Tortilla de Patatas

(pictures to come when I manage to find a battery charger for my camera)

I haven't gone grocery shopping in a while. In fact, the only things I really have in the kitchen right now are -kind of- boring staples. But I'm not in the mood for something boring.

When I visited Spain years ago, one classic item on every menu was a tortilla de patatas. Not to be confused with a Mexican tortilla, the Spanish tortilla is basically an omelet filled with sliced potatoes. At the time, I was horrified - I hated eggs. But now, I actually love to eat eggs, although I'm not sure what sparked this late-in-life transition. I haven't eaten tortilla since that ill-fated menu-mix up in Barcelona, but I happened to have had the ingredients on hand today.

I looked online for some more information on this standard Spanish dish, which is also sometimes called tortilla Espanola. I found one recipe that looked alright here, and found an even better one at my old standby, Epicurious.com, which can be found here. However, both used ingredients and techniques that I just wasn't comfortable with. Flipping a loose, shaky plate full of eggs? Not so sure about that... Four large potatoes? I'm penniless, remember? The following is what I came up with, using ingredients I actually had:

Tortilla de Patatas with Paprika Aioli

Aioli:

1 egg yolk

two cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 tsp dried mustard

juice from half a lemon

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (you can use another oil if you prefer - I like the taste of olive oil)

1/2 tsp paprika

salt to taste

Add the egg yolk, garlic, mustard and lemon juice to a large bowl. Stir until frothy. Start to whisk in the oil, one drop at a time. If you add it too quickly, the aioli will separate. Once it starts to gel together, you can add the oil in a steady stream. Add a pinch or two of salt, then taste for seasoning. Set aside.

Tortilla:

1 large russet potato

1 onion

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

4 eggs

pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Peel and slice potato into thin slices (about 5 mm thick). Boil until slices are tender, being careful not to over boil - you want the potatoes to keep their shape. Meanwhile, slice and saute the onion and garlic in a pan in 1 tbsp of the oil. You can cook the onions until they're translucent, or for more flavour, cook them until they're starting to brown and caramelize. In a bowl, crack the eggs and beat with a fork. Add salt and pepper, and the potatoes and onions. Mix evenly. On the stove, heat a heavy cast iron pan. Add the 2nd tbsp of oil and swirl to spread. Pour the egg mixture into the pan, being careful to flatten it evenly with a spoon. After about 5 minutes, the edges will look set and the middle should be watery. Put in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the middle feels firm. When you remove from the oven, place a serving plate over the pan. With both hands in oven mitts, hold the pan and plate and flip, inverting the tortilla onto the serving plate.

Serve warm or cold with paprika aioli. Should serve 8 as appetizers or 2-4 as a main dish.

Enjoy!