Tortilla 101

Human Highlighter Suit Tally:  6

I remember the first time I had Raquel’s tortilla.  I had heard about it from Nicholas—it is his favorite thing that she makes, which is saying something because she cooks up a lot of good food.  Honestly, I couldn’t figure out what could be such a big deal; my experience with tortillas was limited to the flat kind from Mexico and Central America that you use to make quesadillas and burritos.  I didn’t know there was any other kind.  Boy was I wrong!

It was Christmas Eve, and we arrived at 355 Central Park West early to help set up.  Which really meant that we gathered in the kitchen, where Raquel was surrounded by bowls and plates of delicious morsels, to do quality control.  She popped a warm, little yellow cube of something into my mouth—salty, potatoey, browned, eggy.  I wanted another one.  And then I found out that this was Spanish tortilla, which has almost nothing to do with the other kind.

My Spanish cookbook has a whole section on tortilla, with detailed descriptions for how to make one.  I have not read this section.  Why should I, when I have Raquel to train me?

On menus, tortilla is generally translated as “potato omelette” which does not sound terribly appetizing.  In catalan the word is “truita” which always makes me think of trout.  You can find them with all kinds of things added to them—mushrooms, eggplant, peppers.  Raquel believes in keeping it simple and classic, and this version has only five ingredients:  onion, potato, egg, olive oil, salt, and pepper.  That’s it.

I had asked Raquel to teach me, and today was the day.  An elderly aunt of Raquel’s is coming over tonight, along with her son, his wife, and their children.  So she wanted to whip up a couple of tortillas anyway.

By the time I got home with the kids, she had chopped the onion and peeled the potatoes—for this I was grateful.  She set me the task of slicing the potatoes, which involved holding a potato in one hand and shaving thin slices off of it with a knife held in the other hand.  After a couple of minutes she came over to inspect my work.

“Oh, Lisa!” she cried.  “Much too thick—these are for a stew!  Voy a mostrar te otra vez.”  Raquel often lapses into Spanish when she’s talking about food, and cooking.

So after my second demonstration, my potatoes passed approval.

Raquel took a large skillet and poured in about a cup and a half of olive oil.  Once it got hot, she added the onion (half an onion, diced quite small).  The onion should get soft but not browned.

Toss the potatoes (about 2 pounds) with a bit of salt, and then add them to the onion.  As the potatoes cook, you sort of mash them down with the edge of a spoon—you don’t want the pieces to get too big.  I know it sounds crazy, but you might need to add olive oil at this point.  There should be plenty—the potatoes are basically frying in it.  They should cook through and begin to brown.  The potato/onion starts to form into a cake at this point.  When the potatoes are cooked, pour off the excess oil.

Then, beat 6 or 7 eggs and pour them evenly over the potatoes.  Poke through the potatoes to make sure the egg seeps through to the bottom and doesn’t just stay in a layer on top.  Fold the edges of the tortilla toward the center to make the edges neat and rounded.  Once it’s basically cooked, put a plate on top so that you can flip the tortilla onto the plate, and then slide it back into the pan.  Cook until just browned on the other side and slide onto a serving plate.  You can cut in cubes—as I first had it—and serve it with toothpicks as an appetizer.  Or you can cut it in wedges.   With a salad and some bread, it makes a great lunch or light supper.  It’s just as good hot as it is warm or at room temperature.

Let me know if you try it!  It’s easy, impressive, and a crowd pleaser!!