When I was 17 years old, I was lucky enough to get to join some girlfriends on my first sans parents trip to Europe – destination the spectacular nation of Spain. The beauty of the experience is hard to sum up in words – the historical landmarks, the lively culture, the endearing people and the incredible food collectively left a forever mark on my heart. It’s a country I’d love to re-visit, this time with our whole family. Since it will be a bit longer until we can wander to Espania, today we’ll be travelling with our taste buds by sharing a simplified version of a traditional, signature dish of Spanish cuisine – the Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Omelette also known as Tortilla de Patatas). Using very basic ingredients you likely already have on-hand (eggs, potatoes and onion), this simple, versatile dish can be enjoyed as breakfast, lunch or dinner or as the way Spaniards enjoy it – as a tapa (an appetizer or a snack). We think your family will love this easy Tortilla Espanola recipe!
Tortilla Espanola is usually served at room temperature as a tapa. Add some Spanish cheese, sliced chorizo, olives and fruit to make it a family tapas night!
This is our spin on the traditional method of cooking the Spanish Omelette using a few steps to simplify the process while not compromising the taste!
*Disclosure: this post has been made in partnership with Conestoga Farms, meaning we’ve received product and/or compensation to facilitate this family recipe share. Thank you for supporting brands who support small family businesses*
About the Ingredients for Tortilla Espanola
The traditional Spanish Tortilla is made with the simple ingredients of eggs, potatoes and onion cooked in olive oil.
Eggs: Our Tortilla Espanola recipe includes a dozen eggs which will render a nice-sized torta that can serve 6-8 people. We use eggs by our friends at Conestoga Farms because of the quality and in support of local Ontario farmers. We love their Free Range Eggs (laid by Ontario-raised laying hens living on open-concept farms with access to outdoor pastures, we learned) for our sacred family recipes, including this Spanish Omelette and others like homemade pasta, and the Free Run Omega-3 for our everyday meals for an added Omega-3 punch. You can find their variety of premium eggs at fine local grocers and can feel good they follow best farming practices governed by Egg Farmers of Ontario/Canada. We also value Conestoga Farms’ outreach initiatives with Gray Ridge Egg Farms during tough times to address critical food shortages in our communities so much.
Get your mini egg-sperts to help out with egg cracking for this Spanish Omelette recipe! Look at those gorgeous Conestoga Free-Range Eggs’ bright yellow yolks!
Potatoes: We used yellow potatoes for this recipe quite simply because it’s what we had on hand, but you could also use the Russet variety. Because the skins of our potatoes were clear of excess dirt, bruising and discoloration, we left the skins on to retain nutrients and remove the added step of peeling. Feel free to peel yours, however, if need be. To cut the potatoes for this recipe, we sliced them down the center length-wise, then cut thin slices width-wise from each half to create a half moon-like shape.
Simple ingredients you likely already have stocked make this delicious Tortilla Espanola recipe: Eggs, Potatoes, Onion, Olive Oil. Add some *optional* diced, cured chorizo for extra-flavour.
Onions: We used one large yellow cooking onion for this recipe and the green portion of a spring onion for garnish.
Olive Oil: For this traditional Spanish dish, a good quality Extra Virgin olive oil is highly recommended.
Optional Ingredients: Our recipe includes some diced chorizo (a cured and smoked pork sausage), but this is optional and can be left out to keep the dish meatless. We also added a dash of Paprika to the eggs before cooking for added flavour but this too is optional.
Use a large cast-iron or oven heat-tolerant skillet or braiser for this Spanish Omelette recipe.
How to Cook the Spanish Omelette – Simplified
The first step of cooking this Spanish omelette is to gently fry the sliced potatoes and onion in a generous amount of olive oil (we used 1 & 1/4 cups). Slicing the potatoes nice and thin will reduce the cooking time (which was under 15 minutes for our version). When frying the potatoes, the idea is to cook them to a soft, buttery texture, not to a crispy one.
