Alternative names | Tortilla de patatas Tortilla de papas Tortilla española Spanish tortilla Potato omelete |
---|---|
Course | Tapas, appetizer or main course |
Place of origin | Spain |
Serving temperature | Either warm or room temperature |
Main ingredients | Egg, potatoes, vegetable oil |
Variations | Often includes onion |
Spanish omelette [1] or Spanish tortilla [2] is a traditional dish from Spain. It is celebrated as one of the most popular dishes of the Spanish cuisine. [3] It is an omelette made with eggs and potatoes, usually including onion. It is often served at room temperature as a tapa.
It is commonly known in Spanish-speaking countries as tortilla de patatas, tortilla de papas, or tortilla española.
The first reference to the tortilla in Spanish is found in a Navarrese document, as an anonymous "mousehole memorial" addressed to the court of Navarre in 1817. It explains the sparse conditions of Navarre's farmers in contrast with those in Pamplona (the capital) and la Ribera (in southern Navarre). After listing the sparse food eaten by highlanders, the next quote follows: "…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]
According to legend, during the siege of Bilbao, Carlist general Tomás de Zumalacárregui invented the "tortilla de patatas" as an easy, fast and nutritious dish to satisfy the scarcities of the Carlist army. Although it remains unknown whether this is true, it appears the tortilla started to spread during the early Carlist Wars. [5]
Another tale is that the recipe was learnt by Spanish prisoners captured after the Battle of Montes Claros during the Portuguese Restoration War in 1665. [6] After the Portuguese victory, more than 6,000 Spanish soldiers were kept in captivity for three years until the 1668 Treaty of Lisbon was signed. Upon their release, these prisoners brought part of the culture of Alentejo to Spain, including many recipes, which featured a potato egg pie that evolved into the modern version of "tortilla". [7]
The word tortilla, which is the diminutive form of torta, literally means 'small cake'. [8] [9] In European Spanish and in some variants of Latin American Spanish, it means omelette. [8] [9] A potato omelette is a tortilla de patatas or papas. [10] [11]
As the dish has gained international popularity, and perhaps to distinguish it from the thin flatbread made out of wheat or maize popular in Mexico and Central America, the española or Spanish naming gained traction. As such, 'Spanish omelette' [12] [13] or 'Spanish tortilla' [14] [15] are its common names in English, while tortilla española [9] [13] [16] [17] is the formally accepted name even within the peninsula. In Spain, an omelette (made simply of beaten eggs) is known as tortilla francesa (lit. 'French omelette') to distinguish it from the potato version. [18]
The Spanish omelette is widely available in Spain, and prepared in some Spanish-speaking countries.
The two main options are either with or without onion. The addition of onion is the cause of an unresolved dispute, pitting concebollistas (the "with onion" group) against sincebollistas (the "without onion" group, considering this to be authentic). [19] It may be related to the tenderness of the local varieties of potato. Restaurateurs are expected to say whether their tortilla has onion, and industrial producers market both options.
The most common way to cook a Spanish omelette is as follows:
The omelette may be eaten hot, at room temperature, or chilled; it is commonly served, cut into bite-size pieces (pincho de tortilla), as a tapa , or cut into wedges.
Día de la Tortilla ("Tortilla Day") is a popular festivity celebrated in many towns in southern and western Spain. Its date varies depending on the town; however, it normally coincides with the Thursday before Lent, the first day of Carnival, also known as "Jueves Lardero" (Fat Thursday). Many towns in eastern Spain have a similar celebration on that day. Traditionally, the inhabitants of each town go to a nearby rural area where they spend the day among family members and friends, eating Spanish tortillas and other foods, and playing games. [23]
Spanish cuisine consists of the traditions and practices of Spanish cooking. It features considerable regional diversity, with significant differences among the traditions of each of Spain's regional cuisines.
A taco is a traditional Mexican dish consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of fillings, including beef, pork, chicken, seafood, beans, vegetables, and cheese, and garnished with various condiments, such as salsa, guacamole, or sour cream, and vegetables, such as lettuce, coriander, onion, tomatoes, and chiles. Tacos are a common form of antojitos, or Mexican street food, which have spread around the world.
An enchilada is a Mexican dish consisting of a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a savory sauce. Enchiladas can be filled with various ingredients, including meats, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, or combinations. Enchilada sauces include chili-based sauces, such as salsa roja, various moles, tomatillo-based sauces, such as salsa verde, or cheese-based sauces, such as chile con queso.
Tomás de Zumalacárregui e Imaz, known among his troops as "Uncle Tomás", was a Spanish Basque officer who lead the Carlist faction as Captain general of the Army during the First Carlist War. He was occasionally nicknamed the "Wolf of the Amezcoas", making reference to his famous military victory in the region of Navarre.
