Tortilla (Spanish Omelette)

I’ve been wanting to bring you readers this dish for a while now, however my girlfriend decided that each time we had it planned she didn’t like omelette, despite the fact she did this at least twice. Also, my mum hates eggs, yet she eats omelette and quiche, what’s with that? Bloody women. Sorry that slipped out, don’t castigate me.

Tortilla, or Spanish Omelette, whatever you feel comfortable calling it, is the perfect frugal dish: it requires very little, yet it has a massive taste. That is, if you do it according to my recipe, (was that too arrogant?). This recipe is for a mushroom tortilla, but if I’m being honest you can bung anything in this dish, it’s a real left-over user. Why not try using peppers or cherry tomatoes, to give but two examples. It is also a dish best served, again in my opinion, with a light salad dressed with olive oil and either a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or a squirt of lemon, this will serve to enhance the freshness of the dish. Spanish omelette is a dish easily achievable in around half an hour and if you use six eggs it will happily feed four.

Spanish Tortilla {recipe}

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 medium – large eggs, preferably good quality
• small handful of parmesan cheese
• 4 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
• small bunch of fresh herbs chopped, if you don’t have any in the garden a teaspoon of mixed herbs will do
• 2 large mushrooms, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium onions, diced
• seasoning and olive oil

Method:

Slice the potatoes so they are around half a centimetre in thickness, place the slices on a piece of kitchen paper and layer until all the potatoes are included. This is done to soak out a little of the moisture, if this step isn’t done the omelette will end up a little too watery.

Place the dried potatoes and diced onions in an oiled frying pan, season, and cook on a gentle heat with the lid on until the potatoes are very nearly cooked. Half way through this step you’ll need to turn the potatoes, while doing this add the mushrooms.

Gently whisk the eggs together with the cheese and herbs. Once the potatoes are very nearly cooked add the eggs, uniformly, to the potatoes. Cook for 5-6 minutes on a medium heat and then place under the grill so the top also cooks. You’ll be able to judge this by sight, it needs to turn golden brown.

Serve a quarter on a plate with a handful of salad (as described above). This is simply delicious.

Cost:

If you buy the right eggs this dish should cost around 70p, including the salad. If you have chickens and herbs, like me (not boasting I promise), it’s almost free.