Everything about Tortilla De Patatas totally explained
The
tortilla de patatas or
Spanish omelette is an
egg omelette with fried
potatoes. Frequently it also includes
onion and
garlic, depending on region or taste. The potatoes and onions are sliced and fried in abundant oil (preferably
olive oil) so they get fried but also boiled in the oil. Then they're mixed with raw beaten eggs before being slowly re-fried on a pan. The tortilla is fried first on one side and then flipped over to fry on its other side, with the help of a saucer or a ceramic lid-like utensil made for purpose called a "vuelve-tortillas".
It is one of the most common
tapas throughout Spain and a favourite at Spanish
picnics, as it can also be enjoyed cold. A tapas portion of tortilla is called
pincho de tortilla
This dish is sometimes called
tortilla Española. In The Americas and the Canary Islands)
tortilla de papas. Of course, other than its shared Spanish name which means "small torte", there's nothing in common with the common flatbread used in Mexican and Central American cuisinie, also known as
tortilla),
History
The first document known in which a reference appears to the potato tortilla is
navarrese. One is an anonymous one: “Memorial of the mousehole”, directed to the Spanish Parliament in
1817, which depicts the miserable conditions in which agriculturists live by comparing them with the inhabitants on
Pamplona and
Ribera. The letter describes one of the foods eaten by the mountain dwellers: ”
… two or three eggs in one tortilla instead of five or six, because our women know how to make it large and thick with few eggs using potatoes, breadcrumbs, or other things… “
Varieties
There is many variants for this dish, and almost every Spanish home has its own favourite way of preparing tortilla. Some of the many additions to the base ingredients include:
green peppers,
chorizo,
courgettes,
mushrooms, or diced
ham. A peculiar variant is
tortilla paisana that in addition to the potatoes and egg includes
red pepper, and
peas. The texture and width of the tortilla varies according to regions and taste. Tortilla almost always accompanied by
bread and frequently by
pickles such as
olives and
gherkins. In many
bars and canteens, it's served as a
bocadillo (a sandwich made with crusty bread).
In
Argentina a variety of potato tortillas exists where the preparation is practically identical to its ancestral Spanish, the difference being that it includes more onion (cut in fine strips) and, as in the case of tortillas of
beet and
spinach, two similar plates are used to mold the mixture.
The Swiss
rösti is a similar looking dish, also consisting of diced potatoes but without any eggs, resulting in a very different taste.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Tortilla De Patatas'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://tortilla_de_patatas.totallyexplained.com">Tortilla de patatas Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
