Spanish Omelette Controversies

Origins, Ingredients and Recipes are feirccly debated

There are 1/2 dozen origin stories for the Tortilla Español (Potato Omelette)

Eggs, potatos, olive oils and salt (sometimes onions) sauteed in a pan - sounds simple:

Jeffrey Merrihue @Bar Antonio

There are multiple origin stories from Belgium to Portugal to Spain. Here are a few.There is one about a Belgian chef “Lancelot de Casteau” who worked as a cook for three bishops of Liège and published a similar recipe in 1604. But - who wants to believe that? There are references to a potato and egg pie in the Portugese restoration wars being brought home by Spanish prisoners on release in 1650. Extramedura (Bordering Portugal) lays claim to a signed document from 1708 from the town of Villanueva de la Serena where the tortilla is a key part of Easter celebrations every year. Then there are stories about generals mixing eggs and potatoes as a way to feed their hungry armies during the Basque civil war. around 1800.

The first known publication in Spain was in 1817. The entry explains the dire conditions of Navarre's farmers and recommends a recipe to feed the the hungry workers: "…two to three eggs in tortilla for 5 or 6 [people] as our women know how to make it big and thick with fewer eggs, mixing potatoes, breadcrumbs or whatever."^[4]

Ok - that is plausible.

Jeffrey Merrihue At Bar Antonio

With or Without Onion?

After debating when and who invented the Spanish Omelette - we can move on to the warring camps of with or without onion. Esquire magazine interviewed 16 renowned Spanish chefs and the poll results were 10 with onion, 4 w/out onion and 2 for both. Interestingly - there appears to be a bias for purity without onion in the more conservative south led by Chef Dabiz Munoz in Madrid and Chef Dani Garcia in Malaga and a preference for onions in the more liberal parts of Madrid and Northern provinces. Chef Dani has a laugh at the expense of his clients by offering both at restaurant Tragabuches. With onion is the exact same tortilla as without onion with a couple of spoons of onion served on the side 🤣

Dani Garci

The CIS Research Institute in Spain interviewed 5,538 consumers and found that 70.4% prefer Tortilla with onion.No hay dudas: el 70,4% de los españoles prefieren la t. Resultados que ganan frente al 26,9% de las personas que prefieren la tortilla muy hecha.

In a national poll byOlder folks prefer the more traditional without onion and young people prefer the more adventurous with onion.

Runny or Firm?

This is tightly related to the onion debate in that Tortillas are traditionally prepared and served firm and without onions reflecting the origins of a recipe made on the cheap and designed to transport by troops. Modern Tortillas are more experimental, feature more ingredients and a “fresher” less cooked texture. The same CIS research above found that 53.4% prefer runnier Tortillas. The runny onion tortilla is preferred by the young and many innovative chefs from the North. But when chefs like Dani Garcia and Dabiz Munoz prefer firmer, onion-less Tortilla - we can conclude there are preferences but no right or wrong.

Javi Martinez - El Mundo

Xtreme Foodies Favorite Spanish Omelette

How does one Tortilla de Patatas rise above the others? Is it possible that a single venue can make a tortilla that is objectively better than 1000’s of other terrific tortillas around Spain? Can we still be friends if I say yes? I’d like to credit Shawn Hennesey - the queen of tapas in Sevilla for teaching me so much about tapas and many thanks to

Gabriella Ranelli

and Tenedor Tours for showing me around San Sebastian with my friend Mark Wiens

Bar Antonio serves Xtreme Foodies favorite tortilla in Spain and indeed the world. There is a long-running debate about whether caramelized onions should be in a tortilla and that question is decisively answered here. Yes! In addition to this blasphemy - they include sweet peppers. The soft potatoes are blended with slightly runny eggs and is sauteed to firm which contrasts with the light crunch of the pan-seared exterior. This tortilla is life-changing. It comes out fresh and hot at 9:30 am as a hushed crowd waits with anticipation for the world's most stunning Tortilla (Espanol) to descend from the spiral staircase....so, don't be late. Nothing can prepare you for a warm, dry, gooey, wet “Tortilla de Patatas” served here. Since 1969 chef Jose Ramon Exkurdia has dazzled San Sebastian with this masterpiece.

With the Chef