The Authentic Spanish «tortilla de patatas» recipe , known as Spanish omelette, is one of the best Spanish dishes. A lot of tourists visit the Iberian Peninsula just to have a taste of this fantastic plate, and you should not leave the country without trying it. Today we will be teaching you how to cook Spanish tortilla de patatas with a very easy recipe, but not just that, we will also tell you its types, history and much more!
What is a Spanish tortilla?
A potato omelette or tortilla Española is a typical meal from Spain, and it´s basically a “tortilla”, not a tortilla like the ones you can find in Mexico, just an omelette with potatoes on it.
What´s in a Spanish omelette – ingredients
The authentic Spanish omelette is a fantastic dish from Spain. Of course, the best place to eat a good “tortilla de patatas” is in the Iberic Peninsula, but unfortunately you can´t be there always or you cannot go to a Spanish restaurant everyday… But don´t worry about it, because you can easily learn how to make it very similar to the Spanish one in your own home. All the ingredients of the Spanish omelette are very easy to find.
Here is all you need, to cook a Spanish omelette with potato (Imagine it´s a dish for 4 people):
- 6 eggs
- 2 glasses of olive oil (150ml more or less)
- 1 small onion (this is optional)
- 3 potatoes (Around 600 grams)
- Salt
How to cook a Spanish tortilla??
If you have all the ingredients, you should be now ready to learn the authentic tortilla Española recipe. But there are a few things you should ask yourself before cooking it: Do you want it with onions or without them (that will always be the debate in Spain, but now it is your choice), do you like it runny with liquid or you prefer it more done. Once you decide what you want, you are ready to go!
The best Authentic Spanish tortilla de patatas recipe
- First, peel the potatoes, wash and clean them and after that dry them.
- Then cut the potatoes in thin slices about 1/2 cm, it could be thicker if you want to taste more the potatoes.
- After that, heat olive oil (it can be other type of oil, but this one is always better). Once is hot enough, place the potatoes in the pan, then wait until is tender but not fried.
- If you want onions in the omelette, you should do the same and put them in another pan.
- Once the onions and the potatoes are done, drain the potatoes to separate the oil left, and put the potatoes and onions together in the same bowl.
- In a different bowl, beat the eggs and put salt on them. Mix it with the bowl of the potatoes and onions.
- In a different pan heat the oil and place the content of the bowl on it. Cook it over a medium heat.
- Once it is done, after some minutes, take a plate, flip the omelette and let the other side cook, you can flip the omelette as many times as needed until your authentic Spanish tortilla de patatas recipe is done.
Spanish tortilla de patatas recipe for one!
Normally the Spanish omelete recipes are for between 4 and 6 people. So what do we do if we are on the mood of having a potato omelette and there is no one else at home? Don´t worry because you can do a Spanish omelette just for yourself, the process is the same, the only thing is different it the quantity of the ingredients:
- 2 medium potatoes
- 1 medium onion
- 3 eggs
- Olive oil and Salt
Spanish omelette variations
Other than the traditional Spanish omelette with or without onions, there are many options and variations. If you want to try something different, this are some other types of Spanish omelette:
Spanish tortilla with chorizo
There are haters and lovers of this combination. The fans of this plate agree that as the chorizo is typical from Spain, mixing it with another traditional dish as the “Tortilla de patatas” is totally fine and it adds a stronger taste. On the other hand, many locals would say mixing these two dishes is a tragedy as they should be separated. It´s up to you to try it or not. The Spanish omelette chorizo recipe will just have two more ingredients, about 120g of chorizo chopped up in small pieces and red pepper.
Spanish omelette with cheese
Cheese lovers are everywhere in the world. If you are one of those, all you need to do, is as simple as adding some cheese when the omelette looks almost ready. Place some cheese to the top and put it back again under the grill so it melts.
Spinach Spanish omelette
The ingredients added to this specialty are spinach of course, but also onion and mozzarella cheese in many cases. Feel free to add any other vegetable if you want.
Sweet potato Spanish omelette
If you are complaining about having too many sweet potatoes left and don´t know what to do with them, or you are just a sweeter person, then try to make the sweet potato Spanish omelette. The process is the same but with different potatoes, it won’t be to hard!
Healthy vegetarian and vegan Spanish omelette
Even if you are on a vegan or vegetarian diet you don´t want to miss the Spanish omelette, you know it´s a must when you visit Spain. Well this vegan dish is the perfect solution, and even if you are not vegan you may want to try it, as it´s not just tasty, but also very healthy.
As you know the Spanish omelette is normally done with eggs, and that´s the hard part to make it vegan, but if you switch the eggs for a mix of chickpea flour and water, you will get a delicious result. The best of it, is that you can use this combination for many types of omelettes.
Spanish omelette…diner, lunch or tapas??
When is the best time to eat it?
The traditional Spanish omelette is one of the best main courses in Spain, so it´s usually served as a second dish. But what many people don´t know is that this dish is many times used as a tapa too. A small portion of “Tortilla de patatas” shared with other tapas it´s very nice option.
When is the best time to eat it? You can eat it whenever you feel like eating it, no matter if it´s for lunch, for diner or even for breakfast!
What to serve with Spanish tortilla?
There are no rules here, so you can serve the Spanish omelette with almost every type of dish. No matter what it will taste very good.
In Spain when the “tortilla” is used as a tapa, you eat it with other tapas like chorizo, croquettes, calamari… And when you are eating it at home, is probably as a second dish, therefore a very good option is to combinate the omelette with salad as an entry and a glass of wine. That added to a piece of bread will make it even better.
Where to eat Spanish tortilla
In case you can´t or you don´t want to make the tortilla de patatas at home, we are sure you would love to try it if you visit Spain. If that´s the case we would advice you to go Galicia, to a small town called Betanzos.
In Betanzos, you will find the best Spanish omelettes in Spain. One really good restaurant you will find in Betanzos is Meson O´Pote
Spanish omelette history
There is not much information about the origin of the Spanish omelette and its history, but it is said that it originally comes from Navarra. The first reference is from an anonymous letter from Navarra written in 1817. The letter says that the farmers were living in very poor conditions, so they decide to eat with a few eggs mixed with potatoes for five or six people. There are also other stories about the origins of the Tortilla de patatas, one of the most famous stories is about Tomás de Zumalacárregui. He was an army general at the war and it´s said he invented the dish to feed his soldiers in a more affordable way. Other people say it was a farm woman who invented the dish to feed the general.
Enjoy the easy Spanish tortilla
That´s all you need to know about the Spanish omelette, as you have seen it´s very easy to learn how to cook Spanish tortilla de patatas. Anyway, if you have any question or suggestion, please let us know!