This is a very popular dish with my friends who regularly come for breakfast. The basic Spanish tortilla is made from just eggs, onions and potatoes. It’s amazing how such a simple combination can produce a world famous tapas dish.
We love ours with sausages and that’s the recipe I’ve given you here. The variations, however, are endless: cheese, mushrooms, smoked salmon and so mmuch more.
Handy Hints on Cooking the Spanish Omelette at home
Sausages
Chorizos are the sausages of choice in the Spanish Tortilla but you can use whatever you like, vegetarian ones are really good in this too. Or just leave the sausages out. One of my favourite sausages for this Spanish omelette is Merguez, the spicy North African sausages (click for recipe). After all, there are similarities in the two cuisines, they are only separated by a small body of water.
The Cooking
The idea is to lightly cook the onions, potatoes and sausages separately and add them to the beaten eggs as you go along.
TIP: It’s important that the potatoes are cooked, so cook them in one layer. Also, you want them sautéed not stewed. To achieve this for anything, never crowd the pan.
How to Serve the Spanish Tortilla
To make a meal, just add a salad. The Spanish omelette is pretty substantial, given the potatoes it has. In this recipe, it contains sausages, a common addition, making it even more filling. Make your salad a simple one, add some cheese if you fancy more protein, the choices are endless. You might fancy taking a look at my salad selection on the Salads, Condiments and Dips Page.
Serve hot or cold, cut into triangles or the Spanish tortilla can also be served as a finger food or as canapés, cut into small squares, topped imaginatively or as is. Take a look at my Canapés Page if you’d like ideas for topping canapés.
The Spanish Tortilla also makes a great lunchbox main!
Spanish Tortilla (an easy storecupboard recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 onion (very large, or 2 medium ones)
- 12 large free range eggs lightly beaten, in a large bowl
- 2 large potatoes
- 4 sausages (of any kind, even vegetarian)
- handful of parsley, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place the eggs in a large bowl, add half a tsp of salt and some freshly ground black pepper and lightly beat with a fork. Set aside.
- Peel and slice the onions in rings and keep aside.
- Do the same with the potatoes, keeping the slices fairly thin but not so much that they will crisp up and burn, about 1 cm/just under half an inch will do.
- Slice the sausages into tiny rounds about half a cm/quarter of an inch thick.
- Heat some oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat. I use a 26cm/10in pan and cook the tortilla in one go. You could do it in 2 batches, especially if your pan is smaller and shallow.
- Sauté the onions until soft but not brown, about 3 minutes. Tip them into the eggs.
- Wipe the pan with a kitchen towel and again heat some oil, now, back down to medium heat. You might need to do the potatoes in 2 batches, depending on the size of your pan.
- Fry the potatoes for about 3 minutes each side – this should be enough if your potatoes have been cut thinly.
- Again, tip the whole lot into the egg mix.
- Wipe the pan and fry the sausages for a minute then into the eggs they go. Now to put it all together…
- Wipe the pan clean and heat some oil on med-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, tip the egg mix into the pan.
- Reduce the heat slightly to medium and leave the omelette to cook. Keep drawing the mixture in, letting the liquid flow out onto the pan until you run out of runny egg. Then, be patient, as it’s going to take about 10-15 minutes. If you think the bottom is beginning to brown too quickly, (you’ll smell slight burning) lower the heat and cook for 5 mins or so longer.
- When it’s practically dry, place a large, flat plate over the pan, flip the pan over (using both hands with oven gloves), ending up with the frying pan over the plate. You’re basically transferring the tortilla to the plate.
- Place the plate to one side while you give the frying pan a quick wipe with a kitchen towel.
- Then add a drop of oil and gently ease the tortilla back into the pan using a spatula, including any runny egg and bits of sausages left on the plate, but be sure to slide these bits back underneath the tortilla, don’t leave them on the top, cooked part.
- Cook it for about 5 minutes on medium low heat – you want it cooked but still moist inside, overcooked eggs get tough and rubbery. And don’t forget that the eggs will continue cooking after they’re taken off the heat.
Shannon Peterson says
Yum! My family LOVES chorizo! We make it with eggs all the time for breakfast!
Ana De- Jesus says
I would love to make these with Quorn Sausages because this Spanish tortilla recipe looks so good.
Azlin Bloor says
That would be awesome, I’ve done that for my vegetarian friends.
Kathy says
This looks amazing. I have to try this out soon. This is going to make a great dinner this week. Yum!
Colette S says
Oh my! I haven’t had lunch and this just makes me want to lick the screen. I wont, but wow. Looks delicious!
CourtneyLynne says
Omg this looks absolutely delicious!!!! I must give your recipe a try!!!
Azlin Bloor says
Thank you Courtney!
Rosey says
I do love to come across recipes I’ve never tried before. This sounds (and looks!) really good to me.
Azlin Bloor says
Thank you, me too!
Liz Mays says
It sounds quite wonderful actually! I appreciate your cooking tips along the way as well.
Azlin Bloor says
Thank you Liz!
Anna Nuttall says
I’m at home always making Spanish tortilla as it such an easy recipe to make. xx
Azlin Bloor says
It sure is. x
Melanie Smith says
It looks so yummy! Spanish food is really delicious!
Azlin Bloor says
I totally agree!
Elizabeth O. says
It’s the perfect breakfast to start the day. I love omelettes because they are so easy to do and to put together. This one is jam-packed with pretty much everything you need for breakfast!
Azlin Bloor says
It certainly is!
Agnes Dela Cruz says
So filling dish! I love making tortilla and somewhat a variety of omelettes too. I will include this dish on my list and kids will surely love it.
Rachel Mouton says
This looks delicious! My kids would absolutely love this. I’m going to have to give it a try 🙂
Amy Jones says
Tortillas are so yummy! They’re so easy to make, I think it’s the first recipe I ever learned how to make properly: Thanks for sharing this 🙂
Enricoh Alfonzo says
haven’t tried tortilla’s before and this looks like the perfect recipe to start with. Mmmmm mouth watering