The chef who makes Spain’s best potato omelette talks about his technique: a recipe with lots of onions and a ‘creamy’ texture

rare potato omelette There are more popular restaurants in Spain than Cañadío Restaurant Group. Every year, members of the Spanish Tortilla Championship’s jury try to find the most delicious recipe for this controversial traditional dish.This time, the first prize fell to the chef Pedro José Román, Chef de Cuisine Cañadío, in Santander. The fourteenth edition of the competition takes place in Alicante, within the framework of the Alicante Gastronomy Competition, which every year searches for the best version of this delicious Spanish dish, representing all methods of making potato omelette from north to south .

Canadio It is one of the most popular bars in Santander, founded in 1981 and named after the square in which it is located. Although associated with the Cantabrian city, Cañadío is also a hotel group led by Paco Quirós. Various locations in Madrid (Madrid, La Primera, La Maruca and La Bien Aparecida, Canada). At all of these places, you can try their famous tortilla recipes. “What we want is that, whether you go to Maruca, La Primera Café or any Cañadío in Santander and Madrid, you will find the same tortilla concept that identifies the group’s tortillas,” says chef Pedro José Román explained spanish information network.

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Including the previous winners, a total of ten institutions participated in the competition this year. Mesón O Pote (from A Coruña).The second and third places in the competition were O Cabo Restaurant (A Coruña)in collaboration with Isabel Gesto and Ramón Rodríguez respectively, as well as the previous winner Carlos Olabuenaga from the Tizona restaurant (Logroño).

Pedro José Román of Cañadío Restaurant (Santander) explains spanish information network Their success has a lot to do with the products they use in all their stores. “we use Mona Lisa potatoesa somewhat sweet variety that is in principle more suitable for cooking potatoes, but, hey, for the type of omelets we make, it is good for us,” explains the Santander chef. In addition, they use White onions, “not too spicy”olive oil albequina variety and Galician eggs.

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Although the chef has revealed to us Complete Omelet Recipe (You can read it at the end of the article), there are some details, tips or secrets that are key to replicating this dish at home. The quality of the ingredients is absolutely important, as is the proportions used.the one from canada It’s a tortilla with (lots of) onions: 300 g of onions are required for every 1.3 kg of Mona Lisa potatoes.The amount of eggs is also critical: they used almost a dozen, but they also added a few egg yolks This way they provide an extra creamy flavor.

The moment you fry the potatoes is the key to great flavor.In Canada they cook potatoes in very hot oil because they want to make sure the potatoes they almost got bombed. Also, once they have made some crunchy pieces, they break them up with a spatula. In this way, a delicious textural contrast is created, resulting in a refined, “whiter potato,” Creamier,for example, potato sauce That one has become even more hyped. “

The final secret surrounding this recipe is its final texture, a point of contention among tortilla lovers since time immemorial. Well done, rare or almost raw? According to Pedro Jose, the one from Canada is simply creamy. “When you cut the tortilla, the skewers It will melt a little, but not completely drip onto the plate.Just like other types of tortillas have a lot of liquid eggs,” explains the Cantabrian chef. There’s a trick to getting this right. On one side, the team cooks the cooked potatoes mixed with eggs Stir the mixture for a few minuteslet the potatoes and eggs mix, and by the time the mixture reaches the pan, it’s actually cooked due to the temperature of the potatoes.

The moment when the tortilla is formed is also crucial and in this horrific process we have to work towards turn our creations around. In Canada, they heat a pan over low heat and cook the tortillas until sealed. Don’t let either side brown too much (“If the egg turns brown, it won’t taste the same as when the omelet is white,” the chef says). Once they make their first turn, put out the firelet the other side cook in the residual heat.

Recommended Repsol and Michelin guides, Cañadío offers gastronomy based on updated regional and traditional cuisine for all audiences and budgets.Cañadío’s menu is full of ingredients from Cantabria, both in the dishes in the restaurant and in the various dishes, both in Santander and in the Madrid branch string and part Guests can enjoy it at the bar or on the terrace.

The restaurant’s success is not new; They won the prize for the second time Awarded by Alicante Gastronómica (organizer of this special Spanish championship). Back in 2021, Cañadío won the 14th Spanish Tescoma Trophy potato tortilla championship.But, that Prosperity They had a much better experience getting second prize. “There was media impact at the time and we thought about it a lot, but this time “The impact of the media has been exaggerated.”, the chef commented. “They even had calls from Ibiza, Granada… and Madrid. From what I heard, the group sold a lot more tortillas than they did in Madrid.” The average sales volume was 70 tacos a dayFounded in 1981 by chef Paco Quirós, this restaurant sells out almost every day, serving its famous pincho non-stop.

But Canada is more than just tacos, although it’s hard to see the success of its star, the pincho, just yet. “It’s a traditional delicacy, especially fish, but “Made with love””, explains the chef. “We used the advances in the kitchen to improve the menu of classic products, especially because what we wanted to do was Don’t overmodify your product This way you won’t lose quality. ” says Pedro José Román of his restaurant, which offers a traditional northern menu that is reproduced in other restaurants of the group. Desserts also have their highlights, especially cheesecake Prepared by chef Nicolás Reyes Ruiz, winner of this year’s inaugural National Cheesecake Championship, it is made with fresh cheese from Burgos.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Serving size: 4 people

raw material:

• 1.3kg Mona Lisa potatoes
• 300 g white onions
• 11 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• Arbequina olive oil
• Salt

Detailed description:

1. In a deep frying pan, heat oil. We want it to have the texture of fried potatoes, so, when it’s hot, we add potatoes. After five minutes or more, we add the onions to prevent them from burning.
2. When the potatoes are browned and almost cooked, break them up slightly with a spatula.
3. When frying the potatoes, we stop the heat and separate the potatoes from the oil, but we leave a little frying oil in the mixture because we will take advantage of its onion and potato flavor.
4. In another bowl we whisk eleven eggs and two yolks. We add salt to taste.
5. Let the potatoes cool for three to four minutes and then add them to the eggs. We stir the mixture continuously for about four minutes. This way, we want the potatoes and eggs to combine and by the time the mixture reaches the pan, it’s actually cooked due to the temperature of the potatoes.
6. We put a small frying pan on the fire, add a little oil and heat it, not too hot, but enough to seal our tortillas.
7. We add the mixture to the pan, we turn it the first time and turn off the heat, because we are going to make the second turn with the heat off.
8. We remove the tortillas from the pan and eat them.