Tortilla Espagnole

Penelope Cruz winning her Oscar last month sent me back to her last great performance in the wonderful Pedro Almodovar film Volver where her character accidentally ends up running a restaurant (having hidden a dead body in their freezer – trust me it makes sense in the movie). In the film she cooks Tortilla and other classic Spanish dishes.

A Spanish tortilla is simply a potato omelet and is no relation to the Mexican tortilla. Tortilla is impossible to avoid in Spain, no matter the region; every family home, pub or restaurant will have their own version.

Most Spaniards believe it should be kept simple with just potatoes, onions, eggs and a little salt, but don’t be afraid to experiment.
Optional ingredients include fresh herbs, paprika, chopped tomato, red or green peppers, Chorizo, cooked ham, mushrooms etc. Try not to overload the omelet however, as potato and egg are the stars of the dish.
The quick and dirty version is to fry some chopped cold (cooked) potatoes with some onions, add some beaten eggs and cook as you would any omelet. However for best results cook the potatoes from scratch as in the recipe below.
Spanish Omelet
Gently heat 100ml of Spanish Olive Oil in a small frying pan (7-8 inches). Peel and slice 200g medium potatoes and cook in the olive oil until soft, turning occasionally (this may take up to 25 minutes).
Once the potatoes are almost cooked add a large sliced onion and cook until translucent.
Add 6 very fresh eggs to a bowl with a good pinch of salt and pepper and whisk with a fork. Remove the potatoes and onions from the pan with a slotted spoon and mix well with the eggs. Remove half the oil from the pan to a cup and turn heat to high for 30 seconds. Pour the eggs and potatoes onto the pan, reduce the heat and cook gently until the omelet has set and is golden underneath.
Place a large plate on top of the pan and flip out the omelet. Add the remaining oil to the pan, heat until sizzling, and slide in the omelet to cook the other side. Remove when golden underneath and eat hot or at room temperature with a glass of young Tempranillo.