Spanish Breakfast Overview
Breakfast in Spain is similar to other types of Spanish cooking: a few fresh and simple ingredients brought together in small plates to create a delicious and well balanced meal. Here, we demonstrate two quintessential Spanish breakfast recipes: Tortilla de Patatas & Pan con Tomate. We also served our Spanish breakfast with fresh fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice (called zumo de naranja in Spanish), and some almonds (but feel free to use any other fun Spanish food like olives).
Tortilla de Patatas
This is one of Spain’s most famous dishes (just about as popular as paella, sangria, etc.). It is a Spanish-style omelet made with only three ingredients: eggs, potatoes, and onions.
It involves cooking the onions and potatoes in a decent amount of oil (pro tip is to drain the excess oil into a bowl for use in other future recipes) before letting them soak up the eggs and cooking it into one bit omelet and serving it in slices like a pizza or pie. The caramelized onions give it a subtle sweetness so all you need is a bit of salt and pepper to balance it out.
A Tip for the Flip
Flipping the omelet tends to be the most difficult part of this recipe and since one big tear down the middle of the omelet can completely mess up the presentation, here’s a suggestion for easily flipping it without issue:
Just use a large plate or cutting board, place it on top of the pan, and holding both that and then pan, flip 180 degrees in one swift motion. Then just slide the omelet form the plate/cutting board back into the pan. And voila! No need to flip up in the air and pray that it doesn’t rip or end up on the floor.
Pan con Tomate
In Spain, they call it Pan Con Tomate and in Catalan, it is called Pa Amb Tomàquet. Regardless, it’s wonderfully light and refreshing. Essentially, this recipe is the Spanish version of bruschetta. However, instead of thinly minced tomato, it calls for grating the tomatoes into a rough puree.
Don’t forget the important step of rubbing the toast with a fresh garlic clove to supplement the flavor!
We also felt compelled to serve some of our toast with some prosciutto (optional).
What do you think of this Spanish Breakfast?
Do you think we did it justice? Are there any other quintessential Spanish recipes we’re leaving out (apart from perhaps some Spanish Chocolate Milk and Churros con Chocolate)? What other tips do you have for making Spanish Breakfast? Let us know what you think in the comment section below!
Spanish Breakfast (Tortilla de Patatas & Pan con Tomate)
Ingredients
Pan con Tomate
- 1 loaf bread
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- Prosciutto
- 1 bunch cilantro for garnish
Tortilla de Patata
- 6 eggs
- 3 medium waxy potatoes like Yukon, thinly sliced
- 1 large sweet onion thinly sliced
Instructions
Pan con Tomate
- Slice bread and toast it. While it’s still warm, rub a fresh garlic clove over all the surfaces.
- Half the tomatoes. Grate them (with cut-side facing grater) into a bowl until the skin is all that’s left.
- Scoop the grated tomato onto the toast, drizzle with some olive oil, add a pinch of pepper and flaked salt, and sprinkle with cilantro.
Tortilla de Patata
- In a large pan on medium-high heat, add about 1 cup olive oil (Spanish olive oil if you want to stick with the theme) and toss in the sliced onions and saute for 1-2 minutes before adding the potatoes. Keep cooking for a few minutes until the potatoes and onions are golden on all sides.
- Using a fine mesh strainer, pour out the excess oil into a bowl (you can save this oil to use in other recipes).
- In a large bowl, add 6 eggs and beat with a fork until combined. Add the potatoes and onions with a pinch of salt and pepper, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Heat the same pan as before on medium heat with just a bit of oil. Pour in the egg mixture. Let cook for a few minutes, covered, until the bottom has turned golden-brown and the top has started to solidify.
- Flip over and cook the other side until it is also golden and the eggs on the inside are cooked through.
- Top with fresh cilantro and serve warm or room temperature.
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