Ham & Eggs: a Tortilla Española Recipe

This isn’t really a recipe for “cooking” with ham. It’s a recipe for ham draped over cooked eggs. It’s a perfect brunch, light lunch, or snack (I even like it cold or room temperature).

Considered to be a national dish, the Tortilla Española is the Spanish answer to an egg, potato, and onion frittata served with aioli. But unlike the frittata, the Tortilla Española is both silky and dense. Ferran Adrià’s version? Use potato chips, duh.

This technique can be a little difficult - how hot to get both the pan and the oil and how far to go on the stove top and when to finish it in the oven - all without burning or under-browning the bottom. If the first one doesn’t work, don’t get discouraged! It’ll still be delicious. But that second time? I swear you’ll really nail it.

Tortilla Española with Ham & Garlic Aioli

24 ea eggs (yes, it’s a lot of eggs, but you want it to be thick!)

3 large handfuls of potato chips (2+ cups)

1 onion, thinly sliced

salt

pepper

optional:

(This isn’t 100% necessarily, but the mirin helps sweeten and flavor the eggs while the shoyu adds umami and salt.)

6% mirin to eggs (yes, you’ll need a gram scale. And I know. This is accurate…but 3 handfuls of chips?!)

2% shoyu to eggs

1/2 cup evo

To serve:

garlic aioli (or be lazy: mix 1 cup mayonnaise, two cloves of microplaned garlic, and season it with lemon juice and salt - and if you have it - a dash of espellette pepper)

thinly sliced cured ham, like Jamon Serrano

Tools:

9” cast iron pan

blender or immersion blender

rubber spatula

cutting board

parchment lined sheet tray

What To Do:

For the melted onion:

In a seasoned cast iron pan, add butter or olive oil and a little water and slowly melt the onion. You don’t want any browning or caramelization. You want it to sweat and be tender. Drain in a colander and on a paper towel.

For the egg mixture:

Blend the eggs using an immersion blender or whisk until smooth. Season with mirin and shoyu. Add the chips and onion, season with a pinch of salt (if you’re omitting the shoyu, season more) and freshly cracked black pepper. Soak until the chips start to absorb the egg. It takes anywhere from 5-20 minutes, depending on the style of chip you use.

For the Tortilla Española:

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

Over medium high heat, allow your cast iron pan to get hot until it’s smoking.

Pour in the olive oil. You want it to cover the bottom of your pan and then some. Don’t be shy. This will help your tortilla to come out cleanly. Allow the oil to heat for a 15-20 seconds, without it burning (olive oil has a low smoke point and will start to break down and taste “off”).

Carefully pour in all the egg mixture and allow the sides and bottom to start to brown. Turn the heat down to medium low and allow to cook, pressing down on the chips with a rubber spatula if they come to the surface but don’t “scramble”. As the edges start to cook a little more, they’ll form a “wall” and will begin releasing from the sides. Run your rubber spatula around the rim of the pan a few times to ensure that nothing is sticking (this is where the amount of olive oil helps). This will take a few minutes, be patient.

Once the egg begins to thicken and there’s a clear “wall” of egg along the sides that is just beginning to brown, finish it by baking it in the oven, checking every 5 minutes until the eggs are set and doesn’t jiggle in the center. The outside should pull away from the pan and be golden brown. Run your spatula along the outside of the tortilla and turn out immediately onto a parchment lined sheet tray or onto a cutting board. It should come out cleanly - but if not, channel your inner Julia Child and place the torn egg back where it should go (nobody is looking). Slice in wedges and serve with a heaping spoonful of garlic aioli and thinly sliced ham.