Repertoire's Tortilla Española-Famous Fridays
Happy Friday! So excited to share my first Famous Fridays post of the year with you, both because it’s so good to finally get back into the swing of a normal routine again, and also because I have been loving the food and cooking philosophy from Jessica Battilana’s terrific cookbook, Repertoire: All the Recipes You Need. It’s a gorgeous compilation of 75 of her designed-for-the-home-chef recipes, like this absolutely delish and easy one for Tortilla Española (she actually refers to it as Cheater’s Tortilla Española—c’mon, who can resist a title like that?!!)
But before we start the potato, egg and onion talk, let’s chat a little bit about Repertoire and what makes it such a standout. The premise of the book (which I sometimes forget in my never ending quest to find the newest and greatest dish) is to put aside about the 100’s of recipes that come your way and to instead, focus on a set of flexible and reliable dishes that you can make over and over again that will allow you to be a rockstar in the kitchen—in short, to build a little cooking “repertoire” for yourself. If you think this sounds boring, think again because Jessica explains how you can vary and riff on these tried and true dishes to keep things exciting. She also makes a good point for how cooking this way takes the stress out of meal planning, and who couldn’t do with a little less of that?!! Sign me up! Especially when her repertoire includes dishes like Sweet Corn Fritters, Maine Truck Stop Baked Beans, Grilled Tahini Chicken, Twice Baked Magic Souffles, Maple Blueberry Cornmeal Cake and this wonderful Cheater’s Tortilla Española, a dish I’ve been wanting to learn how to make for a long time now.
We are quite fond of omelets and egg dishes around here and I’ve always been intrigued with the Spanish take on it, but a little intimidated to try it out since all the recipes I’ve ever seen always include the flipping of the tortilla in the pan, a technique I’ve never been quite able to master—I think I have weak wrists, lol!
But Jessica’s totally solved this problem. In fact that’s why she calls it a “cheat”. Instead of the flip, she has you cook the tortilla on the stovetop until the bottom is set and then finish it off with a quick stint under the broiler to brown the top. Easy-peasy and stress-free!
And so, so yummy!
The combination of sliced potatoes, onions and eggs is just magical—the tortilla cooks up light, fluffy and flavorful with a wonderfully crispy top!
It works for any time of day—brunch, lunch or paired with a salad for a light, late-night dinner.
It’s also just as great cold or at room temperature as it is hot, which means you can make it early in the day for later or enjoy leftover wedges for lunch.
It’s a 100% keeper that will definitely be going into my repertoire and I think that after you take that first bite, you’ll be adding it to yours too!!
Have a great weekend everyone!!
Repertoire’s Tortilla Española-Famous Fridays
Makes one 9-inch tortilla
Prep Time: Under 45 minutes
Ingredients
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
10 large eggs
Kosher salt and black pepper
Flaky sea salt for serving (optional)
The Recipe
1. Use a sharp knife or mandoline to slice the potatoes, into ¼-inch slices. Heat the oil in a large cast iron pan over medium heat—it will seem like a lot of oil, but you want the potatoes and onions to be submerged. Add the potatoes and onions and push them down into the oil—don’t worry that it seems too crowded, the onions will lose volume as they cook and there will be more room. Lower the heat so that the oil is bubbling gently and let cook for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes and onions are tender but not browned. Set a colander over a heatproof bowl and dump the whole mixture into it so that the oil is reserved below.
2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until well-mixed. Season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and stir in the potato-onion mixture. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved oil into the same pan you already used and heat over medium heat. Arrange an oven rack about 3 inches away from the broiler and preheat the broiler.
3. Pour the egg-potato mixture into the frying pan, lower the heat to medium-low and cook for about 5-7 minutes, until the edges are set and the bottom is golden brown (you can use a rubber spatula to sort of peek under and also run it around the inner edge of the pan to prevent the sides from sticking to the pan). The top should still be kind of runny.
4. Place the pan into the oven beneath the broiler and let cook for 2-3 minutes, until puffed and golden. Watch carefully because it can quickly go from perfect to burned. Remove from the oven and run the spatula around the edges to loosen the tortilla. Invert a large plate over the top and in one motion, flip the pan over so that the tortilla is on the plate OR cheat even a little more and just leave it in the pan and serve directly from there (so much easier!). Let the tortilla cool slightly, then sprinkle with the salt if using and cut into wedges and serve as is or with aioli, mayo or this sauce on the side.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from Repertoire by Jessica Battilana. Jessica serves this with her homemade Aioli. I used leftover Copycat Shake Shack Sauce but the tortilla is great on its own too.
