Have you ever been to a tapas bar where they serve little plates of delicious small dishes to accompany your drinks (very good idea from Spain)?  There is almost always a version of Spanish tortilla on the menu – you get a big wedge of translucent potato slices with just enough egg to hold them together, often drizzled with garlic aioli (fancy mayo).  (This is not a tortilla like the ones you use to wrap a burrito.)

Turns out the reason for the beautiful translucent potatoes is OLIVE OIL.  A lot of it!!  Traditional recipes I looked at call for up to  1-1/4 cups.  YIKES.  Luckily, the venerable Cooks Illustrated has a version that “only” uses 1/2 cup.  Before you freak out, remember this is for a whole pie that you cannot possibly eat by yourself or all in one sitting. We ate one large slice each for dinner which was quite filling and probably contained 2 T. of olive oil. We accompanied it with mushrooms in Spanish sherry and our favorite kale salad.  Leftovers are absolutely delicious for breakfast the next day. Continue reading