Real Spanish omelette

Real Spanish omelette

Make an omelette the Catalonian way, a classic dish made simple with only 5 ingredients.

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in about 1 hour

Method

  1. Scrape the potatoes or leave the skins on, if you prefer. Cut them into thick slices. Chop the onion.
  2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the potatoes and onion and stew gently, partially covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are softened. Strain the potatoes and onions through a colander into a large bowl (set the strained oil aside).
  3. Beat the eggs separately, then stir into the potatoes with the parsley and plenty of salt and pepper. Heat a little of the strained oil in a smaller pan. Tip everything into the pan and cook on a moderate heat, using a spatula to shape the omelette into a cushion.
  4. When almost set, invert on a plate and slide back into the pan and cook a few more minutes. Invert twice more, cooking the omelette briefly each time and pressing the edges to keep the cushion shape. Slide on to a plate and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

516 kcalories, protein 12.0g, carbohydrate 23.0g, fat 43.0 g, saturated fat 7.0g, fibre 2.0g, salt 0.31 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, September 2003.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • 2008-01-10 09:35:21.064063

    Rebeca commented on this recipe

    As far as I know, spanish omelette doesn't have parsely and pepper. The potatos and onions should be chopped in small dices. Finally, the onion should be fried before adding the potatos. And all should be cooked with low power

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  • 2008-07-22 13:23:53.851638

    Cova commented on this recipe

    I agree with Rebeca. Spanish tortilla doesnt have parsley or pepper. Maybe it is just to addapt it a bit to british taste. In the Spanish traditional way potatoes are chopped in kind of thin slices. The onions are finelly chopped and I add them to the potatoes together with the salt before frying.

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  • 2009-03-07 19:59:29.778582

    smartiepants commented on this recipe

    I too agree with the above comments, in all the cities of Spain that I have eaten Tortilla Espanol, it has never had Parsley in it, can't be too sure about the pepper, though I don't recollect there being any. I also beleive the Spaniards use a lot more olive oil than 150 mls, and then they keep whats left over for the next tortilla and so on. They also have special double pans that they use to eliminate the need for sliding it onto a plate, however these pans are purely convenience, but next time you are on holiday in spain, it might be worth your while buying a double tortilla pan if you make this often. Torilla espanol is fabulous when made properly and this recipe is very close. xxxx

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  • 2009-07-08 15:42:23.189819

    AnnieH rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I have made Mary Cadogan's Spanish Omelette several times now and it is delicious - with or without the parsley! :-) I would always add pepper because I like it and it enhances the flavours. I like smartiepants comments re the double tortilla pan!

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  • 2010-05-04 10:48:28.42349

    anirac commented on this recipe

    hi, I dont' know undestand because this ricepe is called "catalan style"? in Catalonia there is some "typical" omelletes like "with spinachs and raisins and pine nuts" or "with beans and black sause" or "with achycory"...but we dont' have a "catalan" style to cook the potates omelette! http://paamboliisucre.blogspot.com/

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  • 2010-08-31 16:45:56.30287

    Linda commented on this recipe

    I lived and worked in Spain for 12 years and a Spanish friend taught me how to make Spanish tortilla, There is no parsley or pepper in the mix, weather you slice or dice your potatoes is an individual preference. Once your potatoes and onions are cooked, and this is very important you always add your mix to the eggs never the other way round. ( It does make a difference ). You only turn the tortilla once.

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  • 2010-09-09 19:40:01.066701

    Edward commented on this recipe

    OK, I am not a cook, I am not even a bad cook. But I had some new potatoes from my barrels in the garden and found this recipe. It was superb - and my expertise is extremely limited. I have eaten Spanish Omelette in Spain and elsewhere many times and this was a good as it gets. (I may not cook, but I eat at national championship levels). I had no parsley, but otherwise it was A OK. Maybe I will put some tomatoes in it next time. Ahhhh, is that a shreak I hear?

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  • 2010-09-10 08:06:59.140682

    Edward rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 2010-10-19 22:00:05.206503

    StrangeInPlaces commented on this recipe

    Would agree with the comments above. The wife is Spanish and she wouldn't recognise the recipe above - parsley, pepper, thick sliced potato etc are all out of place for an authentic Spanish tortilla. Which is no big deal, but the receipe is called *Real* Spanish Omelette.

