Spanish Potato Tortilla
A tortilla comes out either as a dry cake or as a dense, succulent disc, depending on what you do with the potatoes. In Spain they are not fried crisp but simmered gently in a generous amount of warm olive oil until the slices turn soft and almost translucent, with no colour at all.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Rest
- 10 min
- Total
- 1 h 5 min
- Servings
- 4
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 395 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: one 24 cm pan, 4 portions
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Slice the potatoes
Cut the potatoes into 3 mm rounds and the onion into thin half-moons. Even thickness matters more than neatness here: thick slices stay hard.
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Step 2: Poach, do not fry
Heat the oil to about 140 °C — the potatoes should whisper rather than bubble furiously. Add potatoes and onion and cook for 20 minutes, turning them over now and then.
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Step 3: Check them
A slice should break easily against the spatula and look translucent but not browned. If it has taken on colour, the oil is too hot; turn it down.
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Step 4: Drain
Drain through a colander, keeping 2 tbsp of the oil. Save the rest: strained, it is excellent cooking oil for anything else.
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Step 5: Soak in the eggs
Beat the eggs with the salt, fold in the warm potatoes and leave for 10 minutes. The potato drinks up the egg, which is what holds a tortilla together without flour.
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Step 6: Cook the first side
Heat the 2 tbsp of oil in a 24 cm pan over medium heat, pour in the mixture and level it. Cook for 4 minutes, easing the edges towards the centre with a spatula.
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Step 7: Flip it
Cover the pan with a flat plate wider than the pan, press it down with your palm and turn the whole thing over in one confident movement. Slide the tortilla back in, raw side down.
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Step 8: Finish and rest
Give it 3 more minutes: the centre should stay moist and creamy. Let it sit for 10 minutes before cutting — it finishes cooking in its own heat.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Use medium-starch potatoes. New potatoes fall apart into slices, very floury ones collapse into mash.
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Variation
A tortilla without onion is equally classic in Spain — cleaner and more purely potato. The argument about it never ends.
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Tip
Flipping is easiest once the edges have set. If the centre is still completely liquid, give it another minute.
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Storage
Two days in the fridge. Tortilla is traditionally eaten at room temperature, so reheating is optional.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 4 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 395 kcal | 1,580 kcal |
| Protein | 14 g | 56 g |
| Fat | 25 g | 100 g |
| Carbohydrates | 28 g | 112 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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