In North America, a corn tortilla or just tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flatbread, made from hominy, that is the whole kernels of maize treated with alkali to improve their nutrition in a process called nixtamalization. A simple dough made of ground hominy, salt and water is then formed into flat discs and cooked on a very hot surface, generally an iron griddle called a comal.
An omelette is a dish made from eggs, fried with butter or oil in a frying pan. It is a common practice for an omelette to include fillings such as chives, vegetables, mushrooms, meat, cheese, onions or some combination of the above. Whole eggs or egg whites are often beaten with a small amount of milk, cream, or water.
Potato pancakes are shallow-fried pancakes of grated or ground potato, matzo meal or flour and a binding ingredient such as egg or applesauce, often flavored with grated garlic or onion and seasonings. They may be topped with a variety of condiments, ranging from the savory, to the sweet, or they may be served plain. The dish is sometimes made from mashed potatoes to make pancake-shaped croquettes. Some variations are made with sweet potatoes.
Torta is a culinary term that can, depending on the cuisine, refer to cakes, pies, flatbreads, sandwiches, or omelettes.
Jamón is a type of dry-cured ham produced in Spain. It is one of the most globally recognized food items of Spanish cuisine. It is also regularly a component of tapas.
Escabeche is the name for several dishes in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Filipino and Latin American cuisines, consisting of marinated fish, meat or vegetables, cooked or pickled in an acidic sauce, and flavored with paprika, citrus, and other spices.
Portuguese and Spanish, although closely related Romance languages, differ in many aspects of their phonology, grammar, and lexicon. Both belong to a subset of the Romance languages known as West Iberian Romance, which also includes several other languages or dialects with fewer speakers, all of which are mutually intelligible to some degree. A 1949 study by Italian-American linguist Mario Pei, analyzing the degree of difference from a language's parent by comparing phonology, inflection, syntax, vocabulary, and intonation, indicated the following percentages : In the case of Spanish it was 20%, the third closest Romance language to Latin, only behind Sardinian and Italian. Portuguese was 31%, making it the second furthest language from Latin after French.
The Basque witch trials of the seventeenth century represent the last attempt at rooting out supposed witchcraft from Navarre by the Spanish Inquisition, after a series of episodes erupted during the sixteenth century following the end of military operations in the conquest of Iberian Navarre, until 1524.
A flour tortilla or wheat tortilla is a type of soft, thin flatbread made from finely ground wheat flour. Made with flour- and water-based dough, it is pressed and cooked, similar to corn tortillas. The simplest recipes use only flour, water, fat, and salt, but commercially-made flour tortillas generally contain chemical leavening agents such as baking powder, and other ingredients.
Puchero is a type of stew originally from Spain, prepared in Yucatán, Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Perú, south of Brazil, the Philippines, and Spain, specifically the autonomous communities of Andalusia and the Canary Islands. The Spanish word "puchero" originally meant an earthenware pot, before being extended to mean any vessel, and then the dish cooked in it.
Mazamorra or masamorra is the name for numerous traditional dishes from the Iberian Peninsula and Hispanic America.
Carapulcra, or carapulca, is an ancient Andean dish that has been prepared for centuries by both Quechua peoples and Aymara peoples. The original term for this dish in the Aymara language is qala phurk'a, which means a stew made with hot stones. In contemporary Peruvian cuisine and Bolivian cuisine, it is a stew of pork and papa seca, with peanuts, aji panca and mirasol peppers, garlic, and other spices like clove. In ancient times llama meat or alpaca meat would have been used, and some people still use these meats today. It is usually eaten with rice, boiled potatoes or yuca.
Bauernfrühstück is a warm German dish made from fried potatoes, eggs, green onions, parsley, and bacon or ham. Despite its name, it is eaten not only for breakfast but also for lunch and dinner.
A Charanga is a small amateur marching band with wind and percussion instruments that plays festivals mainly in Northern Spain, Basque Country, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León and the Valencian Community. In the past, the name charanga also applied to certain military musical bands of the Spanish Army and as ship's company bands in the Spanish Navy.
Pasta frola or pasta frolla is a type of sweet tart common to Italy, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Egypt and Greece. It is a covered, jam-filled shortcrust pastry dish principally made from flour, sugar and egg. Common fillings include quince cheese, dulce de batata, dulce de leche, guava, or strawberry jam. The covering of the tart is a thin-striped lattice which displays the filling beneath in rhomboidal or square sections. Pastafrola is most usually oven-baked in a circular shape. Most of the Greek versions of this dish are filled with sweet jam: it is considered a morning dessert.
A corrala is a type of housing found in old Madrid. Sometimes, it may be called a corridor house due to blocks having doors located on corridors. Usually, it is wooden and the units look at the central area, or a patio.