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  • 2011-05-20 17:30:38.709806

    haken2907 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I to agree with the comments above, but it is always a matter of taste. I like the omelette with black pepper. I am catalan and I would like to add that for a good Tortilla, it is best with red potatoes, the ones that are a bit yellow inside. The potato and the onion should be a bit crispy before you ad them to the eggs. You should put a lid or plate on the pan, so that it cooks ok. The Tortilla should be quite thick. With the tortilla, the best is to have bread "french" with rubbed tomato. You have to rube a juice red tomato, ad a bit of salt and spur some olive oil. You can also make toast and rub garlic before the tomato. Its great!!! Bon profit!!

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  • Binder photo max

    2011-06-15 12:39:45.947762

    max commented on this recipe

    Having had Real Spanish omelette from a real Spanish Tortilla restaurant in El Ferrol I can say that you can put almost anything you want in it. The choice of extra ingredients or variations offered on the menu went on for many pages. All served with an excellent glass of Faustino rioja wine.

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  • 2011-07-20 21:35:15.686521

    gibby commented on this recipe

    Made this recipe and found it to be delicious... my friend who tried it says it was the best he has ever tasted..... thankyou mary for a fantastic dish.

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  • 2011-08-01 20:11:13.410589

    Chloe rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this for a Spanish tapas evening, and I'm so glad I did. It was the simplest, tastiest thing I served up and got rave reviews from the guests! It was a while ago I made it now but I don't think I added anything to the basic ingredients, though I have since made it with red pepper and another version with cheese and spring onion. However, I think this classic recipe is the best. Absolutely delicious.

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  • 2011-08-16 13:26:41.317155

    courtwick commented on this recipe

    When in Spain look out for a tortilla plate. You will find them in those road side china stores. The plate has a knob or handle on the underside so that you can hold the plate while turning the frying pan over.

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  • 2011-08-16 20:39:59.036501

    courtwick commented on this recipe

    Further to my previous comment. In my teens and twentys. I spent a lot of time in Spain working casually in tapas bars. The tortilla is broad spread over all Spain and does have many variations. Pepper is often confused with ground pepper, which of course is used as seasoning the world over. Paprica or capsicum can be used in tortilla, just as peas and leeks or any other stewed ingrediants and then infused with the lightly forked egg; traditionaly 5 eggs. Spanish cooking is peasant based and anything available was used for whatever. Tortilla is wonderfull use and experiment with it. But eat it cold!!!

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  • 2011-10-25 05:36:05.191198

    Sue in San Diego commented on this recipe

    Our family has had 2 Spanish girls stay us in the past at different times, one from Barcelona & one from Madrid. They both cooked their version of "Spanish Omelette" for us, and both recipes were different from night to day. The Madrid girl deep fried her potatoes first, then cooked some with onions & some with bell peppers, to suit our family's tastes, and the result was amazing! The omelette from the Barcelona girl was just like we'd cook here at home, just fried potatoes & onions with scrambled eggs, and toast. Luckily we had hers first, and the delicious one a few years later. I was looking on here to find a recipe resembling the better one.

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  • 2011-12-09 22:27:45.501565

    Cooking Copper rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Cannot fault this recipe. Worked perfectly for my tapas evening with family. The only thing I did differently is instead of turning the omelette, I put it in the oven to finish off the top side and then turned it out on to a plate for serving (only because I would've messed up trying to turn it in the frying pan).

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  • 2012-03-27 19:16:22.527156

    misformilkshake commented on this recipe

    this did not work out! bad receipe, hard to turn in frying pan and to make look presentable.

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  • 2012-06-19 10:54:57.574795

    HueyNRolf commented on this recipe

    I cook this often and we're always pleased with the result. My problem is getting it cooked through enough to invert without burning the outside. We've been to Spain many times and there the tortilla has a nice yellow outer surface and cooked well on the inside.

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  • 2012-07-01 19:52:02.411221

    Teast rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is the first time I've made a Spanish Omelette that tasted like the ones I've eaten in Spain. Although I ate mine in Alicante rather than Catalonia.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in about 1 hour

Classic dish made simple

Ingredients

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516 kcalories, protein 12.0g, carbohydrate 23.0g, fat 43.0 g, saturated fat 7.0g, fibre 2.0g, salt 0.31 g

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