5 eggs
8 oz bulk chorizo
1 onion, diced
1 medium bunch Kale (approx 8 cups shredded)
Salt & pepper, to taste
Oil, as needed
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Note on the oil: I like to cook with oils that have a high smoke point, such as canola or grapeseed. However, a lot of people like to cook with olive oil for health reasons. If you are using olive oil, make sure you’re cooking with regular olive oil or light olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is oil made from the first cold press of the olives – this is what gives the best flavor. Once you heat the oil, you’ve essentially done what you paid a great deal of money to have the olive oil maker not do: you’ve heated the oil. So, save yourself some money and don’t use extra virgin olive oil to cook. Note that olive oil has a much lower smoke point than either canola or grapeseed, and the oil will begin to break down and burn at a much lower temperature, which means you must cook at lower temperatures.
Oven, set to 350⁰F
8 or 9 inch oven-safe nonstick skillet
Large bowl
Silicone spatula
Tongs
Whisk (or fork)
Knife
Cutting Board
Colander, towels, or salad spinner
• Mix your eggs in a large bowl until you cannot distinguish the white and the yolk. Do not use a blender to perform this task, because this will cut the joined egg proteins into smaller strands than desired for this recipe. Note that you will be mixing everything in this bowl at one point, so it must be large enough to hold everything, not just big enough to hold the eggs.
• If your chorizo is in links, remove the chorizo from its casing. This is done by squeezing from the middle of the link to the end. The sausage will squeeze out of the casing.
• Dice the onion. Small diced or minced is preferred, but the size of the dice is really a matter of preference. Just try to ensure that all pieces are roughly the same size.
• Wash your kale thoroughly in water to remove any dirt. Kale can get quite dirty as it grows and the dirt can potentially carry E. Coli or other harmful bacteria: washing is a very important step. Dry the kale on towels, in a colander, or in a salad spinner. Remove the fibrous stem running down the middle of the kale (if you are using red kale, the stem is red, otherwise it’s a more bone color). Bunch up the kale leaves, and slice into ¼ inch strips.
1. Place your skillet over medium-high heat for approximately 30 seconds, until the pan is hot. Add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan (approx 2 to 3 teaspoons).
2. When a haze builds over the pan (not smoke, light haze), add the diced onion.
3. Add some salt and pepper immediately. Adding the salt and pepper early on really allows the flavors time to get to know each other, and to “marry” (this is the actually professional culinary term meaning the flavors have melded together). This process takes some time – just like it takes time to find the right person, date, and get married. Add your seasoning early to allow it time to get to know the rest of the food. Your mouth will thank you when it tastes the happily married food.
4. Do not shake the pan. Allow the onions to being to caramelize on the side touching the pan before shaking or stirring the onions around. Once the side of the onion touching the pan has begun to caramelize, move the onions around so that another side of the onion will touch the pan. Continue this process until all the onion pieces are slightly caramelized all around.
5. When the onions are browned, add the chorizo. Stir the chorizo around, breaking it into small chunks. If you don’t stir it around and break it up, it will cook as one massive lump, which is not what you want for this recipe.
6. Once the Chorizo has cooked for approximately 1 to 2 minutes and is broken down into small bits, add the kale. If all the kale doesn’t fit at first, that’s ok, it will wilt down and you can add the rest later.
7. Using tongs, grab a bunch of kale and turn it in the pan so that what you see on top is touching the pan, and what was on the bottom is now facing upward. Continue this process until all the kale is wilted and the chorizo and onions are nicely mixed in with the kale. If you were not able to add all the kale at first, keep adding more kale as space becomes available when the rest of the kale wilts.
8. After all the kale has wilted, continue to cook for 30 to 40 seconds, just to make sure all the moisture has released from the kale. Excess moisture left in the leaves will leave small moist pockets in the final product. Beware, however, that you do not overcook the kale. Kale, like any vegetable, loses nutritional value the longer it is cooked.
9. Pour the contents of the skillet into your large bowl with the eggs. Quickly stir the eggs after adding the hot contents of the skillet, because the hot mixture will start the cooking process of the eggs.
10. Place the skillet back on the heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. (Because there will be some residual from cooking before, you will use about a teaspoon of oil less than before.)
11. When the skillet is hot, pour the egg mixture into the skillet. You should hear an audible sizzle.
12. Without disturbing the egg touching the bottom of the pan, use a silicon spatula to even out the top of the tortilla. Do not stir at this point. If you do cause the eggs touching the bottom of the pan to move, it will result in an unevenly browned tortilla – this is not the end of the world.
13. Allow the mixture to cook over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring the skillet to the preheated oven.
14. Cook in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the top of the tortilla is firm to the touch.
15. Remove from the oven and slide the tortilla out onto a cutting board. Cut into wedges, and serve. This dish may be served hot, or room temperature. As an added bonus, if your date goes very well, you can save this in the refrigerator and eat leftovers for breakfast in the morning.
16. Top with Roasted Poblano Crème Friache
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Hey Dan, its me freddy. Just to let you know…here in Spain we don’t put the tortilla in the oven. You have to hand flip it with a special giradora de tortilla, haha. Your show sounds fun. Best of luck to you.
regards,
freddy b.
Hey Freddy,
Thanks for keeping me honest. I should probably mention for the viewers’ sake that I’ve altered the techinique to make it more approachable for the average home cook, most of whom cannot even flip small quantities of food in a sauté pan, let alone flip a tortilla like this.
They typically use potatoes in Spain too, right? Or do they make tortillas like I have here? I think it’s a great technique.
I should pick your brain about some Spanish dishes.
Anyway, so glad to hear from a trusted source in Spain. If I ever make it out to Spain, I’ll have to stop by for some lessons on authentic Spanish cuisine! Haha.
All the best,
DRM