Spanish Tortilla with Red Bell Pepper and Peas

This tasty vegan recipe was inspired by a dish from the episode, "Egg Dishes with an Accent" on America's Test Kitchen.

Not to be confused with the flat round bread eaten in Mexico, in Spain, a tortilla refers to a dish very much like an Italian frittata. Traditionally made with eggs, a classic Spanish tortilla can be served warm or at room temperature, as an appetizer or along with a salad as a light entrée. My version was veganized with help from the basic omelet recipe in Vegan Brunch.


This recipe does call for quite a bit of olive oil, so it's definitely not McDougall friendly. But the oil is necessary to make the potatoes very creamy and to keep the tortilla from sticking to the pan when it's time to flip it over. I was having a friend over for dinner and decided it was a good time to try something new. We both agreed that this dish was as delicious as it was colorful. The recipe will serve 4 as a light entrée or 6 as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons (divided) plus 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1½ lbs Yukon Gold potatoes (3 to 4 medium), peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices
1 medium onion, halved and sliced thin
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves
1 lb fresh (not asceptically packaged) silken tofu
2 Tbs nutritional yeast
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp fine black salt (kala namak), plus extra for sprinkling
½ cup chickpea flour
1 Tbs arrowroot or cornstarch
1 red bell peppers, chopped
½ cup frozen peas, thawed

Directions:

Toss 4 tablespoons oil, potatoes, onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper in large bowl until potato slices are thoroughly separated and coated in oil. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Reduce heat to medium-low, add potato mixture to skillet, and set bowl aside without washing. Cover and cook, stirring with rubber spatula every 5 minutes, until potatoes offer no resistance when poked with tip of paring knife, 22 to 28 minutes (it’s OK if some potato slices break into smaller pieces).

Meanwhile, chop garlic in a food processor, then add the tofu, nutritional yeast, 2 tablespoons olive oil, turmeric and black salt. Puree until smooth. Add the chickpea flour and cornstarch and puree again for about 10 seconds, until combined. Make sure to scrape down the sides. Add a bit of water (up to 1/4 cup), if necessary to make the batter pourable.

Pour tofu batter into a large bowl. Using rubber spatula, fold hot potato mixture, red peppers, and peas into tofu batter until combined, making sure to scrape all potato mixture out of skillet. Return skillet to medium-high heat, add remaining teaspoon oil, and heat until just beginning to smoke. Add tofu-potato mixture and cook, shaking pan and folding mixture constantly for 15 seconds. Smooth top of mixture with rubber spatula. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook, gently shaking pan every 30 seconds until bottom is golden brown and top is lightly set, about 3-5 minutes.

Using rubber spatula, loosen tortilla from pan, shaking back and forth until tortilla slides around freely in pan. Slide tortilla onto large plate. Invert tortilla onto second large plate and slide it browned-side up back into skillet. Tuck edges of tortilla into skillet with rubber spatula. Return pan to medium heat and continue to cook, gently shaking pan every 30 seconds, until second side is golden brown, about 2 minutes longer. Slide tortilla onto cutting board or serving plate and allow to cool at least 15 minutes. Cut tortilla into cubes or wedges.