Tortilla de Patatas

Alonso insisted that he wanted to eat only American food, but Dixie finally convinced him to let her try something Spanish. He requested tortilla de patatas, or potato tortillas. We learned that tortillas are made out of eggs in Spain and that they did not cook them with potatoes until after the conquistadors discovered them in the Andes mountains in the 1500s. 

Tortilla de patatas are basically an egg omelette filled with potatoes and onions fried in olive oil. They are a bit tricky because flipping the omelette is involved, but worth the effort. To eat them like a true Spaniard, one must top it with mayonaise. We all balked at this at first, but then tried it. Now we are all eating our eggs with mayo on top! It's THAT good. Seriously!

Our resident Spanish expert even gave Dixie's tortilla de patatas two thumbs up! Apparently she has a bit of the Spaniard in her. Now if it would just show up in her tan...

Tortilla de patatas

3-4 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered and thinly sliced

Coarse sea salt

1 1/4 c olive oil

1 small onion, quartered and thinly sliced

6 large eggs

2 tbsp chicken broth

1. Heat olive oil in large, heavy skillet until very hot. Reduce heat and add the potatoes in thin layers. Sprinkle with salt. Cook stirring occasionally to prevent potatoes from sticking or browning, until they are half cooked, about 7 minutes. Stir in the onion. Reduce heat to low, and cook until potatoes are soft, about 15 more minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer potato mixture to a colander and set over a bowl to drain.

2. Place eggs, chicken broth and a couple pinches of salt into large mixing bowl. Beat eggs until just scrambled. Gently add potato mixture. Mash and stir the egg mixture. Let stand for 10 minutes.

3. Heat 5 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy 8-inch skillet. Add egg mixture. Reduce heat to medium low. Cook, moving and shaking the skillet so that the eggs do not stick. Run a thin spatula around edges of eggs, so that egg runs under the tortilla. Cook until the top is a little wet but not liquid, about 6-8 minutes. 

4. Place a large plate over the top of the skillet and gently invert the skillet so that the tortilla is sitting on the plate. Then slide the tortilla back into the skillet, so that the top of the tortilla is on the bottom. Reduce heat to very low and cook the tortilla until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, 3-4 minutes. 

5. Serve with mayo on top!