowing I’m about to perform some domestic alchemy, I feel like a magician. The olive oil is my wand! The flip might be the ta-da moment, but the real magic is standing at the kitchen counter, devouring a hot, gooey slice from the pan.
And yet, it’s one of those things I wish everyone could experience the best version of, because there are some sad ones out there. I went to a tapas bar in London this week where they were serving those mini individual tortillas. It brought back memories of sitting at the counter at Cal Pep in Barcelona, eagerly anticipating the tortilla I had queued for, well before doors opened (10/10, worth it).
This one was bad though :( The potatoes were grey and tasted undercooked, the egg somehow both too wet with no body in the middle, but overcooked and foamy at the edges.. It made us sad.
But that’s okay, because if there’s one thing I make a lot at home, it’s tortilla. I’m going to raid my brain for every possible tip I can think of to pass on to you here. And if you’re thinking I may have overthought this, you’d be absolutely correct. It’s something I feel passionately about and if I can help you make the best* damn Spanish omelette you’ve ever made, I will.
*Personal preference, obviously. Tortilla is deeply personal and we may not share the same needs.
Before simply handing over my tried and tested a hundred times recipe, some tips:
Start small. An 8inch frying pan will look small but it will take NINE eggs. Plus potatoes and onions, that is enough to serve 6 people a generous slice. There is nothing more nerve wracking than a pan full of hot wet egg that all of a sudden feels too heavy to lift with one hand, let alone flip.
Use all the oil as I suggest below. You cannot make it delicious with less and don’t worry, it doesn’t all end up in the omelette. You drain most of it off and you keep it in a jar for next time. I use it for all sorts of things, it’s so tasty.
Go low on heat. I personally love a bit of colour on mine, but that can build over time in the pan, you do not need to have the heat on anything higher than medium-low.
You need to be prepped. There is a very important step in making a tortilla which is to add boiling hot potatoes to eggs. If your eggs aren’t ready and cracked into a bowl and whisked, you miss that window. If the hot potatoes don’t meet the eggs in time, your eggs won’t have their pre cook (and thicken) before they hit the pan, and you won’t get the right jammy texture. Also, room temp eggs please.
Take your time - from start to finish it takes me 45 minutes. Flavours and textures here really hinge on how long you’re willing to fry your onions and potatoes for. Most people cook these together. I however want each element to be perfect therefore I will cook/confit my onions for 15 minutes until sweet and translucent, and then I will use that now super flavourful oil, to cook the potatoes til just soft, but still fudgy.
Do you! I personally have little interest in making a tortilla where the egg spills all over my plate. I get the visual appeal, but you lose out on flavour which comes with the egg’s higher viscosity through cooking. I do love a looser tortilla though and if this is something you want to achieve then you need to think practically. This isn’t a tortilla you can make and then pop in the fridge later to slice into a baguette. You need to make it and eat it right away. For this reason, make it in a tiny pan and enjoy a small sloppy tortilla. The best loose tortilla I’ve ever eaten wasn’t any of the famous ones in San Sebastián (although we did find an exceptional one that isn’t featured on a list) but rather given out as a free snack in a bar in Galicia. It was served almost as a scoop. The onions were so sweet, the potatoes tasted of the finest olive oil and the egg was just holding it all together.
Again, I like to make them like this sometimes, but you need to know your audience/the occasion. If you’re happy to scoop and serve immediately, then follow the recipe below but just take it off the heat sooner, simple!
Recipe as follows for a jammy but sliceable tortilla.
8inch non stick, heavy bottomed frying pan. I love my Le Creuset and OXO pans for tortilla.
9 medium eggs, room temp
2 large onions (I like white, but brown is good too)
300g peeled weight of potato (I like a Désirée, they’re slightly waxy but still creamy)
200ml good olive oil
Whisk your eggs into a large bowl and set aside.
Have a sieve ready over another heatproof large bowl.
Slice potatoes into 1/2cm pieces and then into two , wash and dry well on a tea towel.
Slice onions into 3mm wedges and add to an 8inch frying pan with the olive oil. Add two large pinches of salt and let simmer away for 15 minutes on a medium heat, stirring frequently so they don’t catch on the bottom. When translucent and taking on a little bit of colour pour straight into the sieve.
Carefully return the oil back to the pan and add the potatoes. You might think they won’t fit, but they will, you’ll just need to turn them a bit so they don’t stick together. Turn the heat down a little and simmer for 15 minutes, frequently giving them a stir. You don’t want them to crisp on the bottom of the pan.
The potatoes will be ready when you can push a teaspoon into one and it breaks easily but with a little resistance. Add the onions back to the potatoes to warm them and then pour everything back in the sieve so the oil collects in the bowl.
Give the sieve a quick shake and immediately drop them into the eggs. Mix really well and if you need to stab with a whisk just to break the potatoes up a little, go ahead. Here you’ll want to season with a little salt. Taste a little bit of potato, don’t be scared of a little raw egg. You’ll be fine!
Wipe your frying pan to make sure there is no residue, and then add a tablespoon of oil back in and put on a low to medium heat. I like to use a slotted spoon to add the potato and onion mix into the pan so as to keep a little bit of egg back in case there isn’t space. (You don’t want to waste the filling but can forgo an egg) If there’s space, get it all in!
Here you’ll want to act quickly for the first 30 seconds, treating this part like you’re making scrambled eggs, this is your only chance to get everything mixed up proper over heat and start the cooking process. When the edges start setting you can drag an edge into the middle and let raw egg escape down the sides but you can only do this a few times. If you think you need a little more oil, you can tease the edges in and slip a tsp down the sides, giving the pan a shake.
Run the spatula around the edges of the tortilla to make sure nothing is sticking and then move the pan back and forth in sharp confident movements to loosen the whole thing. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
It’s now your call when to make the flip. Make sure your plate is at least an inch larger than the pan. Place it on top, pressing down firmly with one hand while your dominant hand grips the pan handle and pushes upwards into the plate. Maintain that pressure and flip.
Take a moment here, there’s no rush.
Add a teaspoon of oil back into the pan and gently slip the tortilla back in. Do this fairly swiftly and immediately start tucking the edges in around the raw egg so you get those lovely rounded sides.
The trick now is to hold the pan handle firmly and make small circular movements with a stiff wrist. You’ll see the tortilla start to oscillate around the pan, which helps create that perfect shape.
After a couple of minutes you can then get another (clean) plate and flip again. The beauty here is if you prefer one side over the other, you can flip again onto the serving plate. Let it sit for a 2-3 minutes now before slicing and the middle will continue to cook so it’ll be easier to slice and serve.
Honestly, my favourite way to eat tortilla is warm, with nothing on the side except a cold beer. You can serve it with a dollop of aioli and some chopped chives if you’re feeling fancy, but I rarely do.
Thank you for those of you that already use my recipe, I love hearing from you and seeing your beautiful tortillas. If you haven’t yet tried it, what are you waiting for?
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