Vegetarian Spanish Potato Tortilla with Romesco Sauce

After finding out I was pregnant in June, I realized I wouldn’t be able to fly home for Christmas – my favorite family time of the year.

To (over)compensate, I’ve been on a bit of a travel binge. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram you may have tracked some of my adventures.

Also in anticipation of this kiddo arriving, I’ve re-worked my program offerings so I can take some maternity leave in February. If you’re curious about working with me, please email me or schedule a Spotlight Session online. If you subscribe to my newsletter, look for a special offer just for you!

• Late August found me in Portland, Oregon to attend the International Food Blogger Conference.
• In my 4 days home, we took my cousin and her boyfriend on a whirlwind SoCal experience extraordinaire!
• Then I flew to Minnesota to visit my family for 2 weeks.

Highlights included the Minnesota State Fair and the International Cat Video Festival with my 10,000 closest BFFs:

During that visit, Mom and I drove to Illinois to see my sister’s family including Adorable No-Longer-a-Baby Niece:

• Home for 5 days, then off to Denver where we got to visit some good friends and cousins before we drove to Wyoming to see the fall colors for the wedding (dress code: cowboy chic) of some of my husband’s college friends.

• 12 hours after we got back, my mother and a friend arrived to visit over my birthday.
• Three days after they left, my Japanese host sister came to town and I spent 6 hours speaking Japanese – after a solid 4-year hiatus. Then my brain melted. Japanese is hard.

Luckily, a swath of magazine arrived right before I left. Unfortunately, reading food magazines on an airplane makes me hungry. When Mom invited some family friends over for a Labor Day picnic, she wasted no time assigning me to food prep.

The good news: This dish, perfect for breakfast, brunch, or lunch, can – and should – be made in advance. This can be the day before and reheated, or earlier in the day you want to serve it. Next time I make this I want to try oven-roasting the potato slices for expediency. If you try it, let me know how it works.

The bad news: I did not not do that and didn’t realize how long I’d be standing at the stove sautéing potatoes. Learn from my mistakes, friends. (On that note, don’t let my mother do the grocery shopping and then believe her when she assures you she has all the ingredients which is blatantly untrue.)

This is a Spanish tortilla (if you’d like to sound pompous, call it a tortilla española with your heaviest Spanish accent), not the corn- or wheat-flour-based Mexican tortilla. It’s closer to a frittata and you could definitely add more veggies.

The basic version is simply potatoes and onions pre-cooked in oil which are then layered and salted before pouring whisked eggs on top. It starts on the stove, ends in the oven. Serve the tortilla at room temperature; it’s perfect for casual gatherings.

The Romesco sauce can – and should – be made up to a week in advance. Use jarred roasted peppers, or roast your own. Make a half-recipe of the sauce, or use it for other things.

October I’m spending at home before a November visit and road trip with Mom. Are you traveling this fall? Where have you been or where are you going?

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Vegetarian Spanish Tortilla

by Stacy Spensley October-15-2012

A perfect brunch dish! Make the sauce up to a week in advance; make the tortilla up to 3 hours ahead.

Adapted from Sunset Magazine, September 2012

Ingredients

• 2 Russet (baking) potatoes (about 1.5 pounds)
• 1/2 medium yellow or white onion, diced
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• about 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 10 eggs, whisked
• flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

1.) Peel potatoes and slice evenly about 1/8″ thick. Place slices in cold water until ready to cook.2.) Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wide oven-safe pan (no plastic handles) or cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook until translucent but not brown. Remove from pan. 3.) Preheat oven to 300F. Heat another tablespoon of oil and add a single layer of potato slices (about half a potato). Season with salt and pepper. Cook 5-8 minutes, turning once, until potatoes are barely golden and tender. Remove from pan. Repeat until all potatoes slices are cooked.4.) Increase heat to medium and add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Layer all the potato slices and onion in the pan and pour the eggs on top. Cook until the bottom is set and golden, 3-5 minutes.5.) Place pan in the preheated oven and bake until eggs are set – they shouldn’t jiggle when the pan is shaken – about 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, then loosen with a knife or flexible spatula. Invert onto a plate and cut into wedges. Garnish with parsley and serve at room temperature with Romesco sauce.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 15 mins Yield: 8 servings

Tagged as: breakfast, brunch, dairy-free, spanish tortilla, vegetarian