Cheater Cheesy Spanish Tortilla
Cheater Cheesy Spanish Tortilla- Giving a shortcut spin to a traditional Spanish egg dish then topping it with a tangy crema.
October 18, 2021 by Nicole Collins
You can't win'em all.
Some of my recipes are brilliant perfection from take 1.
Some are complete flops never to be spoken of again.
Some recipes get 3 strikes; and if I can't figure out the magic in 3 tries, I let the recipe go.
But today's recipe was a challenge that I just wasn't ready to dismiss. I tested and tested and tested and tested until I ended up a with the recipe that I knew was the winner.
Truth be told, I didn't create the method or concept for this particular recipe. I saw it somewhere online, did a little research, and adapted the recipe to fit my style.
A.K.A...I added cheese.
Turns out, cheese really is the cure to all troubles. It was the magic ingredient that helped me piece together what was missing all along in this recipe. So thanks to cheese, we're eating good today.
Today, we're making Cheater Cheesy Spanish Tortilla!
Traditionally, a Spanish tortilla is a omelette style egg dish that can be served as a main course or as an appetizer. The ingredients are very humble consisting of just eggs, thinly sliced potatoes, and salt. Even adding onion can be a somewhat controversial interpretation of the dish, though overall it's a common addition.
Somehow, I encountered a shortcut version of this dish that used potato chips in place of shallow frying potatoes; and I thought it sounded pretty intriguing. Eggs and potato chips? Count me in! From there, I strayed from tradition, started playing with flavors, and that's how we have today's very non-traditional version of this simple and delicious dish.
So, this dish starts with potato chips! Kettle cooked potato chips to be exact. And actually, we're going to switch up the flavor profile of this dish by using barbecue flavored kettle chips. We want the chips to soften up a little bit before we cook them so that they mimic the texture of fresh potatoes, so we're going to let our chips soak right in an egg mixture for a couple minutes.
For our eggs, we only need eggs, salt, pepper, and my secret ingredient: dried minced onion. I love using dried minced onion in all of my egg dishes because it's a great way to get that concentrated onion flavor without having to chop up a whole onion. The onion flakes rehydrate in the eggy liquid giving it the exact texture of fresh onion. So once our eggs are whisked together with our seasonings, we'll pour in right over our chips, add a nice handful of smoked gouda (just because), give everything a good toss, and let everything sit and soak while our pan preheats.
The cook on our egg and potato omelette goes pretty quickly, but there's a specific method that we have to follow to make sure we don't overcook our eggs. First, we're going to add a generous layer of olive oil to heat in the bottom of our pan. We're going to let the pan heat up for a good 10 mins before our egg ever touches the pan, because we want to ensure that oil is ready to quickly fry the outside of our eggs while just cooking the eggs through on the inside.
Once we transfer our egg mix to the pan, it won't spend any more than 2 ½ mins cooking on the first side. And here's where we have to get a little brave. We're going to use the help of a plate larger than our skillet to flip our eggs, cooked side up, onto the plate. Then, we'll carefully slide the whole situation back into the pan to finish cooking on the other side for just about another 2 minutes. It's a little messy, and the transition happens quickly, but our tortilla keeps it's shape, gets perfectly golden on the outsides, and stays perfectly soft on the insides as a result of this cooking method.
From here, we can either cut the tortilla into wedges or squares and enjoy. OR, we could make a tangy and delicious mustard crema to dollop on top! The crema is as easy as stirring a little sour cream, stone ground mustard, garlic powder, and pepper together in a bowl. And, that's it! Drop little clouds of tangy cream right over the eggs, garnish with fresh chives for flare, and now it's really time to eat.
Here's the thing about this tortilla, despite using sweet and smoky bbq chips and smoky gouda cheese, this dish isn't overwhelmed with those flavors. The eggs and olive oil help to mellow out those bold flavors leaving all the best parts of those spices and smoke to subtly flavor our dish. And, the mustard in the cream pairs delightfully with the warm spices in the bbq rub. It's savory with a touch of zip at its best!
Alrighty, folks. My mouth is watering and my belly is rumbling, so that's all we've got for today. Let me know what you think when you try this recipe!
As always...enjoy, and let's eat!
Cheater Cheesy Spanish Tortilla
Serves: 2 Print
Ingredients:
¼ cup sour cream
2 tsp stone ground mustard
1/8 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp olive oil
4 eggs
1 tsp dried minced onion
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper, plus more to taste
2 cups bbq kettle cooked potato chips
1/3 cup smoked gouda, shredded
minced green onion, for garnish
Directions:
Make the mustard crema: To a small mixing bowl, sour cream, mustard, garlic powder, and a pinch of pepper. Mix well to combine. Set aside in the fridge.
Heat olive oil in an 8 inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Meanwhile, to a mixing bowl, add eggs, dried minced onion, salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper. Whisk very well until eggs are fully broken up. Add potato chips and cheese to the egg mix, and toss to completely coat the chips in the egg mix. Allow the chips to soak in the egg for 10 minutes, tossing the mix once about halfway through.
Once the oil starts to shimmer, add the egg mix to the skillet, pressing with your spatula to evenly distribute the mix in the pan. Cook for 2-2 ½ mins until the bottom side of the tortilla is a light golden brown.
Place a plate larger than the skillet on top of the skillet. Carefully, flip the pan and the plate together so that that the tortilla lands on the plate, cooked side up. Then, use your spatula to help slide the tortilla back into the skillet so the uncooked side is on the bottom of the pan. Cook for an additional 2-2 ½ mins until lightly golden.
Remove tortilla from the skillet. Cut into 4 wedges. Serve with sour cream sauce and green onion, if desired.
Recipe notes:
*Spanish tortillas are often an appetizer served as tapas. So if you'd like to serve this as an appetizer, cut the tortilla into small squares instead of wedges. It's a great addition to a cheese board too.
*Traditional Spanish tortillas use very basic ingredients: eggs, potatoes, and salt. But, I LOVE playing with the flavors of different potato chips. Though the cheese is very non traditional, it's a great bonus!
*It's important to use kettle cooked chips so that they are thick enough to stand up to the egg mix. A regular cut potato chip will not work for this recipe.
