I love potatoes in all their forms. Regular potatoes may hold my heart, but I’ve also got a major sweet spot for sweet potatoes. My Sweet Potato Tortilla is a twist on a classic Spanish dish, using the orange wonder vegetables in place of the more usual potatoes. Let’s see if it can win your heart as well.
What is Spanish Tortilla?
You probably know tortillas as a type of Mexican flatbread, made with either wheat or corn. But over in Europe, tortilla means something quite different. A Spanish tortilla is a delicious, savory potato omelette. It’s similar to an Italian frittata, except that in Spain, you can’t just throw everything into the mix. A true Spanish tortilla only contains potatoes, eggs and (controversially) onions.
Foreigners often add in other Spanish ingredients like chorizo sausage, fancy canned fish, or sliced bell peppers, but in Spain, they scoff at these as abominations. Spanish people can get very protective of their national dishes. Some years ago, Jamie Oliver caused a national scandal when he supplied a recipe for paella which included chorizo in the mix.
Onions or No Onions?
The biggest tortilla debate within Spain is whether or not onions should be included in tortillas. Every year, some newspaper or other will hold a poll, people write in with their strongly held opinions in either direction, and everything gets very heated. Usually the onion faction win, but only by a narrow margin.
Only last year, I attended a village tortilla competition in Catalonia. As the winner (no onions) was announced, the judges decision was almost drowned out by boos from the crowd. “He does this every year,” said the woman sitting next to me, darkly. “He never gives the ones with onions a proper chance.”
I’ve got to say, I am Team Onion too. Although the onion-free tortillas are delicious, I think the sweetness of fried onions adds a certain je ne sais quois (or should I say no sé qué?!)
The one thing to remember is that you need to fry the onions gently before mixing with the other ingredients. Otherwise you end up with lumps of crunchy raw onion in the tortilla, and I think we can all agree that is undesirable.
What Goes in a Sweet Potato Tortilla?
Don’t tell the Spaniards, but I am going to mess with their recipe a bit. Please don’t go home thinking this is an authentic recipe – it is not. See it more as a tribute.
Instead of regular potatoes, I’m going to use sweet potatoes. And to balance the sweetness a little, I will also throw in a couple of spices. I’m using smoked paprika and cumin, as two of the most classic spices used in Spanish cookery.
Cooking the Potatoes
After softening the onions, you need to cook the potatoes. The “proper” way to do it is to deep fry them at a low temperature until cooked through. But I wanted to try a healthier version, with less oil.
What I chose to do was to shallow fry them all at once, and cover the pan with a lid. In this way, they all have a chance to pick up some flavor from the oil, but they steam in their own water at the same time, absorbing a lot less oil as a result. A much healthier choice.
However you choose to cook the sweet potatoes, you need to peel them and slice them very thinly, the thickness of a coin. If you have a mandoline, this is the perfect recipe to get it out.
Making the Mix
After cooking the onions and sweet potatoes, you need to let them cool down. Otherwise their residual heat will start cooking the eggs before adding to the pan.
Whisk the spices into the eggs and then fold through the cooled onions and sweet potatoes. Season generously, to taste. It needs more salt than you think.
Getting the Flip Right
Now you come to the most fraught part of making a Spanish tortilla – the flip. I was terrified the first time I did it. But it is actually very easy. The trick is to be decisive and quick.
Once the tortilla is setting at the edges, use a spatula to gently loosen it all around the sides, even sliding it right under to the middle. Place an upturned plate over the whole pan, then turn the whole thing – pan and plate – quickly upside down, keeping the plate pressed in place with your other hand. Lift off the pan, and the tortilla will be sitting on the plate, like a magic trick.
Slide the tortilla back into the hot pan to finish cooking on the reverse side. When it’s ready, repeat the upturned plate trick to get the whole tortilla out of the pan in one piece. It’s normal in Spain for the center to still be slightly liquid, but of course cook it all the way through if you prefer. Leave to cool for at least 5 minutes, or to room temperature, before slicing and serving.
Storage Notes
Sweet potato tortillas keep remarkably well. In Spain, it’s quite normal for a tapas bar or restaurant to make a huge tortilla in the morning and leave on the bar all day, to cut slices from as ordered. You can safely leave it at room temperature for up to six hours; any longer than that I would suggest to cover and refrigerate it.
Tortillas are not great chilled, so reheat slightly before serving or take it out of the fridge an hour or so before you want to eat it.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
Sweet potatoes are great tasting and also pack a hefty nutritional punch, with high levels of vitamin A among others. Check out some of my other sweet potato recipes:
- Sweet Potato Cobbler
- Bell Pepper Curry with Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Patties
- Kale Sweet Potato Quesadillas
Conclusion
With sweet potatoes and spices, this certainly isn’t an authentic Spanish recipe. Nevertheless, my Sweet Potato Tortilla is definitely worth a try. Practise getting your “flip” perfect and let me know in the comments what you like to put in your tortilla. Shhh! I promise not to tell the Spaniards!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 onion peeled and chopped
- 1 lb sweet potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
- 5 eggs beaten
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/8 tsp ground cumin
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat one third of the oil in a pan over medium-low heat.
- Add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook gently for 10 minutes, until softened and just starting to color.
- Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and place in a mixing bowl.
- Add another third of the oil to a separate mixing bowl along with the sliced sweet potatoes. Use your hands to toss together so the slices separate from one other and are coated in the oil. Transfer to the same pan, still over medium/low heat.
- Cover the pan and cook for about 15 minutes, turning a few times, so that the potatoes steam and fry at the same time. They are ready when tender to the point of a knife. Transfer to the bowl with the onions. Leave to cool to room temperature.
- Beat the eggs with the paprika and cumin and season to taste. Add to the sweet potato mix and combine, so that the potatoes are all coated in the eggs.
- Heat the remaining oil in a non-stick pan of about 8 inch diameter, over medium-low heat.
- Add the tortilla mix and fry gently for about 5 minutes, until set and golden brown on the base.
- Place a chopping board or upturned plate over the pan and invert, so that the tortilla falls out on the board. Slide it back into the pan and cook for about 3 minutes on the reverse side.
- Turn the tortilla carefully out of the pan and serve hot or cold.
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