Spanish Tortilla w/ Roasted Peppers, Peas & Garlic Aioli


When my friend Noel raves about a recipe, I know it's going to be great.

Since I don't get Cooks Illustrated, and they don't post their recipes online without a paid subscription, I cheated and copied it from food.com (Noel was kind enough to print it out for me too).

Sorry, C.I.

If you want to read why this recipe works using Yukon gold potatoes and about the technique, C.I. has an article on their website, but not the recipe.

I will share it with you, not to worry.

I have made this twice so far. The first time, I followed the recipe to the letter, making the garlic aioli w/ the egg yolks, slicing the potatoes skinny and waiting for the them to cook, etc.

The second time I cheated.

I used a big bowl of leftover sauteed potatoes from the night before, left in chunks, and it came out even better, I also used Hellman's mayo mixed w/ Dijon, garlic and lemon juice for a quick aioli and we loved it.

The difference between a Spanish tortilla and an Italian frittata is that the tortilla is done on the stove and flipping (pain in the butt) is involved, vs. baking the frittata in the oven. Also the tortilla has no cheese, and is mostly potatoes and eggs.
Here, Cooks Illustrated added peas and roasted peppers from a jar, and it was FANTASTIC!

Make sure you have all of your ingredients ready to go, and a couple of big plates for flipping. I'm pretty good at it by now, but my first flipping experience was almost a disaster. Be careful.


Tortilla Espanola w/ Roasted Peppers & Peas (adapted from Cooks Illustrated)

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 medium (about 1.5 lbs) yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered and cut into 1/8" slices
1 onion, halved and sliced thin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
8 large eggs
1/2 cup roasted red pepper, rinsed and dried and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

In a large bowl, toss together 4 tablespoons oil, potatoes, onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper until potatoes are well coated.


In a 10" nonstick (preferably commercial) skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat.

Reduce heat to medium low and add potato-onion mixture to skillet; reserve bowl.

Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, in the reserved bowl, whisk together eggs and 1/2 teaspoon salt until combined.

Add the roasted peppers and peas to the eggs.

When the potatoes and onions are done, remove skillet from heat and scrape contents into eggs and fold until combined.

Return skillet to stove and raise heat to medium high; heat another tablespoon just to smoke point.

Add potato-egg mixture to skillet and cook, while shaking and folding mixture for 15 seconds; smooth top of mixture.

Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook, gently shaking pan, until bottom is golden brown and top is set. Mine took about 10 minutes (though the recipe says 2 minutes).

Loosen tortilla from pan and CAREFULLY slide onto a plate; place another plate over top and flip over.


Slide tortilla back into skillet and cook until second side is golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Once again, slide out onto a cutting board and let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve.

Serve with garlic aioli......yummy stuff.


Garlic Aioli: (homemade mayonnaise)

2 large egg yolks
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 medium garlic clove, minced thru a garlic press
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp water
1/4 extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp black pepper

Process yolks, mustard, lemon juice and garlic in a food processor for 10 seconds until combined. With machine running, slowly drizzle in vegetable oil, about 1 minute.

Transfer mixture to a medium bowl and whisk in water. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in olive oil for about 30 seconds. Whisk in salt & pepper.

Refrigerate in an air tight container for up to 4 days.

(I used Hellman's the second time around, and added a tsp of lemon juice, 1 tbsp mustard and a garlic clove, and life was easy, just sayin'!).


xo

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Comments

Anonymous said…
My comment showed as Saved, then disappeared.

Perhaps it will show later?

When doing a large batch of hash browns, cooked like a large flat potato cake in butter in a skillet, I used to use a flat cookie sheet rather than a plate for the flipping. The cake would slide off the flat cookie sheet more easily.