The traditional method of cooking the Tortilla Espanola is entirely in your skillet or pan on the stovetop, flipping the omelette mid-way to cook evenly on both sides, however, we finished ours in a manner similar to a Frittata to simplify and finished cooking the omelette through by broiling in the oven under five minutes. For this method you will need to ensure you’re using an oven-safe skillet/pan.
Easy Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Omelette) Recipe | La Cucina di Kerrs
Equipment
- Large, oven-safe skillet or pan.
Ingredients
- 1 dozen Eggs we used Conestoga Farms Free-Range Eggs
- 2 large Yellow Potatoes sliced into thin half-moon shapes
- 1¼ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 large Yellow Cooking Onion Sliced thin length-wise
- Coarse Mediterranean Salt to taste
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 2 tbsp Dry, cured Chorizo diced into small cubes; *Optional - leave out if you want to keep the dish meatless*
- 1 Spring Onion Green portion chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in your pan on med-high. Add your sliced potatoes, onion & a few pinches of salt, stir to coat the vegetables evenly with oil, then reduce the stovetop temperature to med-low. Cook until potatoes reach a softened texture and the onions are slightly browned and translucent, flipping the potato/onion combo frequently - approximately 15 minutes.
- Once the potato & onions are cooked, remove the pan from the stove and very carefully drain the mixture in a stainless-steel colander with a bowl underneath to catch and reserve the oil in. Rinse your pan.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk one dozen eggs with the paprika and a few pinches of salt. Warm your pan with some of the reserved olive oil (enough to lightly coat the bottom of the pan) on medium heat. Add the egg mixture then place your cooked potato/onion mixture on top, spacing evenly. Finally, sprinkle your diced chorizo over top and gently mix it in with a fork or spatula. Cook the omelette until the edges become firm and slightly golden. Set your oven to BROIL and place your skillet/pan with the par-cooked omelette on your middle oven rack. Cook the omelette through until the top is golden (approximately 5 minutes - watch carefully as oven heat strength will vary).
- Remove the skillet/pan from the heat carefully with oven mitts on and let it cool to room temperature. Using a spatula, gently lift the Spanish omelette out of the pan and onto a serving board/platter. Garnish with diced green onion or your favourite greens (fresh chives, arugula, etc.). Slice into desired portions using a sharp knife or pizza-cutter. Serve as breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or as a tapa with other sides like olives, Spanish Manchego cheese, figs, fresh baguette or similar. Buen provecho! Tag us at @House_of_Kerrs if you try!
How to Serve the Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Omelette)
The beautiful thing about this Spanish Tortilla dish is that it is meant to be served at room temperature or even cold. As such, you can cook it ahead of time or even refrigerate it (up to a few days) before you serve it. While traditionally served as a tapa (Spanish appetizer), this dish is versatile and there are no rules to what time of day it can be eaten. Serve as breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or appetizer – however which way your family would enjoy it best!
Make it a Family Tapas Feast!
If opting to serve tapa-style, add some complimentary sides to your Tortilla Espanola like a bowl of mixed Mediterranean olives, Spanish cheese (Manchego is delish!), fresh, sliced baguette, tapenades, and fruit (grapes, fresh figs, etc.). A simple salad with vinaigrette is a great pairing also.
Make a family tapas table and pair your Tortilla Espanola with fresh fruit, baguette, tapenades, cured chorizo and Spanish Manchego cheese! Buen provecho!
We hope you enjoy travelling to Spain with your taste buds trying this simple and delicious traditional Spanish omelette recipe! We love seeing you connect with your families in your Cucinas, so share a comment or tag us on social @House_of_Kerrs if you try! For more easy egg recipe ideas to make with Conestoga Eggs, check out our family favourites HERE!
Buen provecho!
Love the recipe. I will need to try it as a dinner pot luck dish. The little Spanish flavour is so appealing. Like Sonya said we can travel with our taste buds.
Such a tasty & versatile dish! We hope you enjoy it! 🙂