Tortilla Espanola: Spanish Omelette with Lobster

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When I first moved in by myself a few years ago, I had a lot to restructure in my life. Not the least of which was: how do you take a recipe designed for 2-4 people, make it for one, and not eat the same meal 3 times a day for the next week? Ready to give up and just eat Lean Cuisine, my dear friends Justin and Dre got me the perfect housewarming present: Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking For One, by Joe Yonan. I have to admit, for a while there I'd see the book staring back at me from the coffee table and I'd swear the cover actually read "How to Eat and Die Alone."

Thankfully I got over it, and found some amazing recipes within.

I based this recipe off of Joe's recipe for "Potato Chip Tortilla with Shrimp." Yes. I know. Growing up a good Taco Bell fearing American, "tortilla" was a flat round thingy made of corn or flour. And what the hell do potato chips have to do with anything? Sounded a bit like the recipe on the back of a jar of mayo.

Then I did some minor research. Turns out, Tortilla Espanola is a traditional Spanish Tortilla or Spanish Omelette: an egg and potato dish, like a frittata only thicker and fluffier and full of paprika and onions and pillowy deliciousness. Unlike the traditional version, Joe recommends using kettle-cooked potato chips instead of fried potatoes, thus cutting down on prep time while still maintaining an authentic taste. This is an easy 30-minute meal, a Weeknight Meal, which I have upped in quantity to serve two people. The fixins' you choose for the inside are incredibly flexible, with Joe recommending shrimp, and other recipes recommending Serrano ham, sausage, caramelized onions, green onions ... really anything! For mine, I went into the market for shrimp. They didn't look good. And I deserve lobster.

I highly recommend this simple, delicious meal for a quick weeknight meal. You'll already have most of the ingredients in your kitchen, and who doesn't need a bag of kettle chips around?



Ingredients:
  • 4 large eggs
  • kosher salt
  • ground pepper
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2.5 oz. salted kettle chips, lightly crushed
  • olive oil
  • 1 medium shallot, chopped
  • 2 small lobster tails, raw
You're worth it, Jon!

To Prepare:

  1. Pour yourself a nice glass of white wine.
  2. In a small bowl, beat the eggs together. Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper.

  3. In another, larger bowl, pour the freshly crushed (preferably by hand because that is FUN!) kettle chips.
  4. Pour the beaten eggs over the chips.
  5. Add the paprika, and stir the mixture until the eggs are uniformly covered in egg goop. Allow the mixture to sit for 15 minutes, covered by foil. This will let the potatoes rehydrate with egg mixture, while still maintaining some of their solidity.
  6. While the eggs are chillin', heat 1 tsp olive oil in a small pan at medium-low heat. Given the volume of egg mixture being used, you will want a small pan in order to achieve the desired thickness to the finished tortilla. Once the oil is heated, add the chopped shallot and cook until translucent and starting to brown on the edges. Remove the shallots from the oil using a slotted spoon, and move to a paper towel covered plate.
  7. Still waiting on the egg mixture to get to where we're going with it, use this time to sip some wine. Then, let's prep the lobster tails! Start by turning the tails upside down. Take your knife right down the center of the bottom part of the shell. Do not worry about cutting into the meat - it's about to get cubed anyway!
  8. Once you have cut all along the base of the tail, split the shell and remove the meat inside as one piece. Or try. Maybe it'll tear a little. Seriously, no big deal, kid! It's all going in one place anyway - your belly! ... okay, well first into the tortilla.
    This is raw. The lobster will cook in the tortilla.
  9. Cube the lobster tail meat.
  10. Add the shallots and lobster to the egg mixture, stirring to mix everything in evenly.
  11. Add another Tbs of oil to you pan and heat to medium. Pour the entire mixture into the pan, using a spatula (this is NOT a flipper; if confused, google it) to spread the mixture evenly about the base of the pan.
  12. After a minute or two, you will see the mixture starting to solidify and crisp around the edges. Carefully use your spatula to separate the edge of the tortilla from the pan to keep it from sticking.
  13. When the top of the tortilla has almost no liquid, it is time to flip! Carefully slide the tortilla onto a separate plate, cooked side down. 
  14. If the pan is dry, add another 1.5 Tbs oil. Then carefully and quickly flip the plate over into the pan, uncooked side down. (Conversely, if you have a big enough flipper (this is NOT a spatula. google it.) you can use that to simply flip the tortilla in the pan) Shake the pan to center the tortilla. Turn the heat to low.
  15. Cook for another 2-5 minutes, occasionally checking the bottom and looking for a golden brown similar to the cooked side showing on top.
  16. Set on a plate to rest for a few minutes, then slice into 6 pieces and serve.


Bon appetit!

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