Spanish Tortilla with Soyrizo
Traditional Spanish Tortillas (omelettes) are cooked with potatoes. This one is made heartier and gets a meatless flavor boost with the addition of soyrizo.
For all my talk of being part-time plant-based, I’m coming to accept that I might never be able to do it full-time. There are foods I enjoy too much to give up permanently–bacon I can live without–cheese and eggs are another story.
Eggs are a convenient pantry staple in my household. When the larder is empty or nothing else sounds appetizing I can always rely on eggs to hit the spot. While I can use flax eggs in baked goods there’s no substitute for the real thing in savory dishes. A tofu scramble might be fine but nothing beats a simple fried egg or a good omelette.
Take this Spanish tortilla, for example. Eggs, potatoes and onions are the traditional ingredients (onions are controversial but I like them with eggs). It’s a simple omelette but so comforting and satisfying. Most of the time this trio of ingredients is enough for me but since I happened to have Soyrizo in the fridge recently this is the omelette that I ended up calling a quick and tasty lunch.
What is Soyrizo?
Soyrizo is a meatless version of Mexican chorizo–a seasoned, uncooked sausage usually made with pork. It’s vastly different than Spanish chorizo which is a dry, cured sausage that is ready to eat compared its Mexican cousin which needs to be cooked first.
As its name suggests, Soyrizo is a soy-based, vegan alternative to the Mexican original and for me, just as satisfying. I particularly like the El Burrito brand from Whole Foods because it’s flavorful and tastes much like the meat-based versions.
In this Spanish tortilla the Soyrizo adds a lot of flavor and requires not much additional work. What is slightly different in my preparation compared to how a Spaniard would prepare it is that, instead of slicing the potato into thin disks, I choose the Filipino torta route (a ground-meat-based omelette) by cutting the potato in cubes. This method is a little more convenient and achieves the same tasty results.
As a testament, my husband who is not a big fan of potatoes and minimizes his consumption of eggs (to keep his cholesterol levels low) loved this tortilla and ate it for two days.
A tip: If you are committed to not eating eggs, leave them out altogether. The Soyrizo, potatoes and onions cooked together make for a satisfying meatless meal on their own. It’s reminiscent of corned beef hash…without the beef, of course.
Spanish Tortilla with Soyrizo
Ingredients
- 4 eggs, whisked lightly
- 4 ounces soyrizo
- 1/2 large onion, diced in 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/2 large potato, peeled and diced
- onion and garlic powder, few dashes each
- salt and pepper, to taste
- olive oil
- chopped parsley (optional)
Instructions
-
Using a small skillet (I used an 8-inch nonstick skillet) cook the soyrizo in a tablespoon or two of olive oil for five minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
-
Add another tablespoon of oil to the same pan followed by the potatoes. Add a splash of water to the pan (one or two tablespoons), cover with a lid and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are tender, four to five minutes.
-
Add the onions to the pan (don’t remove the potatoes), season with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Cook for three to four minutes, stirring occasionally, just until the onions and potatoes begin to brown. Add the soyrizo (and parsley if using) and stir. Transfer the cooked mixture to a bowl and let cool for a few minutes.
-
Add the slightly cooled soyrizo mixture to the bowl of whisked eggs. Stir to combine. Pour the egg/soyrizo mixture into the same skillet and cook over medium to medium low heat for five to seven minutes. When the omelette is mostly set with the top portion still runny, cook it under a broiler for about two minutes until the top has set. Alternatively, you can skip the broiler and cover the skillet with a lid and cook on low for a few minutes until the top is set.
The flavor combo was great, but when I made this ultimately it burned and stuck to the bottom of the pan