The national dish of Spain is Tortilla de patatas and why not make it on October 12 when Spain celebrates their national day. Here’s what our country chef Ivette says about the national dish of Spain:
The Spanish omelette is called a tortilla de patatas, but watch out! Tortilla in Spain is not the same as it is in Mexico, tortilla is an omelette in Spain. And it is not the same thing as an omelette in the US. Omelettes are very famous in Spain. You can have a spinach omelette, green bean and potato omelette, vegetable omelette or you can easily create your own version of any omelette. But, the most traditional one is the Spanish potato omelette. I love this recipe because It so versatile. It can be served as breakfast, lunch or dinner, can be served as a “tapa” or as a main dish and it’s good both warm and cold.
Recipe: The national dish of Spain - Tortilla de patatas
Ingredients
- 3 potatoes
- 1 onion
- 4 eggs
- 500 ml oil
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- For this recipe, I used a 9 inch pan. It's a good size for a nice and thick omelette. And I used a bigger pan to cook the potatoes.
- Peel and slice the potatoes very thin
- Chop the onion, season with salt (and pepper if you want), and cook in a small pan on a low-medium heat until it gets brown, then set it aside.
- While the onion is cooking, preheat a pan with 2 cups of vegetable or canola oil on high heat. Place the potato slices into the pan.
- Season the potatoes with salt and pepper and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. Do not wait until they look brown, we don’t want french fries! To be sure the potatoes are done, poke them with a wooden spoon and if they fall apart, they are done.
- Once the potatoes are cooked, drain the oil. Mix the potatoes with the onion in the pan and combine them well ( you can skip this step but I love the flavor it gets). Then place the mixture into a bowl.
- Beat 4 eggs, season them with some more salt and pepper, and pour them into the bowl with the onion and potatoes. Mix with a spatula or a wooden spoon.
- Be sure it is juicy! If it looks dry just beat another egg and pour it into the mixture.
- Using one of the pans you used for the potato or onion, pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and place on medium-low heat. Once the oil is warm, pour the mixture in. After about a minute, peel back the edges of the omelette from the pan so it doesn’t stick. Shaking the pan also helps to ensure the omelette doesn’t stick.
- In about 4-5 minutes, the bottom of the omelette should be cooked. Position a plate on top of the omelette in the pan, and flip it. The omelette now will be on the plate. Next, slide it back into the pan, with the cooked face of the omelette facing up.
- Cook it for about 3-5 minutes and flip again. Now the omelette should have a consistent texture. Slide it back into the pan for another 30 seconds and flip it again. I always flip the omelette 5-6 times. My grandmother told me that the more you flip it, the better!
About the Country Chef
Ivette is from Catalonia, Spain and she has always loved cooking. Her grandmother is a great, great cook and Ivette believes her love of cooking is because of her. Ivette runs the blog joyofspanishcooking.com and in this blog, she would like to share the Spanish cuisine with the rest of the world.
Read more about IngredientMatcher’s Country Chefs in the Foodie section
Read more about national dishes and the ebook “National Dishes From Around The World”
Read more about other national dish recipes published on this blog
It’s my favourite recipe ever