If you love Spain, then chances are you’re going to love the food too, especially tapas. Here at Your Place in Spain we can’t get enough of the little appetizers and bite size dishes of delicious, traditional Spanish delicacies.
So, Tapas Tuesday gives us a very good excuse to look at some of our favourite tapas, tell you all about how they’re made, different versions of the dish and how you can make it yourself.
This week, for our very first ‘Tapas Tuesday’ we’re looking at the very popular Tortilla española…
You’ll probably find this particular dish in almost every Spanish tapas bar you walk in to, it’s an easy recipe and a delicious one too.
The original recipe contains just eggs, potatoes, onions and salt and pepper, but as you go from town to town in Spain you will find that there can be many additions to the omelette, changing the taste and bringing in new flavours, and it is always a tasty treat.
Chorizo, green peppers, tomatoes and garlic are just a few additions that can be made to this dish, and many enjoy it in Spain with bread and olive oil, mayonnaise, and plenty other tapas dishes to go alongside it too.
The historical sources of this particular recipe are not known, but it is a firm favourite of the Spanish, and you will usually find it a very reasonable price too. It is traditionally served chopped into bite size pieces on a cocktail stick, but you can also get it sliced too, and it can be enjoyed hot or cold.
Spanish Omelette served with Manchego and Serrano Ham
Fancy having a go at making this yourself? Well here’s a recipe that I use when cooking a Spanish omelette, I like to add some Chorizo to give it a bit of extra flavour. If you want to add any other ingredients in to yours then just add them in where I put the Chorizo in:
Ingredients –
4 large potatoes / Salt and Pepper / 6 Large Eggs / 1 x Iberico Chorizo Sausage (usually around 60/70g but the amount is up to how much you like in your omelette) in 1cm slices / 1 Onion, finely chopped
What to do –
- Make sure your grill is turned on and getting nice and hot before doing anything
- Then I chop my potatoes into chunks rather than slices, but this is up to you, and then pop them into a saucepan of salted boiling water and simmer them until they are cooked
- I then put the eggs in a bowl and beat them together with a fork and season with salt and pepper
- I like to use a large frying pan, maybe around 20cm, then I put my slices of Chorizo into the frying pan, no need for oil here as the oils from the sausages will release into the pan
- Then the potato and onions go in, cook them altogether and they will start to go nice and golden, then remove from the frying pan and put to one side for just a minute
- I then pour the eggs into the frying pan, before putting the sausages and potatoes back in, make sure it is all spread evenly across the pan (this is why it’s good to use a nice, wide pan)
- Pop the frying pan under the grill, until your omelette is nice and golden on top and cooked through the middle
- Then it’s ready…enjoy! I like to cut mine in to chunks and serve on cocktail sticks like they do at one of my favourite tapas bars in Spain, but you can serve it anyway you like
- I always think this goes down well with some bread, olive oil, and olives. Also, some Serrano ham and Manchego cheese with almonds match this perfectly. Not forgetting your glass of wine….
Give it a try! I’d love to hear how you get on, follow us on Twitter and let me know: @PlaceinSpain
Joanne, Your Place in Spain
