Spanish recipe

Tortilla Española

A thick Spanish omelette of slowly softened potatoes, onion and eggs, browned gently on both sides. The potatoes are cooked tender in olive oil, drained, mixed with egg, then set slowly so the centre stays moist rather than dry.

Spain

Prep
15 min
Cook
35 min
Total
50 min
Servings
4
Thick golden Spanish tortilla with visible potato layers in a cut wedge
Real finished-dish photographPhotograph by TamorlanSource page · Original file · CC BY 3.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

01

Ingredients

  • 700 g

    waxy or all-purpose potatoes, peeled

  • 180 g

    yellow onion, thinly sliced

  • 6

    large eggs

  • 250 ml

    olive oil for gently frying

  • 7 g

    fine salt, divided

02

Method

  1. 01

    Slice the potatoes

    Cut the peeled potatoes into 3–4 mm slices, then cut very large rounds in half. Toss with 4 g salt and slice the onion thinly so both soften at a similar rate.

    Tortilla Española, step 1: Slice the potatoes.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  2. 02

    Soften potatoes and onion

    Heat the olive oil in a 24 cm non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Add potatoes and onion and cook 15–18 minutes, turning gently every few minutes, until the potato slices bend and break easily but are only lightly golden.

    Tortilla Española, step 2: Soften potatoes and onion.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  3. 03

    Drain and rest the potato mixture

    Transfer potatoes and onion to a sieve over a bowl and drain for 3 minutes. Reserve 15 ml of the oil for the pan. Let the potato mixture cool another 3 minutes so it does not instantly coagulate the egg.

    Tortilla Española, step 3: Drain and rest the potato mixture.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  4. 04

    Mix with the eggs

    Beat the 6 eggs with the remaining 3 g salt just until combined. Fold in the warm potato-onion mixture and let it stand 5 minutes so the egg settles around the potatoes.

    Tortilla Española, step 4: Mix with the eggs.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  5. 05

    Set the first side

    Wipe the skillet, add the reserved 15 ml oil and heat over medium-low. Pour in the egg mixture, level it, and cook 5–7 minutes until the edge is set and golden while the top remains visibly moist.

    Tortilla Española, step 5: Set the first side.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  6. 06

    Flip, finish and rest

    Place a plate wider than the skillet over it, invert in one decisive motion, then slide the tortilla back into the pan. Cook 3–5 minutes more over low heat until the second side is golden and the centre is softly set. Rest 5 minutes before cutting.

    Tortilla Española, step 6: Flip, finish and rest.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

03

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Tortilla española-MMS — Photograph by Tamorlan; CC BY 3.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

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