tortilla de españa de deliciousa

My Spanish roommates were very zealous in instructing me on the finer points of tortilla creation, and I was very zealous in eating the results of my lessons. And now, the student has become: THE TEACHER. The tortilla is one of those cultural standards that everyone has SECRET ingredients for; I've heard it's better if you whip the eggs with whole milk, or put in fried chorizo, or add pureed bat's wings collected at midnight of a full moon. This is just the way I learned, and the way I like it best, but it's very versatile and fun to play with additions. Olé! 1. Cut the potatoes laterally, then into half-moon slices, each about half an inch thick 2. pour the gadzillion gallons of oil into a 9-inch-ish frying pan, and turn heat on high a few minutes, till the oil is very hot, but not smoking. 3. Add the potatoes to the pan (do this very carefully, because the oil is at a prime disfiguring-skin-burn heat level). Stir it up a bit, so the oil has coated all the potatoes and they are spread out to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally to keep them from burning, then add the onions. Mix onions in with the potatoes, again stirring sporadically to ward off Mr. Burny, but not too much. 4. When the potatoes are golden and a little squishy (about ten more minutes), take pan off the heat. Use a slotted spoon to move the mix into a large bowl, and pour the leftover oil into a separate container (you'll need it again) and wipe down the pan. 5. While the potato/onions cool a bit, start on the eggs. For a fluffy texture, I like to separate the yolk and white. Use a fork and viciously stir the whites till they're nice and frothy (about the consistency of a rabid dog's mouth foam, but not quite as thick as a rabid raccoon's). 6. After letting the po-nion mix cool about five minutes, toss in the yolks. DON'T OVERMIX IT, just give it a few swipes to coat around, then add the whites and do the same. Give it ten minutes to absorb the eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste. 7. put about a tablespoon or two of the saved oil in the pan. Heat it up about a minute (again, simmery, not smokey), then pour in the egg-tater-onion mix, spreading it to cover the pan bottom. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook about ten minutes. Don't stir, but do shake the pan every once in a while, to make sure it doesn't stick. the surface shouldn't cook through, but it should get a bit less runny. 8. This part is kind of tricky, but don't be scared. Take a big plate or the lid of the frying pan and place it over the mix. Grab the pan handle, and turn the whole thing upside down so the uncooked portion of the tortilla will be face down on the plate. This is best done whilst over the sink or a bowl to catch drippings and/or crashings down in failure. 9. Now the soon-to-be-perfect-tortilla is cooked-side facing up! Magic! add another spoon or two of oil to the pan, then slide the uncooked-tortilla-side on down. This will only need to cook about two minutes. I like it kind of runny inside; if you want the mixture firmer, cook it longer, and stick a toothpick into the center to gauge done-ness. You can also flip it a few more times, to your heart’s desire. Use a spatula to kind of mold the edges if you want them pretty. 10. Eat. Love. I think it's tastiest about room temp, usually with some salt, and maybe tomato and mozzarella salad. Makes an excellent hangover food.