Spanish Tortilla: more a feeling than a recipe
also, a perfect snack
Hello and welcome to Home Movies Tuesday! If you’ve found your way over by some miracle but are not yet subscribed, here, let me help you with that:
Hello and happy Tuesday. On today’s episode of Home Movies we’re making a Spanish Tortilla. Something I love to eat but only in the last few years learned how to make, and even still, I’m not “the best” at making it (and that’s okay!). My friend Lauren, who is actually quite good at it, taught me how to make one during the early days of the pandemic when we were quarantining together (four years later, what a wild phrase to say).
She’d make them very casually, which I admired, because the whole thing seemed very complicated to me. She is also a very calming and casual cook, never disorganized or chaotic, and the tortilla is actually the perfect stage to display such a vibe. When I asked how many potatoes, or how long to cook them or how many eggs, she’d answer in true “grandma” fashion, which is to say: “A few. Until they’re done. Until it feels like you have enough but not too many.” She’s not wrong, though. Spanish Tortilla is one of those dishes that for those who make them regularly, probably never used a recipe, and that’s likely how they were taught as well. Spanish Tortillas are maybe more about feeling then they are about numbers and measurements. I like this kind of cooking, as it’s the kind of cook that I am, that Lauren is. If I didn’t do it professionally, I’d never write down a single thing, almost certainly never doing the same thing twice.
These are the recipes I find the hardest to write because of how feelings/instinct based they are, and truthfully, there really is more than a little room for error (which is to say: potatoes cooked in olive oil baked with eggs taste good, in many permutations). Not to say you should just ignore this and do whatever you want, but more to encourage you to feel it out as you cook through it, knowing that the next time it might feel a little different. The potatoes a little waxier, the eggs a little larger, the skillet a little smaller, the heat a little lower, whatever the differences may be. Much like a pie crust or biscuits, you learn a lot each time you make a Spanish Tortilla and that's likely why I love making them. Tricks and little techniques that reveal themselves to you that are special to your physical space, your personal touch, your specific preferences, no two ever really alike. In a world where we love to have the same exact thing as everyone else, isn’t it so special to have something so perfectly different?
Anyway, there are lots of ways a Spanish Tortilla can be made and eaten. Thick, towering slices. Thin, quivering omelets. With onions, without. Alongside aioli or with one perfect anchovy. This is just one way, a way that I love and think you’ll be able to effortlessly do at home. From there, make another one. And then another. Do one thing differently if you want. Increase the heat. Season with pepper. Don’t flip it. Add another egg. Or, change nothing. Whatever you do, I hope you fall in love with the process as much as the eating. Again and again, always a new chance to find your way more towards the perfect center of your Spanish Tortilla making and eating experience. For the record, this is mine, and I’d be happy if it was yours, too.
For the full recipe, read on.
Director: Doron Max Hagay / Producer: Graham Mason / Photography Director: Eric Schleicher / Audio: Yves Albaret
Camera Operator: Alex Bliss / Camera Operator: Will Colacito / Editor: Maya Tippett / Graphics: Gordon Landenberger
Spanish Tortilla with Aioli and Friends
Serves 6–8
Spanish tortilla is a humble little snack, made with a quartet of ingredients you likely (almost definitely) already have on hand. Potatoes and onions cooked in olive oil then baked with just enough egg to hold it all together. If you’re in Spain, they’re ubiquitous, and if you’re not but find yourself wishing you were, well, you can make one at home. While there are different versions available to both make and eat, this one is pretty straightforward: more potato than egg, onions included, thick but not too thick with a nice, firm-ish set, perfect for slicing.
While you can make a tortilla in technically any sort of skillet, doing so in a non-stick will make your life infinitely easier (especially if you’re opting for the flip at the end). Don’t panic about the gallon (not real amount) of olive oil—once you use it to gently cook the potatoes and onions, you’ll use some of it to make your aioli; the rest you can reuse as you please (roasting vegetables, chicken, frying eggs, etc). Serve the tortilla with that aioli you just made, along with lots of friends: sliced jamón, hunks of cheese, anchovies, cocktail onions, pickled things, and fish roe. It’s a snack, it’s a picnic, it’s a dinner.
