Here are my top tips for improving your tortilla game:
- Buy a non-stick pan.
- Don’t be cheap with oil – fill a pan to at least your first pinky knuckle, ½ to ¾ inch, before heating and adding potatoes + onions.
- Low and slow – begin sautéing potatoes and onions at the same time, and cook them low and slow until the potatoes are done. To test, use a wooden spoon to press down on one – they should mash easily when cooked.
- Salt, salt and more salt – keep salting and tasting at every step. Salt the cooking potatoes and onions; salt the eggs after you beat them; salt the entire mixture once you add the potatoes and onions to the egg. If you try to salt once the tortilla is finished, it’s just not the same – the salt glides on the surface and will never quite incorporate into the flavor. This creates an imbalance that really peeves me.
- Don’t fear the flip – it’s not that big’a deal, guys. Just make sure you have a plate that’s larger than the pan and do it with confidence. If you starting freaking out you’re gonna half-ass it and end up with an armful of hot, drippy eggs. Take a deep breath and just do the thing.
Ingredients:
5 large eggs
4 medium-size white potatoes, peeled
½ large white onion, sliced thin
2-3 leave of Swiss chard, bottoms removed, sliced widthwise (1 inch thick)
Copious amounts of olive oil
Kosher salt
Herby aioli for serving (optional, but prolly shouldn’t be)
Preparation:
- Half potatoes lengthwise then cut into ¼ inch slides.
- Heat oil over medium-low in 10-inch non-stick pan. When oil is hot (bubbles with you add a drop of water), add potatoes and onions. The pan might seem crowded at first, but don’t worry, they’ll shrink down. Stir occasionally.
- While potatoes and onions cook, beat eggs in a large boil, add a few healthy pinches of salt, and beat again. Let rest (outside of fridge).
- Meanwhile, add an inch of water to a medium pot and place over medium heat. Fill a steam basket with Swiss chard, add to pot and cover with lid. When water begins to boil, steam for about 3 minutes. While water is boiling, create an ice bath. Remove steamed Swiss chard to ice bath. This will maintain the color and keep it from continuing to cook / getting soggy.
- When potatoes and onions are cooked (all are translucent-ish and any potato will easily mash when pressed – also, taste for salt) remove from heat. Drain oil into an a heat-safe container and add mixture to eggs. Stir and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Add couple tablespoons of oil to pan and heat over low-medium. Add mixture to pan and use a spatula to make sure mixture is evenly spread throughout pan. Add tortilla cooks, use spatula to gently round the edges – to ensure the classic tortilla shape.
- When you start smelling that the bottom of the tortilla is cooked and mixture is wet on the top but seems set beneath (give the pan a healthy shake to test), place a place over pan, hand on top of plate, and flip pan on top of plate. Place pan back on stove, and slide your tortilla back into pan, to finish cooking the other side. Cook at low for 3-5 minutes then turn off heat and let tortilla rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Slice and serve with aioli and crusty bread.
