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.
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Just made my very first tortillas and was concerned due to enormous amount of oil used, thought I’d try boiling potattoes next time but wanted to check first, as you say for purists this would probably be unacceptable but suits me fine!