Tortilla Espanola

Photo by Rob Robitaille

Eggs have to be just about my favorite food.  I am lucky enough to have steady source of farm fresh eggs.  If you have never tasted farm fresh eggs, I suggest you search them out.  Many food coops and farmers markets will have them and you will be amazed at the difference in flavor.  At first I hesitated to post this because I really don't want to have another recipe blog.  There are plenty of them, and while there are some really good ones, many are run of the mill.  I mean, I really don't need to read about how to make a pot roast.  Got that one figured out...sure do.  So, I will try to keep to the not-so-common items, which are the types of things I like reading about.  This is, what I consider, to be fairly uncommon, at least where I live.  It is very common in Spain, however.  It is essentially a Spanish omelet of eggs, potatoes, and onion.  The potatoes and onion are first cooked in a fair amount of olive oil at a relatively low temperature until they are soft, then mixed with the eggs and cooked in a pan.

The recipe is a no-brainer, but the trick to it is flipping the thing, which can be problematic because it ends up being about an inch thick and you want to flip it before it sets on the inside, which can be a recipe for a mess if you don't have your ducks in a row.  I have found that sliding it out of the pan onto a larger diameter lid, then inverting the pan over the tortilla and flipping it as a unit back over is the easiest method if you don't have a special pan.  Okay, this may seem simple and stupid, but don't forget to hold on to the lid with a pot holder or side towel.  You wouldn't be the first person to pick up a cold lid with your bare hands because you didn't think about the next step of sliding a really hot omelet on to it.  But, after screwing enough of these up during the flip, I purchased a Calphalon Frittata pan (or is it pans?) from Williams Sonoma (and yes, I got the idea from my friend Mrs. Corruption).  The best part of the pan, besides being non stick, is that they are two separate pans that can be hooked together to use for this purpose, or they can be used separately as a regular pans.  That takes the acrobatics out of the task of cooking it and turns it into something that is easy enough to make on a regular basis.

Like a lot of Spanish food, it is the simplicity that makes it so good. There are only five ingredients, so each one is celebrated instead of being covered up by something else. It can be eaten just like it is, or you can top it with some saffron aioli, which just makes it that much better.  Those are the things I like, simple dishes.

Tortilla Espanola

• 2 medium waxy potatoes, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 6 eggs, beaten
• Kosher salt to taste

Heat the olive oil in a small omelet pan over medium heat. Add the potatoes and onion and cook until soft and a they have taken on a light golden color.  Don't brown them. Strain through a sieve, reserving the oil. Return about 2 tbsp of the oil to the pan and return to heat. Add the potatoes and onion to the beaten eggs. Season with some sea salt. Pour into the pan and reduce heat to medium low. Once the eggs have set on the bottom, it's time to flip the omelet. We already talked about this part, so good luck. Continue to cook until the eggs have set and the desired consistency is obtained. We like ours a bit runny on the inside, but if that bothers you, cook it all the way.  Slide it out of the pan and onto a large plate and serve immediately.  You can serve this by itself or with saffron aioli.

Saffron Aioli

• 1/2 cup good quality mayo
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1 generous pinch of saffron threads

Combine ingredients and refrigerate for 2-4 hours, stirring a couple of times during that time.  This will give the saffron time to fully add its flavor to the sauce.  It should be a beautiful golden yellow when it is ready.