This week Matthew brings you our all time favorite Spanish lunch, the Spanish Tortilla. Don’t confuse this with Mexican tortillas–they share nothing but a name. Spanish tortilla is more like a thick potato omelet. It’s amazingly delicious and addictive, and takes only three ingredients (4 if you want to get really fancy).

Spanish Tortilla

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8 eggs

5 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 onion, chopped (optional)

olive oil (get the good stuff)

1/4 t salt and pepper

Add about half a cup of olive oil to a nonstick pan. Heat over medium-low heat, add potatoes. Cook potatoes very slowly, stirring constantly to prevent sticking or burning. You do not want the potatoes to brown–you are trying to cook them slowly enough that they soak up the oil and become soft and a bit crumbly. This may take up to 10 minutes or more. (This is not a low fat dish, as you may have noticed.)

 Once potatoes are cooked, remove from heat and drain (save the oil!)  In a large bowl, add potatoes, eggs, onion (if you’re using it) and salt and pepper.

Add oil back into a small frying pan (about 8 inches across) and heat over medium-low. Add potato-egg mixture to pan.

Halfway there

Cook over medium-low heat till egg has set about halfway through the tortilla. Don’t let it cook too fast, or you will end up with a burned outside and raw inside. This should take at least 5-6 minutes per side.

Flip by holding a clean plate over the pan and flipping the tortilla onto the plate. Then gently slide the tortilla back into the pan.

Once the tortilla is back in the pan, use a fork to gently shape the sides, pushing the edges in and under to create straight-ish sides to the tortilla.

Continue to cook on medium-low until the center is fully cooked and the top is golden brown.  (You can flip it again if you need to.) When the tortilla is completely solid in the middle, slide out onto a plate and allow to cool for a few minutes. Add more salt to taste.

Tortilla is delicious hot or cold, so you can eat it right away or save it for later. (If you can keep people away from it that long. Ours never even last half an hour.)

¡Buen Apetito!

Looking for MORE Spanish food to try?  Check out our Pinterest Page.