Photos and Recipe By Cody Owens
Usually the TSA at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport is pretty chill, but they made me throw away my bottle of hot sauce I was taking to Spain. Obviously Europe is lovely, but I’ve been enough to know I need to keep that Louisiana Hot Sauce in my bag.
Luckily, during our layover in Atlanta, I was able to get a huge handful of hot sauce packets from a taco spot in Concourse C and we were on our way.
That brings us to little miss Spanish Tortilla. At a glance you might think, ok what’s the big deal? It’s basically a potato omelette. WRONG! She is the moment. She is a snack. She is an app. She can get dressed up and be the star of the meal if she wants.
When I tell y’all I ate about 40 of these during my two weeks there, I’m not joking. The potatoes and onions are gently cooked in an obscene amount of olive oil (that you can save and reuse). The end result is a velvety and simple little dish that will surprise you and keep you coming back for more (and more and more and more).
Far be it from me to plant my flag in this very famous Spanish dish and call it my own recipe. But I’ve put a lil’ Southern twist on it, and at the end of the day, everyone needs to have this technique in their back pocket so let’s get into it.
Ingredients
3 medium/large Russet Potatoes
1 yellow onion
8 eggs
750 ml of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt (or just measure with your heart)
Louisiana Hot Sauce (or any vinegar-based hot sauce you like)
How To
This recipe is for a 10-inch pan. A non-stick pan is ideal, but I use a carbon steel pan at home and it works just fine. I’ve seen people use cast iron with great success too.
Start by whisking the eggs and adding Lawry’s. This helps the eggs retain moisture and makes the final dish tender and evenly seasoned. Set aside.
Peel and thinly slice the potatoes into disks, maybe 1/8 inch thick. Thinly slice the onion as well.
Layer them in the pan and add olive oil until it completely covers potatoes and onion – a 750ml bottle should be enough. Turn on heat and cook on low until potatoes are very tender — this could take 25 minutes or more on a gentle simmer.
Once tender, remove the potatoes and onions from the oil and let them cool slightly. Season them with Lawry’s too.
During this time, transfer the olive oil from the pan to a container for later use – it’s now seasoned and is really nice for dressings or drizzling over some meat.
Slowly add the potatoes and onion to the eggs. Add several dashes of hot sauce too.
In the same pan, add roughly 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and turn the heat on to medium/medium low. Once hot, carefully add the egg, potato and onion mix.
Cook until the edges begin to get firm and the center begins to set – this could take 6-8 minutes depending on your stove. Use a spatula to free up the sides from the pan.
Here’s the tricky part but you got this. Get a large plate and put it over the top of the pan. Quickly and confidently flip it over. Trust me, you got this. Use an oven mitt! Slide the flipped tortilla back into the pan and finish cooking for three to five more minutes until it’s fully set.
And look, you did it! These are best served at room temperature or cold. Do not eat it right away even though you’re going to want to. I put hot sauce on the top, but you can really add anything you like – maybe even crème fraîche and caviar. Go nuts!
I understand this seems like A LOT. But I promise you can do it and you’ll be very proud of yourself. No two tortillas are the same and I myself am still trying to get better every time. Aren’t we all?
