Low-fat Spanish omelette (Tortilla de patatas ligera)
Ingredients
- 6 large potatoes
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 glass of milk
- 1 large onion
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation: Wash and peel the potatoes and onion. Slice the potatoes and onion into 1/2 inch thick slices and season with salt and pepper.
Add your slices to a medium-sized saucepan with boiling water and cover. Allow to boil on a high heat for about 10-14 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.
Spread the potatoes and onion over a grill tray covered in baking paper and place under a hot grill. Grill on a medium heat for 3-5 minutes and turn, grilling for another 5 minutes. While the potatoes are grilling, beat your eggs in a large bowl and mix in the milk.
Add the potatoes and onion to the egg and check for salt.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large pan on a high heat. Allow the oil to become hot but not smoking and pour the tortilla mixture. Cook until the eggs set, first on high heat, and then over low heat. As the tortilla begins to set, use the handle of your pan to shake it sideways and ensure it doesn’t stick. Helped with a large plate, turn your tortilla and cook the other side until it is completely set.
Presentation: Tortilla is often served sliced like a cake, cut into 6-8 large triangles meeting at the centre. It’s great hot or cold and keeps in the fridge, covered with cling film, for a few days.
Cooking tip: Grilling helps remove excess water from your potatoes as well as giving them a little firmer texture. You can replace the grill with a hot pan or even the oven. Milk added to the egg helps the mixture not sticking to the pan when using almost no oil, as well as giving the tortilla a gorgeously soft finish.
To turn the tortilla, remove the pan from the heat and shake to ensure the bottom of the tortilla is not sticking to the pan. Cover the pan with a large plate and decisively turn around all so that the plate ends under the pan. If this movement is quick and decisive there is no need to press the plate against the pan. Once the plate has the tortilla inside it, remove the pan, return to the heat and slide the tortilla back into it.
About this dish: Tortilla is a simple dish made of potatoes, eggs and often onion. Traditionally high-fat because potatoes are deep fried to make it, I have replaced the deep-fry process with boiling and grilling to avoid the use of most oil. As a result, this variation should be easier on the scales while remaining delicious and easy to make.
Curiosity: Like many traditional dishes, it appears Tortilla finds it humble origins in the efforts to create cheap, nutritious food by the poor peoples of past times, who were forced to add humble potatoes and onion to scarce eggs in order to make a meal. A world famous dish today, its thickness, method and the degree of “runniness” of the egg remain an object of much debate among Spanish chefs and patrons alike when discussing the perfect tortilla. This low-fat version will surely be seen as sinful by some.
Previous Articles
Calçots (Scallions with Romesco sauce)
Calçots are a variety of scallion (Blanca Grande Tardana) native to Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain. Calçots are milder than onions and look similar to small leeks. The most traditional way of eating calçots is in a calçotada, a popular event held between the end of winter and March or April, where calçots are consumed massively. Calçots are traditionally roasted over fire in an outdoor oven but they can also be cooked in a grill, a conventional oven or on top of the stove. Calçots are traditionally served on top of upturned roof tiles, which are used as serving trays.
Romesco sauce
Romesco is a sauce originating in Tarragona, Catalonia, that is typically made from almonds and hazelnuts, roasted garlic, olive oil and nyores – small, dried red peppers. It is perhaps most often served with seafood, but can also be served with a wide variety of other foods including poultry and vegetables, particularly calçots.
Marzipan (Mazapán)
A traditional Christmas dessert, Mazapán is Arabic in origin, arriving to Spain with the arab invasion of the 8th century. It is available all year around but consumed mostly in Christmas, except in Valencia, where napkins (Mocaors) filled with fruit-shaped Marzipan are given by men to their girlfriends and wives at the Mocaorà celebration on the 9th of October.
Peppers filled with fish and shellfish
Most Spanish regions sport their own variation of this simple, quick recipe. It is easy, cheap and delicious so it features on every Spanish mum’s trick bag when feeding the family. This is as close as it gets to Spanish fast food. Only healthier, and much better tasting!
Sea bass with wild mushrooms and saffron reduction
This dish is an original recipe. It is a dish for spring, mixing winter and summer ingredients into a bright, flavoursome combination. Its colour, scent, textures and taste are all designed to wake up the senses after the winter lull. Try it at sunset after a day of sun and some showers.
Arroz al cava (Cava risotto)
Cava originates from Catalonia, and so does this dish, delicious as a main, a side to game or fish or as part of contemporary creations. Initially prepared as a way to use a day-old half bottle of flat left-over cava, it has been adopted by contemporary Catalan cuisine as an indigenous new dish that combines european influences with local produce and years of rich winemaking history. Today Arroz al Cava can be found in the best restaurants, where it is made using only the best Spanish paella rice and the most sought-after Cava vintages.
Pan de calatrava (Pudding from Calatrava)
Pan de Calatrava is a variation on Flan. Legend says that Flan was strengthened with bread donated by the village folk at Calatrava’s monastery, becoming one of the dietary staples for the monks who lived there and who had access to the other ingredients -eggs, milk and sugar- at their own little walled farm. Today it is a sough-after dessert full of infinite possibilities and variation.
Fideuà
A typical dish of Valencia, Spain originated in the 1960s when noodles were used instead of rice in the popular dish paella. Relatively obscure until very recently, Fideuà has quickly become a favourite at Spain’s top restaurants. Its versatility, flexibility and the ability to use the freshest seasonal produce in its preparation make it the perfect blend of tradition and modernity for the aspiring star chef to make his/her mark.
Sangría
Traditional sangría recipe with red wine, spirits and fruit. White wine can be used instead of red, in which case the result is called sangría blanca. Each region, town and bar in Spain seem to have their own recipe, this is a traditional one from generations ago.
Welcome to Best Spanish Recipes
Take a second to peek around and check out our traditional and contemporary recipes. Explore the ingredients and utensils sections and learn the history of Spain's finest dishes. You can find everything you need to cook real Spanish food on our shop. Of course, we would love to find out what you think as well, so make sure to comment and suggest changes, additions and new recipes.
