Friday, March 12, 2010

Foolproof Spanish Tortilla

I owe Beth big for figuring out a way to cook a Spanish tortilla the easy way. Her discovery - simply baking it in a cake pan - not only takes the stress and guesswork out of cooking it in a skillet on the cook top, but the finished product also tastes a whole lot better. The evenness of the oven cooks it way more gently. I'll never use a skillet again.

You can add whatever you like. I like the look of the red pepper in there, but asparagus would look great too. Just start with the potato/onion and add from there. Here's how:

Oven baked Spanish Tortilla
Print recipe only here

INGREDIENTS
5 T extra virgin olive oil
5-6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, quartered, and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices
1 small onion , halved and sliced thin
1 t salt
Fresh ground black pepper
10 large eggs
1 red pepper, roasted, rinsed and diced (or 1/2 cup jarred roasted red peppers , rinsed, dried, and diced)

METHOD
Line a 9-inch cake pan with a piece of parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350.

Toss potatoes, onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper with 3 T of the olive oil in large bowl until potato slices are thoroughly coated. Heat 2 T oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Reduce heat to medium-low, add potato mixture to skillet, and set bowl aside without washing. Cover and cook, stirring with rubber spatula every 5 minutes, until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Now prep your add-ins. I like it just with roasted red pepper (fresh or, in a pinch, jarred ones). Other options: cooked greens like chard, diced chorizo, bacon or prosciutto, asparagus tips or fresh green peas. Before adding anything to the eggs, you must first sauté or thoroughly drain and dry it.

Whisk eggs and remaining ½ teaspoon salt in reserved bowl. Using rubber spatula, fold hot potato mixture, red peppers, and any other add-ins you like into eggs. Pour into the parchment-lined 9-inch cake pan and bake for 30-40 minutes until puffed up and golden. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then invert onto a large, flat plate. Remove the parchment paper, invert onto a second plate (or foil-wrapped cake circle) for service. Serve at room temperature.

No comments: