Spanish tortilla: potatoes confited in olive oil, the centre still juicy
The omelette that in Spain is everything at once: breakfast, tapa and supper, warm or cold. The potatoes here are not fried crisp but confited — poached in a generous amount of olive oil at 130–140 °C until they soften without browning. Soft, they drink up the egg and bind it into a creamy mass. The centre should stay juicy; a dry tortilla is an overcooked one.
Your own work in that: 50 min.
- Slicing 10 min
- Potatoes in oil 25 min
- The mixture rests 10 min
- Frying and flipping 15 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneSlice the potatoes and onion
Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3 mm slices, ideally on a mandoline: an even thickness means they all soften at the same moment. Cut the onion into thin feathers. Don't rinse the potatoes after slicing, and pat them dry with a cloth.
Ingredients: 700 g potatoes · 1 pcs onion · 400 ml olive oil · 6 pcs eggs · 1½ tsp salt
TipThe starch on the surface of the slices is wanted here: together with the egg it is what binds the tortilla. Rinsed away, the mixture slides apart when you flip it.
Three millimetres, even, unrinsedConfit them in oil
Heat the oil in a pan about 20–22 cm across to 130–140 °C (a piece of potato dropped in bubbles lazily rather than sizzling). Add the potatoes and onion; the oil should come almost to the top of the layer, and after a few minutes the slices will slump and sink into it. Cook over low heat for 20 minutes, turning with a slotted spoon every 5 minutes, until a slice cuts under the spoon without resistance.
TipThis is not frying. At 170 °C a potato browns and firms up on the outside; at around 135 °C it softens all the way through and binds easily with the egg. That is where the creamy inside of a real tortilla comes from.
Lazy bubbles, not a sizzleDrain and keep the oil
Drain the potatoes in a sieve set over a bowl and leave 3 minutes to drip. Strain the oil into a jar once cool: it has taken on the flavour of the potatoes and onion and will serve two or three more times — for the next tortilla, for frying eggs, or for roast potatoes.
Three minutes in the sieve, oil into a jarCombine with the eggs and wait
Beat the eggs with the salt using a fork, without frothing them. Tip in the hot potatoes and fold gently so the slices don't break. Leave 10 minutes.
Ingredients: 700 g potatoes · 1 pcs onion · 400 ml olive oil · 6 pcs eggs · 1½ tsp salt
TipDuring those ten minutes the potatoes soak up the egg and their heat thickens the mixture slightly. The tortilla holds together better and cuts more cleanly.
Hot potatoes into the eggs, then ten minutesCook the first side
Heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved oil in a 24 cm pan over medium heat. Pour in the mixture, level it, and after a minute lower the heat. Cook 5 minutes, tucking the edges inward with a spatula as you go to round the sides. The centre should stay liquid.
Edges tucked with a spatula, low heatFlip it with a plate
Take the pan off the heat. Cover it with a flat plate wider than the pan, press down with your palm (through a cloth!) and turn it over in one confident movement. Slide the tortilla back into the pan cooked side up and cook another 4 minutes.
TipHesitating at the flip ends with the mixture on the counter. The plate must sit flush, the movement must be single and quick — and do it over the sink in case anything drips.
One confident move, over the sinkRest and serve
Slide onto a plate and leave 5 minutes: the centre finishes in its own heat and stops running. Cut into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature, with bread and tomatoes. It keeps 3 days in the fridge and many people think it is better the next day.
Ingredients: 6 pcs bread · 2 pcs tomatoes
Five minutes' rest, then wedges
Before you start
With onion or without
Spaniards have argued about this for generations: cebollistas against sincebollistas. Onion brings sweetness and moisture; without it the flavour is cleaner and more purely of potato. Try both and pick a side.
How many eggs to how much potato
The ratio is one egg per 120 g of potato. More eggs give a taller, more omelette-like tortilla; fewer give a dense, potato-forward one.
Without flipping
If the flip frightens you, after 5 minutes slide the pan (with an ovenproof handle) under a hot grill for 3–4 minutes. The top will set, though it looks matte rather than fried.
