Tortilla de Patata

The Tortilla de Patata (Spanish potato omelet) is a staple of the Spanish cuisine and it is very easy to learn how to make.  Here are my step-by-step instructions:

Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes
1/2 to 1 whole onion, chopped
a healthy pinch of salt (1/2 Tbsp. or so)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups olive oil

1. Slice up the potatoes into small slices.

2. Heat up the oil in a non-stick frying pan. It is very important that the pan is non-stick and in good condition otherwise you will end up with a mess! I have a special pan that I use for this recipe only and I never put it in the dishwasher.

 3. Add the potatoes, onions and salt to the oil and cook until the potatoes are soft and starting to brown. Cook over high heat stirring constantly or over medium heat stirring occasionally.  If you cook on high it takes about ten minutes, a little longer over medium heat. 

 4. After the potatoes are cooked, drain off the oil and put the potatoes into a bowl. Cool slightly and then carefully stir in the eggs. It should be slightly soupy and if it looks very thick you can add another egg.  You can store the excess oil in a jar in the refrigerator to reuse the next time you make this recipe.

5. Pour the potato/ egg mixture back into the pan (use a little bit of the excess oil in the bottom of the pan if necessary) and cook over medium heat until it is starting to set on the bottom, about five minutes. It should be golden brown. Now here comes the tricky part- flipping the tortilla.  You should put a large plate top down over the pan, fold a dish towel in half diagonally and lay it over the plate, and carefully pick it up holding it by the part covered by the towel, and very carefully flip it over so the tortilla is now on the plate.  Then slide the tortilla back into the pan with the help of a wooden spatula and cook for another five minutes approximately until the second side is also golden brown.

Flip the tortilla back onto the plate using the same technique described above and voila!

And a footnote from one of our members if you want to speed things up! Thanks Carol :)
...and if you're in a hurry, don't want to worry about getting the potatoes too brown, want to save on kitchen mess and amount of oil used: I cook the cut up potatoes and onions together in the microwave. Add salt to taste and a healthy squirt of olive oil--about 3T. Cover and cook at max until the potatoes are soft. (With the quantities listed here, at least 6-8 minutes on max.) Then add this to the beaten eggs and finish the omelette stovetop in the usual way.