spanish omelette

Do you have a meal you cook when the cupboard is bare. This Tortilla or Spanish Omelette has been that pantry meal for me for the longest time.

This is also one of the simplest dinner meals on our regular rota and a great vegetarian staple for our meat free week.

My recipe was originally taken from an old Delia Smith book though I've adapted it quite a lot over the years. I love Delia for good basic recipes and I see she now has an online site with lots of how to videos for cooking techniques. Her current Tortilla recipe, slightly different than the one I have, is here.

All you need is an onion, some potatoes and some eggs, salt and pepper and we like to add a bit of sour cream and milk. 

To make a Spanish Omelette I cut up about four large potatoes into small cubes. I'm cooking for five big eaters, but this makes a great cold dish too so its good to make a big one. Its not a strict recipe with exact quantities either as you can just add more eggs to cover the amount of potatoes you have. Once you'd made it a few times you'll get a feel for the right balance.

You want the mixture to fill the pan to an inch or two height so choose a deep pan.

Delia cuts her potatoes in slices but I find these awkward to turn and they always break into mush on the edges for me.

I cut cubes and find they stay together, so they're easier to cook and they look cute in cross section!

Cut an onion up into small pieces.

Pour some olive oil into a heavy based saucepan which can handle going under the grill. Fry onion off till translucent and then add potatoes. Cook slowly till they are soft.

Try to stir the potatoes regularly, especially at first so they don't stick. Keep cooking on low until they are golden on the outside and soft on the inside. I use a lid over the potatoes to keep the moisture in and make them cook through inside.

In a large bowl break 4 or 5 eggs. Add a couple of tablespoons of sour cream and a sploosh of milk (1/3 cup?). Mix together thoroughly. Most people only use eggs and you can do that, but I like to thin the egginess a bit. Salt and pepper to taste.

Take the potato mix and add it to the egg mix. Mix through well. You want the egg mix to cover and coat the potatoes well.

Put another slurp of olive oil in the pan and bring to sizzling. Add the potato/egg mix. Cook on medium heat until the egg is nearly cooked through, you can see the egg solidify and bubbles start to show on the top.

You want to cook the bottom of the omelette through and then finish the top off under the grill.

Turn the grill on high and brown the top. Don't walk away as that way lies burnt tortilla!

I like to serve it with a homemade Aioli - garlic mayonnaise. Its great eaten with a green salad, and the best leftover lunch the next day.

For the Aioli I use this Taste recipe but I substitute vegetable oil for olive (I find the olive too strongly flavoured) and dijon mustard for grain. If you don't have lemons use vinegar. Make a batch and put it in a jar and keep in the fridge. It goes with everything!

p.s. not our usual egg brand but free range at least.