yumiam

Yumiam recipe · Spanish classic

Spanish tortilla

Potatoes confited gently in olive oil, onion, and a centre that stays soft. Eat it hot, warm or cold, and it keeps well in the fridge.

Prep
20 min
Cook
30 min
Serves
4 servings
Difficulty
Moderate
A golden potato tortilla on a plate, one wedge lifted out showing the soft centre
Three choices we made

A Spanish tortilla is made by confiting potato and onion in olive oil over low heat, folding them into beaten eggs and setting the mixture for two minutes on each side. The potatoes are never fried crisp: they cook slowly until they crush under a finger.

  • Potato confited over low heat, never fried until crisp.
  • With onion, softened until golden — it is what balances the egg.
  • Two minutes a side: the centre stays soft and finishes setting off the heat.

Recipe written by Yumiam. The words, the quantities and the method are ours.

Method

  1. Cut the potatoes

    Peel the potatoes and break them into rough half-centimetre pieces. Slice the onion finely.

  2. Confit

    Cover the potato and onion with oil in a frying pan and cook for twenty minutes over low heat, stirring now and then.

    The detail that decides it: the oil must not bubble hard. If the potato crackles, the heat is too high and you are making chips, not a confit.

  3. Drain and mix

    Drain thoroughly, season with salt, then fold into the beaten eggs. Leave to stand for five minutes.

  4. Set the tortilla

    In a twenty-two centimetre pan with a spoonful of oil, set the mixture for two minutes over medium heat, flip it with a plate and give it two minutes more.

  5. Let it settle

    Slide the tortilla onto a plate and wait five minutes before cutting. It finishes setting in its own heat.

Good to know

Keeping it

Two days in the fridge, covered. Take it out half an hour before serving.

The pan

Twenty-two centimetres for four portions. A wider pan gives a flat tortilla with no soft centre left.

The oil

Strain the cooking oil and keep it: it works for the next tortilla or as a base for a sauce.

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Frequently asked questions

With onion or without?

With, here. Softened slowly, it brings a sweetness that balances the egg. Without it the tortilla is drier and rests entirely on the potato.

How do I flip it without breaking it?

With a flat plate wider than the pan, in one movement and off the heat. The longer you hesitate, the more it breaks.

Do I really need that much oil?

Enough to cover the potato, around 400 ml, and nearly all of it comes back when you drain. The tortilla itself absorbs only a few spoonfuls.