Spicy Spanish Tortilla with Mixed Veg

Spicy Spanish tortilla half with mangetout and stem broccoli

A Spanish tortilla is simply a thick omelette, traditionally made to include onion and potato. It is nothing to do with the crisp like tortilla chips sold in foil bags in supermarkets. They are usually an inch or more thick and are cut in to wedges (like pizza) to serve, either hot or cold. I've made this one a little bit thinner to suit my purpose at the time. This recipe also sees the addition of some dried basil and smoked paprika to give the dish a little bit of extra herb and spice flavour but both are optional. It can be served with your veg of choice but the mangetout and tender stem broccoli served in this instance came conveniently together in a pack from the supermarket and were super quick and easy to cook.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

7 or 8 baby new potatoes
Salt
3 large eggs
White pepper
Generous pinch dried basil
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Olive oil
1 medium red onion
Handful mangetout
Handful tender stem broccoli stalks

Directions

Wash the potatoes but leave them unpeeled then cut them in half. Add the pieces to a pot of cold salted water and bring the water to a simmer for about twenty minutes or until the potatoes are just cooked. Drain and set aside to steam off while you prepare the eggs and fry the onion. Note that it's not necessary for the potatoes to cool but letting them steam off and lose the extra moisture is essential. Alternatively, you could cook them in advance and store them in the fridge overnight to save time on the night you are eating. They would have to be fried a little longer at a later stage in this recipe in that case to heat them through.

Boiling halved baby new potatoes

Break the eggs in to a bowl and season with some salt, white pepper, the basil and the smoked paprika. Beat with a fork or small hand whisk until just combined.

Put your kitchen grill (broiler) on to preheat to its highest setting.

Eggs and seasonings for tortilla

Peel the onion and cut it in half down through the core. Lay each half flat on your chopping board and slice to around a quarter inch. Pour two or three tablespoons of olive oil in to a large non-stick frying pan or skillet and bring it up to a medium heat. Add the onion and fry it off over a medium heat for two or three minutes until the strands are separated and just starting to soften.

Starting to fry onions

Add the potatoes to the pan and fry for a further minute or two to just slightly crisp the edges (remember to fry for an extra minute or two if the potatoes have been allowed to cool).

Potatoes are added to lightly fried onions

Ensure the potato and onion pieces are fairly evenly distributed around the pan before carefully pouring in the egg mixture.

Spicy egg mixture is poured over potatoes and onion

Wash the mangetout and stem broccoli before adding to a pan of salted boiling water. Simmer for three minutes before draining at your sink through a colander.

Mangetout and stem broccoli are added to boiling salted water

After a few minutes, you will see the egg is set almost all the way to the top. At this stage, put your pan under the hot grill for a minute or two to complete the setting of the eggs.

Tortilla is almost cooked and ready to go under the grill

When the pan comes out from under the grill, you will see that the eggs have risen slightly as well as set.

Spicy Spanish tortilla

Remember not to cut the tortilla in the pan with a metal knife or you will likely damage and ruin the pan. Either slide it on to a plate for cutting or cut with a plastic spatula. It should be soft enough to do this no problem. Lay half the tortilla on each of two serving plates before adding the drained vegetables.

Tortilla half is plated