Tortilla Española

Or spanish omelette. I love tapas; done well they taste amazing and it's so nice not to have to choose just one thing from the menu. There's a tapas workshop at the Instituto Cervantes here that I might take next month, 12 cold dishes and the history of them are taught over six weeks, it looks interesting.

I tend to eat omelettes for lunch as they're fairly healthy and very easy to make. Sometimes I have potatoes leftover from a different recipe and so I treat myself to a delicious tortilla española. It's an incredibly simple recipe, involving four ingredients and seasoning but it's one that tastes excellent both hot and cold (the next day's lunch!). Here's my take on the dish.

Tortilla Española Recipe

For two portions.

Make sure the grill is hot.

Dice the shallot/onion and the potatoes in brunoise style, or into 3mm rectangles, if you can, otherwise as small as possible.

If you want you can add chorizo 5 minutes after the potatoes go into the frying pan, it needs to be cut to the same tiny size.

Ingredients

5-6 new potatoes, diced to the above specifications

1 shallot or ½ onion, diced as above
chorizo

3 eggs

knob of butter

seasoning

The cooked potatoes

Method

Melt the butter in a frying pan that can go under a grill (no plastic handles).

Add the potatoes and gently fry for 10 minutes or until they have cooked though.

Add the shallot/onion and chorizo and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them together before pouring them on top of the potatoes and onions. Move the potatoes around until the eggs have coated them all.

Cook on the hob for 4-5 minutes, until the edges are cooked and then place under the grill for 3-5 minutes so that the top firms up and turns golden (it may need more time than these estimates).

Take out of the grill and serve hot or wait until it cools.

Grace, who used to live in Spain, told me that she was horrified when she saw I not only grilled my tortilla but I also diced my potatoes instead of slicing them with a mandolin. What's your opinion on dice versus slice?