Tortilla - Spanish Omelette
Tortilla al Horno – Oven-baked Tortilla - Quick and Easy Tortilla
Traditional Spanish Omelette baked in the oven and served in squares, easier to prepare than the usual labour intensive Spanish potato tortilla.
This oven tortilla is a variation on the traditional top-of-the-cooker pan cooked omelette. It's a popular find in tapas bars and is generally served in small bite-sized squares with a toothpick.
Some bars serve a square of tortilla on a slice of bread – the typical barra or French stick bread, thinly sliced. A popular tapas all across Spain, it may also be drizzled with some virgin olive oil, especially in the south.
A traditional tortilla cooked in an untraditional way, this method of making a Spanish Omelette is possibly a little more time consuming but far less labour intensive and can be made in advance and kept warm or served cold.
For variation you can add chopped ham, tuna or bacon for a supper dish. It also makes a great and healthy picnic alternative to sandwiches.
Oven-baked Tortilla – Tortilla al Horno
Ingredients - Makes 48 small squares
- Olive oil
- 2 large cloves of garlic
- ½ leek or 1 spring onion
- 1 green pepper
- 1 red pepper
- 6 oz potatoes
- 5 large eggs or 6 small eggs
- ½ cup of sour cream
- 1½ Parmesan, Cheddar or
- 3 tbsp. chives
- salt and pepper
Directions:
- Peel and dice the potatoes and boil until not quite soft.
- Line a 7 x 10-inch dish with foil and brush or wipe fairly liberally with oil. Pre-heat the oven to 375 F.
- Heat a little of the olive oil gently and fry the leek or spring onions, peppers and garlic until softened but not browned.
- Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
- Stir in the potatoes.
- In a bowl, beat the eggs, sour cream and chives together. Add the cooled pepper mixture and season.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared shallow baking-dish and flatten the top surface of the mix – no peaks wanted!
- Bake in the centre of the oven for about 35 minutes until its golden brown, make sure its set in the centre using a sharp knife to test it. When ready remove from the oven and leave it cool to cool and set a little more.
- Loosen the edges with a knife and turn out onto a large board. If the bottom looks a bit runny, place the dish back on top and leave it to “cook” a little more.
- When cool turn it over so the nicely browned side is on show and cut into the size and shape you wish.
Serving tips
- Serve with or without toothpicks and on thin slices of bread or not!
- This colourful tortilla looks very attractive served cold with a green and red salad like the colours in the tortilla.
