Spanish Omlette - Tortilla

Happy 2014 to all! Out with the old, in with the new... well, unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case for the weather, so here is a Spanish recipe to get us ready for Spring and warmer weather. A note - make it before you get hungry, otherwise you might end up eating it all.. like me...

Tortilla
Prep time: 1 hr
Serves: 3

Ingredients
1 onion, 110g
275g potatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
5 large eggs

You will also need: a 20cm diameter deep frying pan, as light as possible. The size is important as it means the tortilla will be the right thickness for these cooking times. The weight is important as you will need to flip it over.

Method

1.    Peel the onion and cut it into two halves. Then slice each onion half thinly and separate each slice into the crescent-shaped pieces.
   
2. Peel and wash the potatoes. Pare them thinly - i.e., slice up with a peeler rather than a knife.
   
3. Press a clean towel over the potato slices to squeeze out the excess water.
4. Put 2 tbsp of the olive oil into the frying pan and heat on a high temperature until the oil begins to smoke slightly.
5. Add the potatoes and onion. They should hiss slightly on entering the pan. Coat them completely with the oil, using a wooden spatula or similar flat utensil to move them around the pan.
   
6. Turn the heat down as low as possible and season with salt and pepper. Put the lid on and leave for 20 mins, turning the potato over at half way to stop browning. Shake the pan every so often.
7. Break the eggs into a large bowl and beat lightly with a fork, but not too much. Add some pepper.
8. When the potatoes are done, add them to the bowl and mix in well.
9. Put the heat back up to a medium heat and add the last tbsp of olive oil. 
10. Pour the mixture back into the frying pan and turn down the heat to lowest again immediately.
11. Leave for 20 mins, uncovered. Every so often, use a palette knife to pull the tortilla away from the edges a bit and form a nice circle.
    
12. When the egg is all but cooked (the sheen should have gone - this should be after 20 minutes) take a plate and place it over the pan, and turn it over so the tortilla falls onto the plate. Then, carefully push it back into the pan this way up (so it should now be inverted). Leave to cook for two more minutes.
13. Turn off the heat completely and leave for 5 minutes.
14. Serve either warm or cold, with salad. This can be either a main or a side, depending on the wedge size you cut.