with Salmorejo sauce

Inspired by Spanish flavours and following my previous recipe, I bring you one of the most popular traditional dishes of Spain The Spanish Omelette tasty and nutritious, and honestly so simple that once you nail it I am sure you are going to have it on a weekly rotation at home.

Breakfast, lunch or dinner you decide which course you want to serve this amazing omelette in, I think it fits any moment in the day and even as a main with a side salad is a very satisfying meal.

A dish with simple ingredients and humble beginnings like many famous European dish, that resembles frittattas from Italy a lot less eggy and with such a subtle flavour that goes well with many other flavour pairings as well as easy to vary into something truly special.

Spanish omelette also called Spanish Tortilla, in its most traditional form is an omelette made with potatoes with or without onions and very little egg compared to the amount of potatoes barely holding the cake-like omelette in a dense but soft tasty bite, like any traditional dishes you can find variations in all parts of Spain like the addition of chorizo or sausage, and even tiny speckles of “guindilla” or red chili for added flavour and colour.

The way is eaten also varies, with people enjoying it hot, or cold, Spanish Omelette has a normal appearance in traditional Tapas, which is the name for a group of appetizer bite-size dishes also popular in Spain.

There’s different rumours on how Spanish Omelette originated but all have something in common it was a dish made to feed large families when resources were scarce, using few ingredients to create a meal that was nutritious and filling.

As humble as it is I decided to get a bit more refined pairing it with a sauce and some dressed rocket and with the aim to keep it as Spanish as possible I included a Salmorejo sauce inspired by the Spanish cold soup of the same name, which is made by blending ripe tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and breadcrumbs, to create a thick rich soup that is often paired with hard boil eggs and Jamon Iberico, therefore I thought it would go very well with an egg-based Omelette.

In order to add complexity to the flavours, I went for roasted tomatoes and smoked red paprika (you can skip this step but you will need to adjust the acidity of the sauce since raw tomatoes are acidic so you should add less vinegar).

Tips to make Spanish Omelette

Olive oil is used in most cooking applications in Spain even for frying, for this recipe avoid Extra Virgin Olive Oil as it has a low smoke point and stick to Light Olive Oil or a Mixture of Canola Oil and Light Olive Oil if you don’t have any, stick to a neutral oil with high smoke points like grapeseed oil, canola or sunflower.
You can slice potatoes or dice in 2cm cubes depending on the way you like the finished dish, I love slicing them I feel this helps cooking the potatoes at the beginning much faster and also the omelette gets a compact cake look and feel.
Potatoes must always cook before making the omelette however always ensure they are still firm enough not mushy.
Use starchy potatoes like Russet or similar.
The addition of onions is optional.
Season the potatoes well after the first cook and drain and cool before adding them to the eggs so they don’t scramble.
Being so simple you can try many options to customise this dish, like adding chives or spring onions, adding extra veggies to the mix like peas, corn or mushrooms, or one of my kids favourite making a filled Spanish omelette by adding a layer of the egg and potatoes and then adding layers of cheese, ham or Spanish chorizo in the middle and topping up with more egg mixture.