I love finding classic dishes from around the world and veganising them or improving those already on offer. This vegan spanish tortilla omelette is no exception. It has all the classic elements, but it’s just vegan!
The essence of this Spanish dish is the layers of potato mixed with an eggy soft filling in between. Some recipes can be a little on the bland side I find, but this version packs a flavour punch. This heaps on the overall nutrition too. This recipe improves on that, and also has no animal products in it.
The trick is to get the potatoes a little on the way to being cooked first and then adding in some extra goodies. Most recipes suggest boiling the potatoes, but that just leaches out loads of the goodness, so I recommend steaming them. The extra goodies are the yeast flakes, gram flour and tofu, which bumps up the protein content.
I also added in some turmeric: a powerful antioxidant, with anti-inflammatory properties. Onion, capers, tomatoes, peppers add extra taste & texture. Getting the consistency right is critical, it wants to be just moist enough, well set, & not runny. Despite the number of ingredients, it’s actually quite an easy dish to make – but you need a blender or food processor.
Having the right type of dish, is critical, and I personally wouldn’t bother trying to do this on the stove top. There’s just no point, when you can do it so easily and successfully in the oven. Make sure you put a circular piece of greaseproof paper in the bottom if you want to turn the tortilla out impressively . No paper, and it will probably fall apart or break up as you try to extract it from the pan.
This delicious and nutritious dish just needs a few green veggies to be 100% perfect. I also like to have garlic bread and of course hummus, with this vegan Spanish tortilla “omelette!
Vegan Spanish Tortilla Omelette
Equipment
- 1 medium to small mediteranean casserole mine is 22cm
- 1 blender, nutribullet or food processor
- 1 large bowl to mix the vegies in.
- 1 greaseproof paper circule
Ingredients
- 600 g waxy potatoes e.g. charlotte or jersey royals or any salad potatoes
- 20 g extra virgin olive oil approx - use what you need!
- 190 g red onion finely sliced a decent sized medium red onion
- 20 g garlic sliced around 4 to 5 cloves
- 250 g soya milk I used sweetened, but unsweetened is fine (was 275)
- 300 g silken tofu I used clear spring buy most brands are ok
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 65 g gram flour aka chickpea flour (was 50g)
- 15 g nutritional yeast flakes 2 good heaped tbsps
- 2 tbsps cornflour (level) cornstarch
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ teasp lo salt
- ½ tsp black salt kala namak optional – adds an ‘eggy’ flavour
- 1 teasp smoked paprika
- 100 g grated vegan cheddar cheese 50g mixed in & 50g on top
- 100 g sliced baby tomatoes around 10 tomatoes - sliced in 3
- 1 tbsp capers (heaped)
- 1 teasp black pepper
- ½ teasp white pepper
- 130 g finely sliced green pepper
- 1 teasp low salt veg stock powder I use marigold brand
- 2 teasps oregano 1 teasp mixed in & 1 sprinkled on top
Instructions
- Wash and slice the potatoes. Around ½ cm is good (#5 on my Graeff slicer)
- Steam them for 12 minutes - don't boil them as you wash out loads of the nutrients.
- Meanwhile slice the onions and put them in the casserole on a medium heat with enough olive oil to coat them generously.
- Wash and slice the green pepper - lengthways slices then, cutting them in half is good.
- Add these to the same pan and turn over/mix fairly frequently.
- Peel and slice the garlic and add to the pan - continuing to mix frequently to avoid burning. Add a splash of water, and a little extra oil if necessary.
- In between doing this, add all the sauce/liquid elements to your blender: tofu, soya milk, nutritional yeast, turmeric, black/white pepper, gram flour, cornflour, kala namak, lo salt, smoked paprika, Dijon mustard, oregano, stock powder
- Blend this thoroughly until you have a smooth silky liquid.
- When the potatoes have had their 12 minutes, they should still be quite intact and not completely cooked. So tip them into a large bowl.
- Add in the now finished sauteeing pepper/onion/garlic mixture, along with the sliced tomatoes, drained capers. Turn the oven on at this point - 200°C normal or 180°C Fan.
- Add in the optional grated vegan cheese and one teaspoon of the oregano and mix well.
- Place the greaseproof paper circle in the centre of the bottom of the mediteranean casserole and then add in the veggie mixture. Then shake it level - there's no real need to pat it down - shaking will do the job well enough.
- Pour on the mixture, shaking gently again to settle the contents. The liquid should just cover the veggies and potatoes.
- Sprinkle the rest of the cheese and the other teaspoon of oregano on top. Also you can sprinkle some smoked paprika on top as well. Use the top of a sugar caster or similar to spread the paprika evenly.
- Place the casserole dish on middle shelf of the oven with the lid off. You may need to add the lid back towards the end if it's getting too brown. Cook for 45 minutes or until nicely browned and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out with no liquid on it.
- When cooked, it should still be moist and soft but not actually liquid inside. remove from the oven and release all the way round with a flexible spatula and/or knife.
- Place a wooden or heat-proof board on top and flip it over. Because of the greasproof paper, it will release nicely. Carefully peel off the paper, and allow to cool briefly before cutting with a sharp knife.
