Few dishes are more useful than a good potato omelette; It serves as a main course for dinner, a delicious appetizer or the perfect pre-lunch tapa. Whether we prepare it with or without onion – although everything indicates that we prefer it with onion – the truth is that behind this simple recipe there are some tips that should not be overlooked. Often we do not pay attention to aspects that can make the tortilla too dry or too liquid, and even put our health at risk.
When it comes to making a good potato omelette, it’s not just about resolving the eternal debate of whether or not to add onion. We want it spongy, but not liquid, golden but light. To achieve this, you must avoid making mistakes such as:
Not selecting the right ingredients
Although it is not a dish that requires us to choose between many ingredients – potatoes, egg, oil and onion – it is true that, if we do not select them well, the result is far from what we expect. should be a perfect dish. Not everything happens when you make a potato omelette; Having good raw materials brings us closer to a quality result.
Let’s start with one of the main protagonists: the potato. Not all of them are the same and are not suitable for any culinary preparation. Some are better suited for frying, while others are great for baking. The key to making a potato omelette is to choose one that does not leave a lot of water when we fry them. The best tortilla varieties are Monalisa, Colomba, Ambra, Soprano, Belami, Noha or Lucinda.
But the mistakes aren’t just focused on potatoes. Choosing a good, mild olive oil is also essential, so that its flavor does not kill the taste of the tortilla.
Fry the potatoes instead of curdling them
Another solution is to place the potatoes cut into thin slices or small squares in the very hot oil, then reduce the temperature to around 130ºC-150ºC and cook them more slowly. One of the most common mistakes is to fry the potatoes, because what the tortilla asks us to do is to curdle them, not fry them. To do this, the oil should never cover the potatoes, so that they lose water and remain tender.
Getting the quantities wrong
Balance is the basis of a good potato omelette. The goal is for it to be neither too mushy nor too light. Therefore, the amount of potato and egg we add must be adequate. Although there are many options and tastes, the important thing is to ensure the correct proportion. If you like the egg to be well cooked, you can count on one egg per potato. On the other hand, if you prefer a more liquid omelette, you will have to think about four eggs (five, if they are small) for three potatoes. When in doubt, it is always better to add one more egg than one less.
Do not drain the potatoes
The potatoes, once cooked, must be drained to remove as much fat as possible. Then, you can mix them with the well-beaten eggs and let this mixture rest for around ten minutes so that the potatoes are well soaked and have the desired consistency. One way to know you’re on the right track in terms of proportions is to check that the egg covers the potatoes and onions.
Cover it freshly made
Yes, you can let the tortilla rest for a few minutes before eating it. In addition, it is something recommended. But what you shouldn’t do at all is leave it on the turned off heat and cover it because the residual heat will continue to cook the tortilla. It’s best to remove it from the pan and leave it on an uncovered plate, without even covering it with foil.
Mistakes that go beyond taste
Beyond these mistakes that can ruin a good and tasty potato omelette, there are the mistakes that we can make and that put us in danger. We talk about failures that favor the development of pathogenic microorganisms and many of them are linked to the development of Salmonella and salmonellosis, one of the most common foodborne illnesses.
Whether it involves handling an egg in poor condition or ignoring minimum hygiene conditions, the risk is real. But we can minimize it by taking into account these precautions:
- Do not break the egg on the edge of the pan or in the same bowl where we will beat it. This means that by breaking the shell, if the egg is contaminated we can endanger anything that comes into contact with the bowl or that a piece of contaminated shell, although small, falls into the pan or bowl and ends up contaminating the rest. .of food.
- Don’t serve it on the same plate we turned it on. When you turn it over, traces of raw egg remain on the plate, which could lead to what we call cross-contamination if later we use it to serve the already prepared omelette and we do not We haven’t washed it before.
- Do not serve it raw or lightly curdled. We have already explained here the risks we were exposed to if we liked an undercooked omelette. The risk of salmonellosis in the event of egg contamination increases if, during cooking, the necessary temperature is not reached (around 70°C in the center of the omelette) for the time necessary for the destruction of bacteria. This risk is somewhat reduced if you eat the tortilla immediately after cooking since the bacteria have not had time to reproduce. But if you like the omelette to be rare, you can also use a pasteurized egg.
