A Tortilla Spanish Style

One of my favorite dishes to make for a party is a Tortilla Española. Except for its shape a Spanish "tortilla" has nothing in common with its Mexican counterpart. A Spanish tortilla is a very yummy potato omelet. It is a bit more difficult to prepare than an ordinary omelet, but it is well worth the effort.  

Ingredients

1 cup olive oil

4 large potatoes.

1 large onion (thinly sliced)

4 large eggs

Peel and thinly slice potatoes and onions. Heat oil in a 9-inch skillet (preferably nonstick and fairly deep). Add potatoes and onions, one at a time to prevent sticking, to form layers. Slowly cook over medium flame. As potato/onion mixtures cooks be sure to occasionally lift and turn mixture, rotating the bottom layers to the top, to prevent potatoes from clumping and/or sticking.  Cook until tender and translucent.

In a large bowl hand-beat the eggs.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Remove the potatoes from the skillet and drain them. Drain pan and reserve oil. Add potato mixture to eggs, pressing the potatoes down so that they are completely covered by egg.  Let the mixture sit 15 minutes.

While egg mixture sits make sure that nothing is stuck to bottom of skillet.  Add a couple of tablespoons of the reserved oil and heat until smoking.  Add the egg mixture and spread in pan.  Lower the heat to medium.  Give pan a shake to make sure it doesn't stick. Cook until underside begin to brown and the top begins to solidify.  

Place an inverted plate, the same size as the skillet, and flip the tortilla out onto the plate. Heat one tablespoon reserved oil to smoking, then lower heat to medium. Slide the tortilla back into the pan to finish cooking brown the other side. 

Transfer to serving platter.  Slice into 1-inch square or wedges and serve either hot or cold.