A Recipe for Spanish Tortilla   Download PDF
by Santiago G.H.

Thank you very much for your time. I didn't really expect such a big audience when I was writing such a small site.
800 people are visiting this site every month, so I think it is time to put a gallery with the pictures of the Spanish Tortilla made by all those that read recipe and decided to give it a try. So, if you wish so, email me a small picture of one of your first attempts to cook a proper Spanish Tortilla and I will include it in this page. (Disclaimer: No way I am publishing personal details, or using your contact information -email- IN ANY way. All I plan to include is the picture and a text  inside the picture reading something like "John - Berlin, Germany").

A few facts about tortilla to start:

There aren't two tortillas that taste the same.
-Two people with the same ingredients do different tortillas
Tortilla is best if you don't expect it
Tortilla is best if you did it yesterday
Tortilla is best as a midday plate and not as a main dish. I don’t know if this makes sense out of Spain.
Tortilla can be a dream or a horrible dish.
The key is in the inside. I prefer them in the liquid side :-)
The person that makes a tortilla could be called "tortillera" but you don't want to ask for
 the "tortillera" while in Spain, even if you just want to thank her for the tortilla.

Some of this facts lead me to a disclaimer:
This is not but the way I make tortilla.
I do not claim this recipe as mine in the sense that I learnt from my mother,
 and she learnt from her mother, and so on.
 Also, I don’t claim this as the only way to make a tortilla.

Ingredients (4 serves):

 4 medium sized potatoes of a good variety for frying.

4 eggs, preferably if they are from free grain-fed hens

Half an onion (medium size), finely chopped

ExtraVirgin Olive Oil (EVOO) of a soft variety such as Hojiblanca

Salt (about a teaspoon, but it would depend on your taste and the amount of onion you use)

1. Preparing your ingredients

Peel the potatoes, wash and dry with a cloth. Cut them in halves through the long axis Cut them in slices, about 2mm thick Put in a bowl, add the chopped onion and salt, stir.

2. The first Frying

Fry them in EVOO in a pan, with not much oil. If you put a lot of oil you'd get crusty french fries and you want them to be soft and tender, so you have to be very careful with the oil temperature and the amount of oil. I usually set my vitro ceramic at about 6/12. It is quite possible that they get stuck amongst them. After all, they don't have so much space in the pan. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, depending on the variety of the potato.

3. The Mixing

Put the eggs on a bowl and give them a few strokes with a fork. A key for success is not to get them perfectly beaten.
Take the potatoes out of the pan, trying to avoid an EVOO excess. I usually put them directly in the bowl with the eggs.
Let the potatoes rest with the eggs for a while, perhaps 5 minutes will do. This way, fried potatoes will absorb part of the lightly beaten eggs, making it even more yummy.

4. The Shaping (or Second Frying)

Now put a small pan (smaller than the one you used for frying the potatoes) and a very small amount of EVOO. Let it gain temperature, drop the mix from the bowl and stir a bit.
Now let it sit for a while, because you want the external part to fry while the internal remains tender and wet.
As soon as you feel you can put it upside down... do it.
I usually turn it with a plastic apparel I bought specially for that matter, sort of a plate with a handle in the center, but you could do it with a plate and a bit of training.
Also, I usually turn it about 4 times.

5. Tortilla Española

(c) 2002 Santiago G.H. All rights reserved on texts and pictures. Feel free to distribute the PDF file as long as cite the procedence.