Step by Step Spanish Tortilla

I love Spanish tapas, and have sampled many,many hundreds in my time, haha! - but until last week, I had never actually tried making any for myself.. I had always been quite content to wander down to a tapas bar and order whatever I fancied, along with a couple of cold beers or two.. oh yes, I don't deny myself in any way, lol!

One of my favourite tapas is a slice of thick Spanish tortilla, served hot or cold, so last week I looked up the recipe online and found a delightful little instructional video on Youtube by a young Spanish girl, and so I gave it a go! It was very delicious, and I was quite amazed my efforts turned out so well to be honest! So as I decided to make it again today, I thought I would welcome you along to my kitchen... and invite you in for an impromptu cookery lesson!

All you need is four medium potatoes, four medium eggs and a large onion - although the onion can be left out if you don't like it; the Spanish serve it in both variations too.

So first peel the potatoes, and dice - the more uniform the pieces are the better,

while heating a shallow pan of oil to a medium to high heat - olive oil is recommended, but I fry my ingredients in sunflower oil to keep the cost down, then fry the actual tortilla in olive oil at the end - my money saving tips are free, naturally! ;-)

If you are using onions, now dice them in the same way,

then add the potatoes to the pan, and coat with the oil,

then add the onions too, making sure everything is evenly laid out in the pan.

The mixture needs frying until soft, I usually find this takes at least 15 minutes as my hob is quite small, so to try and speed up the time I put a lid over the pan, but stir frequently.

Meanwhile, you will need a good splash or two of milk, a dash of black pepper, and a fair pinch of salt, (to your taste really)

to add to your four eggs,

which then all gets whisked together like so!

By now the potatoes and onions should be beginning to look like this, all delicious and glossy, and soft when pricked with a fork.

With a slotted spoon, you should remove the mixture spoonful by spoonful from the frying pan, and place directly into the egg mix, draining as much excess oil as possible as you go,

and mix the potatoes, onion and beaten eggs together well in the bowl.

Now for the real fun! :-)

Empty your pan of any remnants of sunflower oil, I usually wipe mine round with a piece of kitchen towel, then add a very fine sheen of olive oil to your pan - the pan should now be on a low to medium heat. Add the mixture in one fell swoop,

and pat down with a wooden spoon, so it is evenly spread out over your pan.

Now leave the tortilla to cook slowly, pressing down to feel its' texture, and gently pulling the egg away from the sides of the pan to prevent it from sticking.

When you feel it is ready - and this is really a case of personal judgment but I would say after 5 to 10 minutes or so - you are ready to flip it... oh yes, fun fun fun!! So take a plate and place over the pan,

then whip the pan over keeping the plate oh-so-steady, and slide the half-cooked tortilla onto a plate.. as you can see here, it should be holding together nicely, and turning a golden brown.

Then very carefully once more, slide the tortilla from the plate into the pan.. therefore now cooking what was the top raw side,

and again, patting down with a spoon helps - remember to keep the pan on a medium heat though, no higher!

After a further few minutes, your tortilla will be ready! Just one more flip with a plate in the same way as before and it's done...

.. and ready to serve either immediately with crusty bread and maybe some allioli, (Spanish garlic mayonnaise), or to chill down in the fridge and enjoy cold later, which is equally delicious!

It's quite normal for the tortilla to look a bit "rustic" by the way! And believe me, it all adds to the flavour, mmm! I can't wait!

As you can see from the fried ingredients, and amount of eggs used, this recipe isn't exactly a slimmers' dream, ahem... but don't worry about that, just follow this little plaque I have hanging in my kitchen at all times - it's so true - and forget about the calories!

Hope you enjoyed my little culinary trip, and I hope some of you have a go at it too! x