tortilla Española with chorizo and ham

2019-10-21+22

aka. tortilla de patata, Spanish potato omelet. If anything typifies Spanish kitchen more than paella, it is probably this potato omelet. Potatoes and onions are slow-cooked in olive oil, mixed with beaten eggs and slow-cooked in a frying pan until the eggs are cooked on the outside, still a bit moist inside.    

Mexican pork chorizo is marinated ground meat, very different from the dry-cured Spanish chorizo sausage, but no different from adding other any ground meat. Be sure to fully cook it beforehand.

I did cook this one mostly stovetop, but even my lowest setting was too high for this. The bottom was burning while the top was still way to liquid. As a result the reversal was a bit messier than planned. I added an extra egg in the frying pan to get that side to set quicker. It turned out OK.

The chorizo and ham give this a very different flavor than the basic onions & potatoes pie but I liked this variation even better. 

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 6 servings:

  • 4 large potatoes
  • 2 medium onions
  • S&P
  • 4-6 eggs

optional:

  • ½ lb. Mexican pork chorizo, fully cooked
    This is NOT Spanish chorizo sausage
  • ½ lb. ham, chopped
  • 1 cup sweet-hot peppers
Pic1: tortilla española with chorizo and ham

Directions

The 1st part—frying the onions and potatoes in olive oil—is identical to the base recipe:

Here is where the differences start:

 

Pic2: chop the ham
Pic3: fry the chorizo
Pic4: eggs, potatoes

 

Pic5: chorizo
Pic6: ham, peppers
Pic7: mix, pour, smoothen

 

Pic8: simmer
Pic9: a bit more before reversing
Pic10: oil the pan

 

Pic11: reversed, with extra egg
Pic12: all done
Pic13: reversed again, served