Lulu
Stacey Snacks said…
LuLu,
Make this as the recipe reads, it wasn't too bad to flip it, it was just heavy for me in the cast iron skillet......regarding serving at room temperature: YES PLEASE! especially with that yummy aoli. This is one of the best tortillas I have ever made, I can't wait to make it again with chorizo.
Have a great weekend.
Stacey
Stacey Snacks said…
PS good tip about the cookie sheet, I will try it next time! Thank you!
Ciao Chow Linda said…
This looks like a perfect tortilla Stacey. I remember learning about these when I was first married, decades ago by a Spanish friend who cooked one for us in our kitchen, but I haven't made one in ages. She used to fry the potatoes in gobs of olive oil and it was yum. Love your aioli with it too. Do you ever eat anything dull?
Patsyk said…
I'm terrible at flipping things from skillets... I may give it a try with this because I know my kids would love it!
Anonymous said…
Thanks, Stacey! I thought I'd fallen into a black hole...

The flat rimless cookie sheet works very well. Just lay it face down (can swipe it with a bit of olive oil if it is regular aluminum like mine) on the large skillet of tortilla. With mitts on, grab the edges of the pan and the cookie sheet and carefully flip. I learned this in the days when I was using a large electric skillet (heavy). Most large nonstick skillets are not that heavy.

Once it is upside down on the cookie sheet, it is very simple to slide it back into the skillet.

If you want the original "top" on top, just reverse the process when it is done.

Lulu
Andrea said…
I'm from Argentina and this is an staple! One of my favorites dishes.
Dana said…
I ate a tortilla every single day for lunch on our 2 week honeymoon in Spain. It remains one of my favorite things to eat in the world. I read that article in CI and the sliding it out onto a plate and then flipping it changed my life. I was flipping from hot pan onto a plate and it was always a disaster.
I loved these in Spain, room temp, but it was made with a ton of oil. I'm not a good flipper....can't wait to try yours.
love cooking said…
This really looks fantastic and delicious. Something like this, I like to add some coriander also maybe some ham or sausages. It is so yummy… :)
Oui Chef said…
Eggs with aioli.....brilliant! I'm a big frittata fan, but will have to give this bad boy a go if only to test my flipping skills.
Janet said…
When I saw this recipe, I recognized it from a CI magazine. I made it, too, from their original recipe but I much prefer your version! I used the chunks of potato and, not only was it a lot easier to do, but it tasted better. I also used your "quick" aioli which was wonderful. We lived in Spain for three years and I always ordered tortillas at the tapas bars!
Marolleke said…
I use this tarte tatin pan to make my tortilla's. It is easy to flip them over with the handles. You can use it for gratins and other dishes, on the stove and in the oven.
http://www.lecreuset.co.uk/round-tatin.aspx

At the end of his video (it is in French) you can see how the flippingover works.
http://www.lecreuset.fr/fr-fr/Les-Gammes/Fonte/Plats-traditionnels-Plats-a-Tatin/Video-de-presentation/

Lisa Faley said…
Hi Stacey! I made this tonight and it was AWESOME! Although, I didn't have all the ingredients, so I changed it up but kept to your technique and it worked beautifully. Will be making this again for sure!
In case you're wondering... I used fresh spinach, chopped tomatoes, black olives and feta... then topped it with smoked salmon. Deelish! Next time though, I want to try the original!!
Use what you got, ya?!
Cali Hople said…
Great post with more information really useful for anyone. Very many new recipe.
Yes. I love cooking. I love to cook delicious foods for my family.
Thanks for sharing this post.
Aimy said…
Perfect recipe for this weekend!My kids will love it a lot. Thank you for sharing this!
Carmen Soriano said…
I am sorry but this is not a Spanish omelette (tortilla) by far... When I saw this recipe in the email from Cooks illustrated I was appalled. I'm Spanish and it's really annoying that a publication like CI (that I like and receive in my place) goes so wrong with something that is so close to me (being Spanish too).
Disappointing, really.
Stacey Snacks said…
Carmen
I agree, however, it tasted damn delicious!
Too many things in the world right now to piss me off.....an omelet/tortilla is not one of them! 😉
Carol said…
I tried this receipt yesterday and wow, so delicious.
Thank you for posting!
Unknown said…
Great recipe - I added sliced mushrooms, garlic, and some grated parmesan cheese and Mrs. Dash. Omitted the peas and added some chopped cooked asparagus.