Spanish Tortilla
I used to be a pretty diligent breakfast eater, but as of late I’ve really fallen off the wagon with it. Whereas I used to get up early to make sure I got my breakfast sandwich all warmed up or my cereal and yogurt packed to take with me to work, the truth nowadays is that I give myself a pat on the back if I don’t sleep through my alarm and get myself dressed and out of the house in enough time to stop by the coffee shop for my mandatory latte.
Yet despite my negligence for the meal itself, I’ve never lost my love of breakfast food. Sometimes me and the family will truck out for a weekend brunch, but not too often. Then inevitably, I’ll see some picture or recipe online or on television featuring breakfast food and suddenly I get mad at myself for skipping out on it so often now.
Lately I’ve been getting cravings to have breakfast for dinner more often in lieu of typical ‘entree’ dishes. Instead of chicken or roast or stew, I find myself craving cereal & milk, pancakes, waffles, biscuits smeared with jam, sausage and (of course) omelettes. So for the past two weeks or so, I’ve been eating breakfast food for dinner pretty regularly. Today’s dish is one of those dishes, and I knew the first time I made it that I wanted to share it on the blog with all of you guys.
When I first came across the recipe, the name was somewhat of a mystery to me; when I think of a ‘tortilla’, I usually imagine some kind of flour or corn tortilla being involved in there somewhere. (Which, I know probably betrays a lot of my inexperience in Mexican cooking). The interesting thing about this dish is that there’s really no flour or corn tortillas involved in it at all. But that definitely doesn’t take away from the taste; so far as I’m concerned they can call this thing whatever the heck they want to, it is GOOD.
Don’t flip out on me guys, but this was actually my first time cooking with chorizo. I’ve eaten it before of course, but never bought and used it as an ingredient before in my own kitchen. I can safely assure you that I’ll be certainly be using it frequently from here on out, particularly in my omelettes. Chorizo and eggs are a match made in Heaven; the smoky flavor of the meat works so well with the blank canvas of the eggs. The addition of the Yukon potatoes in the tortilla really helps to ‘bulk’ it up and make it even more filling and hearty.
There’s really only one tricky part to pulling this dish off, and that’s the part where you have to turn the tortilla over in the skillet as a whole to finish cooking the other side. Don’t flip out: so long as you have a decent non-stick skillet, a large rubber spatula, and a large plate set to the side, you can easily pull this off. Follow the recipe directions, be patient and careful with your wrist action and you’ll be fine.
I ate a wedge of this Spanish tortilla with salsa and Frank’s Red Hot sprinkled on top with two slices of buttered/jellied toast on the side for a DELICIOUS Breakfast for Dinner meal.
Try it, mmkay?
(Happy Fiesta Friday #107 co-hosted this week by Margy @ La Petite Casserole and Su @ Su’s Healthy Living)
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Spanish Tortilla
Recipe Adapted from The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2015
Ingredients
- 7 tbsp plus 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds (3 to 4 medium) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, quartered and cut into 1/8 inch thick slices
- 1 small onion, halved and sliced thin
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup jarred roasted red peppers, rinsed, dried and cut into 1/2-inch thick pieces
- 4 ounces Spanish style chorizo, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
- 4 thinly sliced scallions
Directions
Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat and add the chorizo, stirring occasionally until the chorizo is browned and the fat as rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove from the skillet to a small bowl and set aside.
Toss 4 tbsp of the oil, the potatoes, onion, 1/2 tsp of the salt and the pepper in a large bowl until the potato slices are thoroughly separated and coated in oil. Heat 2 tbsp more oil in the 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the potato mixture to the skillet, and set the bowl aside (do not rinse). Cover and cook, stirring occasionally with a heat-proof rubber spatula, until the potatoes offer no resistance when poked with a paring knife, 22 to 28 minutes. (some slices may break into smaller pieces, but that’s ok).
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and remaining 1/2 tsp salt into the reserved bowl until combined. Using a heat-proof rubber spatula, fold the hot potato mixture, red peppers, chorizo and scallions into the eggs until combined, making sure to scrape all of the potato mixture out of the skillet. Return the skillet to medium high heat, add the remaining 1 tsp oil and heat until just beginning to smoke. Add the egg-chorizo-potato mixture and cook, shaking the pan and folding the mixture constantly for 15 seconds; smooth the top of the mixture with the heat-proof rubber spatula. Reduce the heat to medium,cover and cook, gently shaking the pan every 30 seconds, until the bottom is golden brown and the top is lightly set, about 2 minutes.
Using the spatula, loosen the tortilla from the pan, shaking it back and forth until the tortilla slides around. Slide the tortilla onto a large plate. Invert the tortilla onto a second large plate and slide it, browned side up, back into the skillet. Tuck the edges of the tortilla into the skillet.Return the pan to medium high heat and continue to cook, gently shaking the pan every 30 seconds until the second side is golden brown, about 2 minutes longer. Slide the tortilla onto a cutting board, cool for at least 15 minutes. cut into wedges and serve with salsa and hot sauce (like I did.)
This looks really delicious, Jess! I have only used chorizo one time, and I agree with you, it is wonderful. I plan to use it more often, too. I love the combination of ingredients in this and would love to try it! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
You’re welcome Shari; thanks for stopping by and commenting 🙂
True Spanish tortilla only takes eggs and potatoes. There are people who will also check onion and it must be thick. The thicker, the better. I do it only with 4 pitarles and 8 eggs. You can add other ingredients such as chorizo, peppers, etc etc but the real is only what I told you at the beginning. Anyway, yours is a version that must be delicious.
4 potatoes . Sorry. My corrector doesnt understand english words 😜
Another thing: potatoes must be fried in enough olive oil during 20 minutos more or less. 4 tbs is not enough. 😊
Wow, thank you for all of your informative comments Graci-a. See? I learned something here. Appreciate all your input; thank you 🙂
Tortilla is fantastic! Eaten at room temperature with a beer or ice cold sherry! Ole!
Sounds good to me: thank you 🙂
Sounds like a great breakfast or brunch option Jess!! I always like to get a little creative on the weekends 🙂
Thanks Heather, I actually had mine for dinner, but this would be great for breakfast or brunch too I think 🙂
How can I blame you? Chorizo and eggs are a match made in heaven… you are absolutely right! Your tortilla makes hungry…. and we are in the middle of the afternoon! Thanks for being at FF this week!
I love breakfast recipes and this tortilla sounds delicious!
Jess, that spanish tortilla would be perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner! I too sometimes crave breakfast items for dinner! Thanks for bringing this to FF!
Having to flip the tortilla is why I have yet to make one! Freaks me out! I do love them though and I ate several kinds when I was in Barca a few years back. Thanks for the recipe and tips!
I love breakfast for dinner and this definitely look dinner worthy! Great, flavorful ingredients…I’ve already bookmarked. 😛
Both your cooking and photographs are awesome!!!
That’s so kind of you to say; I try very hard with both my cooking and food photography; trust me, both have come a LONG way. lol 🙂
You basically put a whole lot of stuff that don’t belong to a “tortilla de patatas” or “spanish tortilla” (as is known) and created a new dish that has nothing to do with it. Anything other than egg and potato (maybe onion) is all you need. Anything else added to it is a foreign invention that has nothing to do with spanish tortilla. The whole point of the Spanish Tortilla is the quality of the ingredients (best potatoes, best eggs, best onion) on an otherwise simple dish (much like the simplicity of Italian food, it’s all about quality of ingredients and preparation). The dish you prepared looks more like a pizza with an egg / potato foundation for the dough. It’s a common misconception about spanish cuisine that for some reason flies in the USA…