Tortilla con Chorizo
(Spanish Omelet With Sausage)

Often seen in tapas bars, the traditional tortilla (Spanish omelet) is about an inch thick, made with eggs, potato and onion.

There are many variations--cheese, mushrooms, green peas, etc.--in fact almost any savory ingredient the cook can find could be thrown in with the beaten eggs.

Faraone's version uses slices of Spanish chorizo Bilbao. She fries her
potatoes and onions in a lot of olive oil before adding them to the
beaten eggs. "It doesn't come out the same if you don't," she says, "then I cook the tortilla in a skillet sprayed with non-stick olive oil, poking with a fork once it starts to set to let the raw egg flow into the
bottom."

Although some chefs flip their tortillas in the air, the Spanish woman
plays it safe by inverting a large plate over the skillet to turn the
omelet, then returns it to the hot skillet to finish cooking the
underside. "It should not be too dry or too wet." The tortilla may be
served hot or cold. In tapas bars, it is usually served cold,
thinly sliced. "It's actually better tomorrow than today. Cold is great!"

3 or 4 potatoes

2 cups olive oil

1 onion, chopped

6 eggs

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped parsley

2 chorizos Bilbao, sliced 1/2-inch thick

Olive oil

Salt, pepper

Peel  and cut potatoes into 1/4-inch slices. Heat olive oil in large
skillet over medium heat. Fry potatoes and onion until tender, about 10
minutes. Drain well. (Strain olive oil and reserve for other use).

Beat eggs well in bowl. Stir in chopped garlic, parsley, potatoes and
chorizos Bilbao. Lightly season to taste with salt and pepper (allow for
saltiness of chorizos).

Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 10-inch non-stick skillet and let heat slightly. Place    over medium heat. Add egg mixture, spreading to cover bottom
of skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low. Let bottom set, about several
seconds, then move set egg with fork to allow liquid egg to run to bottom
of pan. Let set, then move with fork again to let more liquid egg run
into bottom of pan.

Place slightly larger plate over skillet, turn over to flip tortilla,
then return to skillet (add more olive oil if necessary)
to cook moist side. Cook over low heat until golden crust is formed, or
to desired doneness. Serve hot or cold. Makes 6 servings.

Information Source: Colman Andrews
Los Angeles Times

Colman Andrews is the author of "Catalan Cuisine" (Collier Books) and the forthcoming "Everything on the Table," to be published in November by Bantam. He is working on a book on contemporary Spanish cooking.