For the tortilla:
1 1/2 lb. yukon gold potatoes, peeled, sliced ¼” thick
1 medium yellow onion (about ½ lb), thinly sliced
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
2–3 cups olive oil, maybe more (don’t worry, you’ll use it later)
6–7 large eggs
For the aioli and friends:
1 large egg yolk
1 cup reserved olive oil, from cooking potatoes and onions
1–2 cloves garlic, grated
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, white distilled vinegar, or lemon juice, plus more
Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon hot, sweet or smoked paprika, optional
Sliced jamón or other cured meats
Piquillo peppers dressed in vinegar
Cocktail onions
Anchovies
Pickled peppers or vegetables
Trout or salmon roe
1. In a small (preferably tall) saucepan or pot, layer the potatoes and onions, seasoning with salt as you go. Add 2 cups of olive oil, plus more as needed to totally submerge the potatoes and onions. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat (you should see only a few tiny bubbles– it should never look like it’s sizzling or frying) and reduce heat to low. Continue to cook until the potatoes are totally cooked through (but without falling apart), 15–20 minutes (fish out a thicker slice with a fork or knife to test for doneness).
2. Meanwhile, whisk eggs and a nice pinch of salt in a medium bowl until well blended; set aside until potatoes are cooked through. Once they are, use a strainer or slotted spoon to transfer potatoes and onions to the eggs, trying to leave as much oil behind as possible. Using a spatula (and maybe your hands), mix everything until well-combined, taking care not to break the potatoes apart. Season again with salt (I keep pepper out of this, but you can add if you like).
3. To cook the tortilla, add 1½–2 tablespoons of leftover oil into a medium (8” preferred) nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully add the egg mixture, smoothing the top with a spatula, giving the skillet a few shakes so everything settles evenly. Reduce heat to medium and use your spatula to scrape up the bottom a few times to bring the uncooked egg to the bottom of the pan. Give it another shake to let everything settle once more, then let it continue to cook, shaking occasionally,, until the edges are set, the sides and underside are nicely browned (you can peek on the underside to see that the bottom is browning to your liking) and the whole thing easily pulls away from the sides of the skillet, 5 or so minutes.*
*This is not unlike making an omelet or frittata– and if you have a non-stick skillet, this will be rather effortless. If you don’t and it sticks, it won’t be the end of the world.
4. To flip the tortilla*: Grab a plate or platter larger than the skillet, and carefully place it over the skillet. Then, using a dish towel to hold the sides of the skillet firmly, flip the tortilla (with confidence!) onto the platter (it should be stunning!). Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet, and return it back to medium-high heat. Gently slide the tortilla off the plate back into the skillet, cooked/browned side up. For extra credit, use a spatula to gently tuck the sides underneath the tortilla to make everything nice and round. Cookanother 2–3 minutes or so, until the bottom is also set and nicely golden brown. Slide the tortilla back onto the (rinsed) platter and let it rest while you make the aioli. .
*If you don’t want to flip, transfer the skillet to a 450 degree oven for 5-7 minutes, until the top is browned and everything is set. Carefully slide the tortilla from the skillet onto a cutting board or plate.
5. To make the aioli PSA: If you’re using the oil from the cooked potatoes, please make sure the oil is at least room temperature (you can pop it in the fridge to expedite the process if you need). Warm oil will not give you a good time here!
Okay, so, to make the aioli: Place egg yolk in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in a few teaspoons of the (cooled) reserved oil. Become more confident and whisk a little bit more oil, stopping to make sure it’s fully emulsified each time. Add garlic, and then thin it out with a little sherry vinegar, white distilled vinegar, or lemon juice. Whisk in more oil until you’ve used about a cup, adjusting with water, more vinegar, and garlic as needed to keep it thick but not too thick, garlicky, and well seasoned.
6. Serve tortilla cut into thick wedges, and topped with a dollop of aioli and some or all of the friends. Dust with paprika if the spirit moves you and serve.
This Staub 1.5 Quart Petit French Oven is what I cook my potatoes and onions in. I like that it has high walls, which means I can use a little less olive oil.
I use this All Clad Stainless Steel Nonstick Fry Pan which truly makes the whole flip and plating so much easier.
I use this Kuhn Rikon Y-Peeler to peel potatoes for the tortilla.
I’m wearing this Sézane shirt in this episode of Home Movies.
Trout roe as a topping is having such a moment! Seeing it at all the Brooklyn hotspots. What's a good source to buy in NYC?
Growing up in a half Spanish household, we ate tortilla all the time! Sometimes, when pressed for time, my mom skipped the frying potatoes step by using high quality potato chips instead and just doing a quick pan cook for the onions. Took less time and still turned out great 👍