Spanish omelette

History

The first reference to the tortilla in Spanish is found in a Navarrese document, as an anonymous "Mousehole's memorial" addressed to the Navarra region's court in 1817. It explains the sparse conditions of Navarre's farmers in contrast with those in Pamplona (the capital) and la Ribera (in southern Navarre). After listing the sparse food eaten by highlanders, the next quote follows: "…two to three eggs in tortilla for 5 or 6 as our women do know how to make it big and thick with fewer eggs, mixing potatoes, breadcrumbs or whatever."

According to legend, during the siege of Bilbao, Carlist general Tomás de Zumalacárregui invented the "tortilla de patatas" as an easy, fast and nutritious dish to satisfy the scarcities of the Carlist army. Although it remains unknown whether this is true, it appears the tortilla started to spread during the early Carlist wars.

Another tale is that the recipe was learnt by Spanish prisoners captured after the Battle of Montes Claros during the Portuguese Restoration War in 1665. After the Portuguese victory, more than 6,000 Spanish soldiers were kept in captivity for 3 years until the 1668 Treaty of Lisbon was signed. Upon their release, these prisoners brought part of the culture of Alentejo to Spain, including many recipes, which featured a potato egg pie that evolved into the modern version of "tortilla".

Nomenclature

Tortilla, in European Spanish, means omelette. As such, a potato omelette is a tortilla de patatas or papas.

As the dish has gained international popularity, and perhaps to avoid being mixed up with the thin flatbread made out of wheat or maize popular in parts of Latin America such as Mexico and Central America, the española or Spanish naming gained traction. As such, Spanish omelette or Spanish tortilla are its common names in English, while tortilla española is formally accepted name even within the peninsula.

Tortilla is the diminutive form of torta, meaning 'small pancake'.

Consumption and traditional recipe

The Spanish omelette is one of the most widely available dishes in Spain, also prepared in some Spanish-speaking countries.

The two main options are either with or without onion in it, with consumers almost always having a preference. The addition of onion is often controversial, and sometimes may be related to the tenderness of the local varieties of potato. The indication of whether a tortilla includes onion or not is expected from restaurateurs, and industrial producers market both options.

The most common procedure to cook a Spanish omelette is as follows:

• The potatoes, ideally a starchy variety, are cut into thin slices or small dice.
• They are then seasoned and sautéed in vegetable oil, ideally olive oil. These ingredients are stirred at a moderate temperature until they are soft but not brown.
• The potatoes are then removed, drained, and mixed with whisked eggs.
• This mixture is then returned to the pan and slowly grilled, turning the omelette to grill both sides.
• In order to turn it, once the eggs are cooked on one side, a plate should be placed over the mixture so the pan can be inverted.
• The mixture is then slipped back into the pan to cook the other side.

The omelette may be eaten hot, at room temperature, or cold; it is commonly served as a tapa. As a tapa, it may be cut into bite-size pieces and served on cocktail sticks; a large tortilla can be cut into triangular portions (pincho de tortilla) to be eaten as a finger food.

A very large tortilla was made by 12 chefs in Vitoria, Spain in 2014, who claimed it to be a record. It was 5 m (16 ft) in diameter, and used 1.6 tons of potatoes, 16,000 eggs, 150 l (33 imp gal; 40 US gal) of oil, 26 kg (57 lb) of onions, and 15 kg (33 lb) of salt.