If you were to ask me what the most ubiquitous dish in Spain is, I’d say certainly the tortilla de patata. As far as I know, every Spanish person knows how to make it, even those who don’t cook. I imagine that when you’re born in Spain, the recipe comes in the Spaniard Handbook along with how to speak at an unnecessarily elevated volume and how to annoy the hell out of your neighbours until they move because they can’t stand you anymore. I’ve never made a tortilla de patatas, I usually leave it up to my husband on the nights that I force ask him to cook, so this is my very first Spanish omelet.
A few weeks ago I attended a vegan meetup where I met probably the most food-obsessed people I have ever met in my life (even more than me), and where the topic of conversation turned several times to the best way to make a vegan Spanish omelet. The consensus seemed to be chickpea flour, so after I got home I checked out a couple of recipes online. The recipes I found were simple, which is how a traditional Spanish omelet should be – with just a few basic ingredients, but also pretty boring. I mean, you can put virtually anything into a Spanish omelet so why not get a little creative? Or could it be that the Spanish don’t like their tortilla de patata to be messed with? Come to think of it, I once tried to convince my husband to make a tortilla with sweet potatoes but he definitely wasn’t having it. So I decided to make my vegan Spanish omelet just a little bit different from the rest but still familiar enough that no one would be sticking their nose up at it. Result: Vegan Spanish Omelet with Roasted Garlic, Caramelized Onions and Rosemary. Ta-Da!
Save Recipe- Oil for frying
- 1 large onion
- 1 head garlic
- 3 medium sized potatoes (about 45 grams)
- 1 cup (120 grams) chickpea (gram) flour
- 1 cup (250 ml) water
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch for the onions
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a small pan over medium-low heat. Peel and slice the onion and add it to the pan with a pinch of salt. Fry very gently, stirring often, until golden brown and caramelized. It could take 45 minutes to an hour.
- Meanwhile, heat about 2 cm of oil in a pan over medium-high heat. I usually test my oil by dipping in a wooden chopstick. When bubbles form around the chopstick, the oil is hot. While the oil heats up, peel the potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise and slice into 1/2 to 1 cm slices. Fry the potatoes until soft and beginning to turn golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined dish to drain.
- You can roast your garlic in the oven, but I prefer to roast it in the microwave with a clay garlic roaster*(see note). Cut off the top of the head of garlic and drizzle over a tablespoon of oil. Place in the garlic roaster and cook on high for 2 minutes. Alternatively, place the oiled garlic in a microwave-safe dish and add 2 tablespoons of water. Cover with cling film or a plate and cook on high for 2 minutes or until soft. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out all the cloves and chop or mash them. Set aside.
- In a blender or food processor, combine the chickpea flour, water, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and rosemary. Blend until it forms a smooth batter.
- In a large bowl combine the fried potatoes, caramelized onions, roasted garlic and chickpea flour batter and stir well. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium-sized pan over medium heat and add the omelet batter. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes until the bottom browns. Uncover and place a large plate over your pan. Quickly flip over the pan onto the plate. Slide the omelet back into the pan to cook on the second side, covered, for a further 5 minutes until brown. Finally, slide the omelet out of the pan onto a plate and serve.
*Note: If your wondering what a clay garlic roaster is, here’s a picture.
