Chef Mik's Tortilla con Camarones

There are a few stories about the origins of the Spanish style tortilla which I first started preparing myself now well over 20 years ago, one in which a military general was looking for a way to keep his troupes fed, another involving peasants of a small town were in food was scarce and the dish evolved out of necessity, there is also one in which the wife of a farmer created it during a war while under house arrest of sorts, that said my own history with this particular dish is the one I like most, it was at the home of a good friend from Spain back in Europe, his mother asked if I wanted to stay for dinner, I asked my friend what they would be having and he replied “tortillas” I felt sad that they were so pore that would be all they were having and yet they still invited me to stay, the thing was at the time I was only familiar with the flour and corn tortilla’s common in Mexico and the United States, but I also knew my friends mother was a great cook and I decided to stay and boy was I in for a surprise for when I walked into the kitchen it stopped me in my tracks for what I was greeted with and the sights and smells washed over me was divine, I have always loved her cooking and to this day make many of her dishes...

The classic is simply prepared with potatoes, onions and eggs cooked up in a pan; variations include the additions of pimentos, peas, chorizo, dried meats and many others for today I will be preparing mine with shrimp, not to be confused with Andalusia version “Tortilla de Camarones” which uses chickpea flour, saffron and is deep fried

Shopping List

Eggs

Potatoes

Onions

Shrimp

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

My Mad Method

In a well heated add olive oil, heat until just smoking

Add ½ sliced onions and sauté until caramelized

In a separate pan sauté 150g shredded potatoes, a cheese grater works great for this, season with salt and pepper to taste

Toss 150g pealed and deveined shrimp with some olive oil salt, pepper, and some other spices such as chili if desired

In a well heated pan add the shrimp and pan fry for a 2 or 3 minutes

Toss the shrimp with the potatoes and onions, set aside but keep warm

Meanwhile using a stainless steal mixing bowl whisk 3 eggs with salt and pepper

Heat a sauté pan on high, add olive oil, and heat to smoking point add the eggs, after 1 minute when eggs have just begun to congeal add the shrimp, potato, and onion mix

As the eggs start to harden around the edges gently lift the sides to allow the uncooked eggs to drain below

When eggs have settles on all sided shake the pan lightly, when the omelet has released itself from the pan flip it

You can do so using a plate placed over the pan and flipping the omelet, then sliding it back into the pan

Continue to cook the omelet until cooked through and has once again released itself from the pan

Ready to serve!!