Cheater's Spanish Tortilla

A prep-ahead snack you can keep in your fridge and nibble on all week

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Cheater’s Spanish Tortilla

A Spanish tortilla—the dense, cake-like construction of fried potato slices held together by egg—is the perfect prep-ahead snacking dinner. You can store it in the fridge for days and cut thick slices out whenever you need a fast, hearty meal (no reheating required).

While a traditional tortilla requires a fair amount of work at the start (peeling, thinly slicing, and frying the potatoes), a “cheater’s” version made with potato chips is just as easy as making an omelet. This trick—subbing salted potato chips for the time-consuming fried potato slices—comes from none other than the famed Spanish chef Ferran Adrià, so I don’t really think of it as cheating. The result is a bit denser and dryer than the original, since you don’t have the slight moisture of the fresh potatoes, but if potato chips are good enough for one of the pioneers of molecular gastronomy, they’re certainly good enough for me!

Here, I’ve taken Adrià’s recipe and cut it down from a traditional 10-inch tortilla to a thinner, personal-sized 7-inch version perfect for sharing between two people, splitting up into two or three solo meals, or just nibbling throughout the week alongside other tapas-style foods. (It makes a great addition to the tapas-style spread in my book!) I’ve also incorporated option to mix in thin slices of roasted (or pickled) peppers or olives, which add some extra flavor.

Tortillas are traditionally served with a bit of aioli, so I’ve shared another cheat (a faux aioli that’s really just well-seasoned mayo) below. This sauce is also great with steamed artichoke or crispy roasted broccolini, so if you want, you could prep one of those ahead as well and have a full meal waiting in the fridge when you get home.

Makes 2–3 Servings

8 large eggs
3 ounces potato chips (3–4 cups or ⅓–½ bag, depending on size and thickness)
2–3 tablespoon thinly sliced add-in such as roasted (or pickled) pepper and/or olives (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Cheater’s Aioli, to serve (recipe below)

1. Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk them vigorously until they’re frothy and the color has lightened, 3–4 minutes. Add the chips (and any add-ins) to the eggs and use a rubber spatula to gently fold everything together until all the eggs are coated. Let the mixture sit for 1 minute, folding occasionally, so the chips can soften (they’ll lose volume as they do).

2. Heat half of the oil in a small (8”) nonstick pan over medium. Pour the egg-chip mixture in, smooth the top with the rubber spatula. Let the tortilla cook, undisturbed, until it is almost set; the bottom should be a golden brown but the top will still be a bit runny. Run the spatula along the edges of the tortilla to loosen it from the pan.

3. Flip the tortilla: Invert a large plate on top of the pan (so the bottom of the plate faces up), put one hand on the plate and one on the handle of the pan, and flip the whole thing, so the tortilla is sitting on the plate with the cooked side up.

4. Put the pan back on the stove and add the rest of the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, then gently slide the tortilla back into the pan, so the golden-brown side is up and the uncooked side is in contact with the pan.

5. Use the spatula to tuck the edges of the tortilla down, so they curve down into the pan instead of sticking out. Continue cooking the tortilla for another 2–3 minutes, until the bottom is golden brown.

6. Slide or flip the finished tortilla onto a plate and serve warm or cold, with some aioli on the side.

Cheater’s Aioli

1 small clove of garlic
1 big pinch kosher salt
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 wedge lemon

Mince the garlic, then put the pinch of salt on top of it and use the side of your knife, held at an angle, to scrape the mixture across your cutting board; the salt will act as a rasp to help break the garlic up and form a paste. Mix the garlic-salt combo with the mayonnaise, then squeeze in some lemon juice. Taste and add more lemon if needed.

Photos: Georgia Freedman