Before anyone says it – I know Frittata’s are Italian! It should be a Spanish “Tortilla de patatas” but I’m really making a frittata that contains spanish ingredients. What’s the difference between a tortilla and a frittata? Not much, but a frittata is generally fluffier and is usually finished in the oven, a tortilla is pan fried, flipped and is mixed with fried potatoes. This “Spanish Frittata” is fried potato, eggs, chorizo and onions, pan fried together and then finished in the oven. The result is the taste of what should be a tortilla but with the fluffy texture of a frittata.
The Spanish Frittata makes for a nice main dish, side dish or even served cold at a picnic or as a salad. It’s quick and easy to make, scales easily and has only a handful of ingredients, most of which, people store in their cupboards. I usually make this as a quick evening meal, a couple of slices of this with a nice glass of red wine is all I need!
One minor change I like to make to most recipes is to use waxy potatoes rather than floury potatoes. Why do I do this? I like the change in texture, you get soft, fluffy egg mixed with silky chunks of slightly firm potatoes and soft, slightly chewy chorizo. If I did make proper Tortilla de patatas, then I would use floury potatoes as the egg would be more firm, solid and compact.
Ingredients (serves 4 as a main course):
1 Chorizo (225g)
300g Waxy Potatoes (Charlotte or others)
1 Large Onion
1 Clove Garlic
8 Large, fresh, free range Eggs
Olive Oil
Method:
1. Peel the potatoes and cut then into 1cm square chunks. Preheat your oven to 190C
2. Set a large oven proof saute pan to a medium heat with 3 tablespoons of Olive Oil.
3. Fry the potatoes, stirring occasionally to ensure they don’t burn.
4. While the potatoes are cooking, thinly slice the chorizo, slice the onion then crush and dice the clove of garlic.
5. Once the potatoes start to brown add in the onion, chorizo and garlic and fry until the chorizo oil oozes out and the potatoes are soft.
6. Remove the mix from the heat and reserve.
7. Crack all the eggs into a bowl and stiffly (but quickly) beat.
8. Add the potato/chorizo mix to the egg, stir then return it all to the pan – again on a medium heat. Season with salt and pepper.
9. As the egg begins to firm up, ensure the rest of the ingredients are evenly spread. Use a palette knife to stop the edges sticking.
10. Once about half of the egg has stiffened place the pan in the oven until it all becomes crispy and golden but just cooked in the middle.
11. Slice up the frittata and serve immediately.
Tips:
I occasionally throw in some herbs, thyme, parsley or dill work well.
This recipe is easily adapted, try adding peas.