If you’ve ever been to a tapas restaurant, chances are you’ve had the Spanish Tortilla de Papa. Its ingredients are simple, but the proper preparation is key. It features eggs, onions, and potatoes, three ingredients we almost always have in our fridge and pantry, so it’s an easy go-to when we’re running low on supplies. It’s filling enough, because of the egg, to be an entire meal, especially if paired with a small side salad; but also makes a great innovative side dish instead of traditional roasted or mashed potatoes.
One of the keys to making this dish is pre-frying the potatoes and onions. We learned this the hard way. If you don’t pre-fry them, the potatoes and onions often don’t cook all the way through when baking and they usually lack the right texture. We cook them for about 15 minutes in the oil before arranging the tortilla.
The other secret is to use a nonstick pan. As much as we love our cast iron and stainless steel pans, they are not ideal here! The egg will stick to them and make a giant mess. We love our Scanpans, we have a small 8 inch skillet and a large 12.5 inch skillet and find those two sizes the most convenient.
Lastly, you want to make sure you have the proper toppings and sauces. The tortilla de papa alone is not the most flavorful dish, but we recommend topping with lots of fresh parsley and serving with a garlic aioli and/or a spicy bravas sauce. We prefer to eat ours warm, right out of the oven, but it can also be eaten cold as an appetizer or lunch dish.
Hope you enjoy one of our favorite quick weeknight dinners! It’s the perfect rent week dish, cheap to make, filling, and usually makes leftovers for the lunch the next day!
Spanish Tortilla de Papa
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Potatoes Peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 Small Yellow Onion Sliced
- 4 Eggs
- 3/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/2 Cup Canola or Olive Oil Reserve 1 tablespoon olive oil for aioli
- 1 Clove Garlic Grated
- 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley Chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add sliced onions and potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes until softened and slightly brown. Place into a bowl and set aside.
- Whisk eggs in a separate bowl and then pour over the potatoes and onions. Add salt and pepper.
- Heat a small saucepan over medium heat with 1 teaspoon of oil.
- Add egg, potato and onion mixture to the pan, adjusting the potatoes to make even layers.
- Cook about 15 minutes until the egg on top is no longer runny.
- Flip the tortilla over onto a large plate then slide back to the pan and cook another 5 minutes.
- While the tortilla is cooking, combine the mayonnaise, grated garlic, and 1 tablespoon olive oil and whisk together to make the aioli.
- Top with chopped parsley and serve alongside aioli.