The tapa recipe that’s been a Boqueria menu staple for nearly 20 years
We enjoy dining at Boqueria because we are huge fans of tapas. We love trying the different items on the menu, whether vegetable, seafood or meat, but we never fail to order the tortilla espanola. How do they manage to always produce such tender, flavorful potatoes?
— Chris Harrell, Atlanta
Tortilla Espanola, or Spanish tortilla, is a mainstay of the menu at the 11 Boqueria locations, and has been on the menu for almost 20 years.
Yann de Rochefort, the founder of Boqueria, provided the recipe and these notes. “What defines a proper Spanish tortilla is a question that has animated kitchens across Spain for generations. For some cooks, it is simply potatoes slowly softened in olive oil and bound with eggs into a thick omelet. Others insist onions are essential. Some prefer the center barely set, while others cook it through until firm. Like many enduring dishes, the answer often comes down to where and how you learned to make it.
“At Boqueria, we lean toward the version that includes onions, with the eggs cooked just to the edge of set. In Spain, the tortilla is often one of the first dishes children learn to prepare at home. If they can master it, so can you.”
The restaurant uses sweet yellow Spanish onions. If you can’t find Spanish onions, any in-season sweet onions will work. The olive oil remaining after the potatoes and onions are cooked can be used as a flavored oil for scrambling eggs or sautéing root vegetables.
Boqueria’s Tortilla Espanola
- 2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/3-inch thick half-moons
- 8 eggs
- Morton’s kosher salt
- 1 large sweet onion
- 2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
- Rinse potato half-moons in cold water to remove excess starch and prevent slices from sticking when cooking. Drain, then spread on paper towels to dry completely.
- Whisk eggs in a very large bowl with a generous pinch of salt until well-blended. Let stand until ready to use.
- Peel onion and cut into quarters. Then cut each quarter into 1/2-inch slices. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until almost smoking, about 4 minutes. If you touch a piece of potato to the oil, it should sizzle immediately.
- Remove skillet from heat and carefully add all of the potatoes. The pan will be very full. Put the pan back on the heat.
- Turn the heat to high, salt the potatoes generously, and using tongs, gently and carefully move them around to be sure they’re all submerged in the oil.
- When oil begins boiling, about 2 minutes, very carefully add the onion, gently pushing into the oil.
- Lower the heat to medium-high and cook, gently stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and a paring knife easily pierces a potato, about 15 minutes. The potatoes should be tender, but not soft and mushy. It’s OK if they brown a little, but if they start to brown too much, lower the heat to medium or medium-low.
- Set a large strainer over a bowl and carefully pour the potato mixture into strainer. Reserve oil.
- Immediately transfer the hot potato mixture to the bowl of beaten eggs and, using a silicone spatula, gently fold until well mixed.
- Wipe skillet clean and set over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of reserved oil and swirl to coat the bottom and sides. When the oil starts to smoke, after about 30 seconds, carefully pour in egg mixture all at once.
- Immediately use silicone spatula to stir egg mixture vigorously for about 10 seconds, then spread mixture in an even layer. The edges should bubble and set immediately. Reduce heat to low.
- Use the silicone spatula to fold the cooked edges around the edge of the pan, creating a 1/2-inch rim of cooked egg all around and forming the tortilla into a perfect round. Cook for 1 minute.
- Remove skillet from heat and center a heat-proof plate larger than the diameter of the skillet over the top. Protecting your hand with a dish towel, flip the skillet and plate over. Remove skillet and let tortilla rest 10 minutes before serving. Eggs will continue cooking in the residual heat of the potatoes.
- Tortilla can be served warm or at room temperature. Reserve remaining oil for another use.
Serves 8.
Per serving, using 2 teaspoons kosher salt: 370 calories (percent of calories from fat, 60), 9 grams protein, 28 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total sugars, 3 grams fiber, 25 grams total fat (4 grams saturated), 186 milligrams cholesterol, 361 milligrams sodium.
From the menu of ... Boqueria, Colony Square, 1221 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta. 770-764-8364. boqueriarestaurant.com.
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