Do try out my Spanish tortilla recipe! This is the famous classic Spanish omelette with potatoes and onions. Believe me: this recipe is just perfect and absolutely fail proof!
I often make this Spanish tortilla recipe for lunch whenever I have a couple of leftover potatoes in my pantry. Surprisingly this tortilla is a pretty old dish because the earliest recipe was traced back the 17th century.
Speaking of a classic!
Tortilla de Cartuja
Originally this tortilla contained cream.
And people would call it ‘tortilla de cartuja’ back then. Nowadays the most important main ingredients in a classic Spanish tortilla are potatoes, onions, eggs, olive oil and pepper and salt.
The Perfect Spanish Tortilla Recipe
If you have visited the Spanish mainland before, then you certainly must have come across versions of this potato tortilla that contain other ingredients. I am thinking caramelised onions, spinach, asparagus, sardines, mushrooms, tomatoes… even rice.
In other words: this Spanish tortilla recipe is a perfect way to incorporate your leftovers!
In Spain they serve this potato tortilla in a couple of ways.
The most popular way is to put it in a bread roll and serve it for a second breakfast (or a segundo desayuno). Nine out of ten your tortilla bread roll will also contain a generous amount of garlic mayo (Spanish aioli).
Breakfast
That sounds like a lot of carbs, I know!
But it is a delicious snack, one you can eat while walking around.
They might ask you whether you want it hot or cold. I love both. It is the perfect breakfast if you are planning on visiting a city all day, that meal will keep you going for a couple of hours.
You can find sliced potato tortilla on any tapas menu. You might also get one with garlic mayo on top of it, it depends where you eat it.
Another way to serve it: cut it up into cubes and have it as a bar snack.
Bar Snack
I have seen that many times here in Tenerife, especially in beach shacks.
It kind of looks like patatas bravas because it comes with a brava dipping sauce. But it is actually diced up tortilla, not fried potatoes. It tastes great as a snack with a cool beer next to it though!
Do you love Spanish potato recipes?
Then you should also check my fried patatas bravas with a creamy mayo brava sauce!
Enjoy!
The Perfect Spanish Tortilla Recipe
Do try out my Spanish tortilla recipe! This is the famous classic Spanish omelette with potatoes and onions. Believe me: this recipe is just perfect, fail proof!
- 1 ½ lbs potatoes (675 g)
- 3 large eggs
- ½ large onion chopped
- 1 large garlic clove chopped
- 1 cup olive oil (240 ml)
- pepper
- salt
- Peel the potatoes and dice them into ½ inch (1 cm) wide cubes.
Pour the olive oil in a non-stick pan and place it over medium heat until warm, not smoking hot. Then add the potatoes, chopped onion and garlic. Season with pepper and salt.
Arrange the vegetables using a spatula until more or less submerged.
Cover the pan and let the potatoes simmer in the oil for 15 minutes. Don’t make them crisp. They should almost fall apart in the end. Then take the pan off the heat and let the potatoes cool.
- In the meantime break the eggs. Add them to a mixing bowl and season with pepper and salt. Beat them well.
- With a slotted spoon remove the cooked potatoes and onions from the oil, let each spoonful drain well and add it to the beaten eggs.
Stir the eggs and potatoes. Then check the seasoning. Add extra pepper and salt to taste. I also added chopped parsley. Drain the oil from the non-stick pan but leave about 3 tablespoons of oil in it. Then place the pan back over medium-low heat until oil hot. Now add the eggs and potatoes.
- Spread the potatoes evenly over the pan.
Cover the pan and cook the tortilla on one side for 12 to 15 minutes. Don’t stir it. Once the top is a little set, place a plate on the pan and flip the tortilla over. Then slide the tortilla back in the pan, turn the heat low and cook it for another 8 to 10 minutes until the tortilla is cooked through. Slide the tortilla on a large plate and cut it up. Serve warm.