Before the days of package holidays and cheap international travel, many people in Britain had never been to places like Italy or Spain. In Britain, "Risotto" was cooked in a casserole dish in the oven; and to be fair, I suspect this was as much because the proper arborio or carnaroli rice needed to make a proper Italian risotto wasn't available back then. "Spanish Omelette" was cooked with peas, ham and red and green peppers.
This British version is, no doubt, delicious, but it's not a proper Spanish omelette. By this I mean an omelette- as cooked by the Spanish, in Spain. Tortilla de Patatas. The genuine article is made from eggs, potatoes and onions.
Cook 300g of waxy potatoes in salted water. In a decent non-stick frying pan cook some chopped onion in olive oil. Drain the potatoes, remove the skins, and then slice them up. Add the potatoes to the hot pan.
Whisk up four eggs, and season them with salt and pepper. Pour the egg into the pan, shaking the pan around so that the onion and potatoes begin to set with the egg. When the egg is almost set (this should only take just under a minute) place the pan under a hot grill. You want the top of the omelette to take on some colour (i.e. to turn golden brown), but at the same time, you don't want it to burn.
Turn the Spanish Omelette out onto a plate. The Spanish often serve it cut in to wedges.
