Tortilla Española

The other day I was thinking about flan. mmmmm. And that led me to think about tortilla española. And that led me to think, why did I not make this with my 10 pounds of potatoes?!? So I had to go buy more potatoes just to make this. It is a very simple dish, so you may wonder why I get so excited, but I totally love it. I'm not sure if it is for the taste or the nostalgia.

I looked at some recipes, and most of them called for baking potatoes. Where I lived in Spain, I only ever saw people use red potatoes, for anything, not just for tortilla. Probably any kind of potato works. This is a staple in Spain, everyone eats it all the time, for lunch, dinner, snacks, and tapas (appetizers). There are also plenty of variations like with onions, green peppers, or chorizo, but just the plain old eggs and potatoes is what every kid eats at home everyday.

Be warned, this is a very oily recipe. Not exactly healthy (although it is olive oil, could be worse) but filling and soooooo yummy. This time I experimented with roasting the potatoes and that worked, although if you want authentic don't even think about it. I also tried leaving the peels on, and it was still good, but I don't think I'll do that next time. You can also adjust the egg:potato ratio to your preference, as well as the thickness of the tortilla. Some restaurants pride themselves on the thickness of their tortilla, but it is easier to make sure your egg is cooked through if you keep it relatively thin.

Tortilla Española

7 red potatoes (or 4 baking potatoes) peeled and cut into bite-sized slices
5 eggs
olive oil
salt

Cook the potatoes by roasting, drizzled with olive oil, for 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven, or to be authentic fry them in about 1/2 inch of oil. When cooked through, drain them on paper towels and salt generously. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and put the potatoes in. Mix the together well and let them sit and hang out together for a few minutes. Heat a skillet coated with olive oil to medium high, then add the egg and potato mixture. Flatten it so it evenly covers the bottom of the pan. Turn heat down to medium low. Cook and shake the pan every minute or so to make sure it isn't sticking. When you can see that it is starting to hold itself together and is lightly browned on the bottom (not that you can check very well), put a plate that fits just inside the skillet upside-down on top of the tortilla. Flip the plate and skillet together so tortilla is on the plate . (I do this over the sink because I always drip oil all over the place. Starting fires on the stovetop no es una buena idea.) Heat the skillet again, adding more oil if necessary. Slide the tortilla back into the pan to cook the second side, again shaking every minute. When done, slide the tortilla onto a plate. Cut into wedges. Eat hot, cold, or room temperature.

My favorite ways to eat tortilla:
1. with alioli, which is basically garlic mayo. You can make a super easy fake version by crushing a garlic clove and adding it to 1 c mayo. Let it sit in the fridge for flavors to mingle, then serve yourself a blob to dip your tortilla in.
2. on bread like a sandwich. Pan del dia is what they call it there, and it is fresh and crusty, kind of baguette style. You can even spread some alioli on it too.
3. my very favorite! with sliced bananas on top. Don't knock it til you've tried it. If you think it is crazy, then the Canarios are crazy, too. Of course their bananas are fresh and sweet since they grow them there, but American bananas (or wherever they are shipped here from) are better than nothing.