Spanish Potato Tortilla
BY RICHARD CORNISH
A good tortilla should be rich, slightly wet, and tasting of good potatoes and quality eggs. We stock the best local Daylesford potatoes so you can’t go wrong there. Try using Honest Eggs. They are laid by chooks happily running around green paddocks locally, foraging for bugs and eating grass and grain protected by trusty Maremma flock dogs. This recipe takes a little time to perfect, but the secret is to help form the shape of the edges of the tortilla as the edges begin to cook.
Serves 6-12
Ingredients
1 kg large potatoes
1 large brown onion, finely diced
1 litre olive oil
10 x 700g Honest Eggs
Salt
60ml extra virgin olive oil
Method
Peel and wash the potatoes. Slice then into 5mm thick slices. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan over low medium heat. Add the potatoes and cook for 8 minutes. There should be some bubbles, but the potatoes should never fry. Add the onions and cook for a further 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the potatoes and onion. Allow them to cool to warm.
Break the eggs into a cup and then into a bowl. (It’s hard to remove any shell from a bowl full of eggs). Add a teaspoon of salt. Mix well. Add the potatoes and mix through the eggs.
Take a 27cm nonstick frying pan and place on medium-high heat. Heat the extra virgin olive oil, pour the egg and potato mixture into the pan, and stir the mixture around the base of the pan with a plastic spatula a few times
Reduce the heat and use the spatula to run around the edge of the tortilla to ensure it is not sticking to the side of the pan and help form the smooth rounded edges (see image). Cook for 3-4 minutes.
Cover the pan with a large plate. Carefully flip the tortilla over onto the plate. Return the pan to heat. Slide the tortilla back into the pan. Use the spatula to form the edges again. Continue cooking, using the plate as a lid for a further 3-4 minutes.
When ready, the tortilla should be slightly soft when pressed. Flip onto a clean plate and cover with plastic film for 15 minutes to allow the latent heat to finish the cooking.
Serve with a glass of wine, Spanish sherry, or an ice-cold beer.
