# Tortilla de Patatas

Tortilla de patatas turns 2 eggs and 2 potatoes into a golden, layered dinner that slices like a cake: 3 mm potato rounds are soaked, dried and slow-fried with onion and garlic until completely soft, folded off the heat into paprika-seasoned eggs (one egg per potato — that ratio is the whole point), then set in a small pan — 10 minutes covered, one committed flip, 5 more minutes. Serves 2.

- **Prep:** 20 min · **Cook:** 30 min · **Total:** 50 min
- **Servings:** 2
- **Difficulty:** Easy
- **Cuisine:** Spanish
- **Category:** Main Course
- **Video:** [2 Eggs and 2 Potatoes: Tortilla de Patatas Dinner](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAb5jFQzTWc)
- **Recipe page:** https://webspoon.world/recipes/tortilla-de-patatas/

## Ingredients

- 2 pcs potatoes (peeled, sliced 3 mm)
- cold water (for soaking the slices)
- olive oil (a generous amount — the potatoes drink most of it)
- 1 pc onion (thin half-moons)
- 3 cloves garlic (finely chopped — not traditional, but it earns its place)
- 2 pcs eggs
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 sprigs dill (chopped)

## Instructions

1. Peel the potatoes into cold water so they don't turn gray, halve each one for a flat side, and slice into even 3 mm rounds.
2. Soak the slices in cold water to rinse off loose starch — they will fry separately instead of clumping. _(timer: 10 min)_
3. Heat a generous amount of olive oil over medium heat and soften the onion half-moons for 2–3 minutes. _(timer: 3 min)_
4. Pat the potatoes completely dry — leftover water makes them steam instead of fry — and add the garlic to the onion for 1–2 minutes.
5. Add the potatoes and cook over medium heat, turning gently every minute, until every slice is completely soft — they get no second chance to soften. _(timer: 10 min)_
6. Whisk the eggs with the thyme, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and dill until no streaks remain.
7. Off the heat, tip the potatoes into the eggs — oil included, it carries the flavor — and fold gently so the soft slices stay whole.
8. Heat a little oil in a smaller pan, pour everything in at once, level the top and press gently into one compact layer.
9. Cover and cook on low. _(timer: 10 min)_
10. One committed flip — dar la vuelta — then slide it back golden side up for 5 more minutes. _(timer: 5 min)_
11. Rest a minute, then slice like a cake — each potato layer stays distinct, held together by the egg.

## Notes from our kitchen

The egg-to-potato ratio is one to one, and that is the whole point — the potatoes stretch two eggs into a dinner. The oil the potatoes cooked in goes into the egg bowl with them; pouring it off would pour away the flavor. And the smaller pan for the set is deliberate: the same mixture sits higher, which is what gives the slice its cake-like depth.

## Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

- Calories: 400
- Protein: 12g
- Fat: 26g
- Carbs: 31g
- Fiber: 4g
- Sugar: 4g
- Sodium: 1250mg

## FAQ

### Onion in tortilla — traditional or heresy?

Spain genuinely splits in two on this: half the country calls onion the soul of the dish, half calls it heresy (the con cebolla / sin cebolla debate). This version votes onion — and adds garlic, which is not traditional at all but earns its place next to the smoked paprika.

### Why soak the potato slices and then dry them?

The 10-minute cold soak rinses off loose surface starch so the 3 mm rounds fry as separate slices instead of gluing into a clump. The thorough drying afterwards matters just as much — any water left on the slices turns the fry into a steam.

### How do I flip it without breaking it?

Cook it covered on low first so the base is set, then commit: pan off the heat, a plate or the lid over the top, one confident turn of the wrists, and slide it back golden side up. In Spanish, dar la vuelta a la tortilla also means 'turning the tables' — hesitation is what breaks it.

### Why mix the potatoes into the eggs off the heat?

Two reasons: the pan-hot potatoes would start scrambling the eggs on contact if everything happened over the flame, and folding in a bowl lets you coat every soft slice gently so they stay whole. The oil comes along too — it has been collecting onion, garlic and potato flavor the whole time.

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Source: [Tortilla de Patatas — Webspoon World](https://webspoon.world/recipes/tortilla-de-patatas/)