The first reference to the tortilla in Spanish is found in a Navarrese
document, as an anonymous "mousehole memorial" addressed to the court of
Navarre in 1817. It explains the sparse conditions of Navarre's farmers in
contrast with those in Pamplona (the capital) and la Ribera (in southern
Navarre). After listing the sparse food eaten by highlanders, the next
quote follows: "…two to three eggs in tortilla for 5 or 6 [people] as our
women know how to make it big and thick with fewer eggs, mixing potatoes,
breadcrumbs or whatever."
According to legend, during the
siege of Bilbao, Carlist general Tomás de Zumalacárregui
invented the "tortilla de patatas" as an easy, fast and nutritious dish to
satisfy the scarcities of the Carlist army. Although it remains unknown
whether this is true, it appears the tortilla started to spread during the
early Carlist Wars.
How to prepare it
Ingredients:
2 large or 3–4 medium waxy potatoes (charlotte is ideal),
peeled and halved
1 Spanish onion, peeled and halved
8 eggs
salt
400 ml olive oil
How to 🍳:
Thinly slice the potato halves, cut side down, so that
you end up with half-circle shaped slices. Do the same with the
onion.
Pour the olive oil into a deep frying pan and add the
thinly sliced onion. Place over a high heat so you are cooking the onion
from cold. Once the onion starts to sizzle (this should take about 5
minutes), add the sliced potatoes. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring
from time to time, until they are soft and cooked throughout. The
potatoes and onions should have browned in some corners because of the
contact with the bottom of the pan. If this hasn’t happened drain away
some of the oil and caramelize them a bit in the pan. Remove the
potatoes and onions from the pan and set aside.
Break the eggs into a large bowl but don’t whisk them;
check there are no pieces of shell. Add the hot potatoes and onions to
the eggs and season with salt while the potatoes are
sitting on the top. Carefully mix through; use a fork to break up the
eggs but don’t over-mix – justcan, leave the mixture to rest for half an
hour to allow the flavours to develop.
To make the tortilla place a non-stick pan over a medium heat and add a
drizzle of olive oil. When the pan is hot add the egg mixture. If you
don’t have a non-stick pan add the mixture to a very hot pan but reduce
the heat to its lowest setting straight away; this will stop the
tortilla sticking to the pan. Do not stir the contents of the pan!
Depending on the depth of your pan and the amount of heat from your
stove, the cooking time will vary so you will need to use your
judgement. After about 3 minutes you should be able to ease the tortilla
from the edge of the pan using a fork or spatula. At this point, cover
the pan with a plate (which should obviously be wider than the pan).
Hold firmly with both hands and flip the pan over on to the plate. Slide
the tortilla back into the pan for the other side to cook. Place back on
the heat for another 2 minutes (I like it when the middle is still soft
and a little runny).
