SPANISH TORTILLA

One of my customers said yesterday,"Why don't you write some recipes on the internet so we can try them?"

So here we go.

Spanish Tortilla, that thick, juicy, potato omelette that one sees in bars all over Spain is a much maligned creature. Supermarkets now make thousands of them daily, wrap them in thick plastic and sell them to 'people who have no time to cook'. The problem is that when they are blasted in the microwave for a few minutes the result makes you wonder if you forgot to take the plastic wrapper off when you bite into it. The powdered egg used to make them turns them into a substance resembling polystyrene. And what happened to the potato? Did it get up and walk out of the tortilla in disgust?

Then there are the English cookery books that have a rather distorted idea of how a tortilla should be prepared. Delia, along with quite a few others, says ,"fry the potatoes in 2 tbs of oil", Yeah, like two years later the potato might be cooked. While others tell you to boil the potato in water to make it soft. Yeuch! All of them completely miss the point that the potato must be saturated in oil in order to give it that amazing flavour. Of course English cookery book writers are appalled at the idea of so much fat, but here in Spain it is normal and indeed essential. That's why it's called Spanish Tortilla.

Any way, on to the recipe:-

4 medium sized potatoes (about 500g)

1 medium onion (optional)

6 eggs

sunflower oil

olive oil

salt

Slice the potato and onion fairly thinly, put them in a deep frying pan with sunflower oil, making sure that they are completely covered. Cook the potato over a medium heat, turning occasionally to avoid browning. When the potato breaks up with a fork then it is just right. It can take 15 to 20 minutes depending on the variety. Drain all the oil out of the pan into a bowl. You can use the oil again for everyday cooking. Add about 1 tsp of salt to the potato and mix well. In another bowl beat up the eggs with a pinch of salt and add the potato and onion mixture.

Heat up a clean non-stick frying pan on a high heat with 1 tbs olive oil and when it begins to smoke add the tortilla mixture. The egg will begin to set immediately on the bottom so you need to turn it over a few times with a spatula so it sets in the middle. Now turn the gas down to minimum. When the egg is nearly set make circular movements with the pan to give it that rounded shape. Place a plate that just fits the top of the pan. Turn the tortilla upside down on to the plate and then slip it back into the pan to do the uncooked side. Move the pan in a circular fashion a few time more then cover with a clean plate of the same size, this makes the tortilla puff up a bit and appear lighter. Check to see if it is done enough by turning the pan upside down onto the plate. If it is nice and brown it should be ready to eat. If not, then slide it back into the pan and give it a few minutes more.

Now, there are two schools of thought about what constitutes a perfect tortilla. Some like it squidgy in the middle and some like it completely set. The only difference is the length of time it is allowed to cook after being turned. If you want to offer the tortilla cut into little squares as a tapa then it should be cooked all the way through to avoid embarrassing egg dribbling down cleavages. And, if it is not to be eaten right away, then cook it all the way through to be on the safe side. You never know what company your eggs have been keeping in the way of bacteria.

I prefer my Tortilla soft in the middle. Eaten with some crusty bread for a mid morning snack, especially in cold winters. Watching the steam coming out as you cut the first wedge can be an almost a mystical experience.

There is nothing more satisfying or versatile than a good tortilla, but sadly the art of making a good one seems to be dying out. So that's why we need people like yourselves to keep the tradition going. So peel some spuds, beat some eggs and get cooking!