Spanish cooking classes: Tortilla

My time in Spain is down to just a few weeks, so I'm trying to absorb as much as I can before I go. This means that I've been asking practically every Spanish person I know to teach me how to cook something. I can't say I'm a huge fan of Spanish food, which can sometimes be a bit bland to my taste, but there are a few things I'll miss back in the U.S.  One of them is a good homemade Spanish tortilla.

If you've never been to Spain you're probably thinking that tortillas are the corn or flour deliciousness that you wrap your taco in. But this tortilla is sort of like a big flat potato omelet, and it's a perennial favorite here in Spain.

Here's how my friend Pilar taught me how to make it:

First, assemble and peel a couple potatoes. Five is enough for a nice skillet-sized tortilla. Chop them up into little flat squares, nice and thin. 

Then - and this is controversial - sauté about a quarter of an onion in olive oil. There is hearty debate about whether onions belong in tortilla or not, with each party believing fervently that their dish is the best. So if you are in the no-onion camp, skip this step. I won't judge. 

Now, this next step is going to take some real fortitude, so take a deep breath and gird your loins.  Next you dump the potatoes into your handy-dandy deep fryer. If you don't have one (please tell me you don't have one), fry them up in a skillet with a couple healthy glugs of olive oil. While you're doing it, think to yourself: "Mediterranean diet, my a$$"

For the record, I have never in my life been in an American home with a deep fryer on the counter (although I'm not from the South), but pretty much every single Spanish home I've ever been in has one proudly installed in the kitchen. When I express astonishment at this fact, my Spanish friends are bug-eyed that Americans don't all have deep fryers in their back pockets. "But I don't understand" they wonder, perhaps a touch untactfully, "how do you all get so fat?"

But anyway, on we march. When you've thoroughly cooked your potatoes until they're tender (I wonder if boiling them would also be an option to cut down on the oil?), drain them and put them in a bowl. Add your onions if you've got 'em.

Crack in your eggs: about one egg for each potato. Then mix it up! It should be goopy but not overly liquidy. Place it on a hot skillet that's filled with about half an inch of hot olive oil (yeah I said half an inch). Turn it after about 90 seconds or when it starts to solidify in the middle. Flip it using a plate and turning the skillet upside down. Let it sizzle on the other side, and then lower the heat to let it finish cooking a few more minutes.

And voila! You have made Spanish tortilla! Eat it cold, hot, room temperature, with mayonnaise or without, on a sandwich or with a fork. Bon appetit.