Iberian-inspired tortilla

Now I am back down south in Lisbon for a while, it’s time to get inspired by the local cuisine again. There is fabulous fresh fruit, vegetables and fish from the market, as well as spices from the favourite piri-piri to paprika, which show up in Iberian delicacies such as chorizo. While the inspiration for making this tortilla started while visiting my parents in Spain, Portugal also offers the key ingredients to make it special. The biggest challenge is to flip the tortilla so it cooks evenly on both sides – I usually slide it on to a plate and then turn the plate upside-down back into the pan.

This is a great light dish for lunch, served alongside a simple salad, or can be cut into bite-sized pieces and served warm or cold as part of tapas or with a bunch of appetizers for guests.

Serves: 2-3 as a light lunch

Time to prepare/cook: Approximately 20 to 25 minutes: 10 to 15 for preparation and pre-cooking potatoes, 10 minutes to cook the tortilla.

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Ingredients

• 4 eggs (large)

• 100 ml milk

• 100g chorizo

• 1 large spring onion

• 2 small potatoes (approx. 5-7 cm each)

• Half large red pepper

• Handful of coriander

• Optional: 3 or 4 baby tomatoes

• Salt & pepper (6 turns each of salt/pepper grinder)

• Olive oil for cooking

• Pots & pans needed: Mixing bowl, fork, frying pan, sharp knife, 2 spatulas/cooking slices, microwave proof bowl and covering

Method

• Chop the potatoes as thinly as you can, making lots of round slices, and put in the microwave bowl with ½ cm of water, cover and microwave for 5 minutes

• While the potatoes are cooking, finely chop the onion, red pepper and chorizo (remove any skin from the chorizo)

• Then beat the eggs and milk in a mixing bowl with a fork, adding the salt and pepper, until light yellow and with air bubbles

• Put olive oil in frying pan and warm up (medium-high heat, 6 on a scale of 1 to 9), then fry the onion, red pepper and chorizo for approx. 5 mins (stirring occasionally) until the onion is starting to go golden brown

• Retrieve the potatoes carefully from the microwave (using a cloth) and drain, then add to the frying pan along with the coriander and spread out so the potato slices are not all in a lump

• Pour the eggs over the top and move around the ingredients so they are fairly evenly distributed in the egg mix. If you have a grill, put this on when you add the eggs to the pan

• Turn the heat down slightly (mark 5) and let the mix cook for approx. 5 minutes, occasionally stabbing the spatula through the mix so the liquid egg gets to the bottom of the pan, but otherwise not stirring the mix as it cooks

• After 5 minutes if you slide the spatula under the bottom of the tortilla, it should be feeling firm – the trick is now to get the remaining liquid on top cooked…

• If you have a grill, it’s pretty simple: Put the pan under the grill until the top of the tortilla firms and starts to go golden brown – make sure you don’t get the handle under the grill if there is any plastic on it and use a cloth as most handles will get warm

• If you don’t have a grill, the best way I have found is to slide the part-cooked tortilla on to a plate, then turn the plate upside-down (carefully!) back into the pan, so the more liquid side is down on the heat. Fortunately, the mix is very forgiving so you can push the flipped tortilla back together and pat it down, so no one will notice any cracks. Let the flipped tortilla cook for another 2-3 minutes until the bottom is golden brown (just slide a spatula underneath and lift it up so you can see)

• Once the tortilla is cooked, use the spatulas to slide it on to a plate and serve immediately, or let it cool down if you want to serve it cold

• Serve with tabasco or piri-piri sauce for people to add as needed