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22 Comments
Edelweiss
November 25, 2015 at 6:46 pm Thank you for this recipe ! I miss my time in Spain and I love chickpea so I decided to do your recipe tonight ! I'll let you know :)M
January 28, 2016 at 1:30 pm Hi! Great recipe :) I wonder if using black salt would give it more of the "egg" taste in the end. I love to use it in my tofu scramble!Melissa
January 28, 2016 at 2:43 pm Yes, I think it would give it a more egg-y taste. I haven't managed to find black salt in my city yet, but if you try it, let me know how it is.Dayna
February 9, 2016 at 4:31 am Oohh my gosh, I made this today for the first time and was a hit. My son loved it! Thank you.Melissa
February 9, 2016 at 8:55 am Great! I'm happy you enjoyed it, thanks!Maria
March 13, 2016 at 12:13 am This is a breed between tortilla and calentita. I don't really think it can be called tortilla when it doesn't have eggs. At the end of the day a tortilla is an egg dish. This is more a calentita. And if u ask me I could also say that all north Americans are the most anoying uneducated prepotent people I've met and hated living there. At least Spanish know how to make the most out of life so no wonder they annoy small minded people that have no idea how to live in Spain.Melissa
March 13, 2016 at 11:01 am So what's the proper way for North Americans to live in Spain? And does that include Mexicans? Thanks for visiting!Marina
March 22, 2016 at 12:00 am why would that include Mexicans, it is a different countryMelissa
April 9, 2016 at 6:01 pm Folks, I can't make this stuff up!Cristina
April 9, 2016 at 10:27 amNot all spaniards are noisy and rude as you ignorantly describe in the first paragraph.
Also that so called omelet doesn’t look appetizing at all.
Melissa
April 9, 2016 at 5:55 pm Thank you for commenting! All comments are great for search engine optimization and help me rank higher in Google meaning that more people will find my recipes! As a fellow blogger, Cristina @ La Vie en White (& anglophile!), I imagine that you already understand about SEO. p.s. Your blog is amazeballs!hank riley
March 4, 2017 at 1:10 pm I like this recipe but you just made hashbrowns. not an omelet. In cuisine, an omelet is a dish made from beaten eggs quickly fried with butter or oil in a frying pan (without stirring as in scrambled egg). so you used potatoes. you can call it a potato bake, a skillet, or hashbrowns. but please stop calling something it is not.Melissa
March 4, 2017 at 3:11 pm From Wikipedia: "Spanish omelette is the English name for a traditional dish from Spanish cuisine called tortilla española or tortilla de patatas. It is an omelette made with eggs and potatoes, sometimes also with onion and/or chives or garlic; fried in oil and often served cold as an appetizer. It is part of the cuisine of Spain and many South American countries, especially in the zone of Rio de la Plata". Google it.Gillian
July 11, 2017 at 10:48 pm GIRL! You do you! I was so stoked that I found your recipe! I lived in Spain for 6 months and absolutely LOVED their cuisine and culture, especially the late night tortillas :') I am currently living with my vegan sister, so I've been slowly accumulating her food preferences. I became so sad when I realized I wouldn't be able to make my tortillas!!! :O But, low and behold, a vegan tortilla!!!! My life is complete :) Thank you so much, and cannot wait to try this out tonight! Love from a 'North American'Melissa
July 12, 2017 at 10:16 am Thanks so much, hope you like the recipe!Jayme Graha
August 25, 2017 at 7:35 pm I just came across your recipe via facebook and all I can say is THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!!! I only discovered the Spanish omelette a few years ago (before turning vegan) and fell in love with it. This is one dish I really missed being vegan - I cannot wait to make this!Kris
March 3, 2018 at 2:53 am I don't understand people who look for vegan tortilla and then mention eggs. Of course a real tortilla is made off eggs but hey guess what ? Rhis is a vegan version and it can be easily called tortilla. Sometimes people amaze me with their inappropriate comments. Anyway lets get back to the recipe. Thank you Melissa. It is delicious and it will be my new perfect "vegan tortilla" meal . I love it and you made my day. You rock! Thanks ❤Beth V
March 19, 2018 at 5:37 pm I am always amazed how rude people can be no matter where they hail from!! You handle this very well. I happen to think your recipe looks great! I am going to try it out for dinner tonight. Thanks for taking the time to create and post.Pongodhall
March 31, 2018 at 12:52 pm I don't care if you call it Fred. It's a great recipe for good food, so thank youLinda McKenzie
October 3, 2018 at 6:21 pm 45 grams of potato? I'm assuming this is a typo and that you intended 450 grams?Melissa
October 15, 2018 at 8:10 am OOPSIE!!!Tine
October 21, 2018 at 4:33 pm This got great reviews for flavor at Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie watch party, but I think your pan must be much smaller than my 10 inch cast iron! My "tortilla" was all of 1/2 of an inch thick, lol.