inventing one without potatoes and without eggs

For weeks, dozens of headlines have paraded the famous chef Jose Andrés on the Internet defending (or reminding) that the “omelet of his childhood” did not contain eggs. In a country deeply divided by the presence of onions in one of its national dishes, this already seems like a joke.

And, to a large extent, it is. First, because statements are tricky, of course; We’ll see it right away. And second, because what is behind it is something else: the price of eggs. If the trinxat of Cerdaña or the Swiss Rösti are being sold online as ‘omelettes without eggs’ is because, since 2021, the price has skyrocketed and it already costs practically double what it did then.

In these circumstances, the question that many of us ask ourselves, in a world with sky-high eggs, is whether they can really make an omelette. This same question was asked in Spain 90 years ago and we have just recreated it.

Let’s start by clarifying what about Jose Andrés. What Jose Andrés claims is not a tortilla, it is a trinxat. A wonder originating from Cerdanya, Alto Urgel and the rest of the Catalan Pyrenees based on cabbage and potatoes. It is a mountain, winter and use dish.

Trinxat, as I say, is not a tortilla in the strict sense; but it must be recognized that, when it is well prepared, it resembles it. By compacting the potato starch, the preparation gelatinizes and cakes, allowing it to take the shape of a tortilla. It doesn’t have its characteristic greasiness, but (except in the structure) it packs a punch.

Because, in addition to the flavor, that is what the egg provides: a network of proteins that acts as a mortar (unctuous and silky) for the poached potato and onion. Without it, as vegans have discovered, the only way is to use a substitute. The most common thing is to use chickpea flour.

It is not the same (it is drier and denser), but when we mix it with water it acquires a consistency, density and binding capacity very similar to that of an egg.

And who is interested in all this making omelettes without eggs? Although it is true that the vegan movement has already opted for this type of preparations, the truth is that current events rule: eggs are very expensive. However, throughout history, Spain (and its tortillas) has had more serious problems than this.

During the Civil War, for example. In 1941, Ignasi Domènech published a book that he had written in the hungry Barcelona of the final years of the Civil War. In that manual, in addition to nettle salads and bread substitutes, a recipe known as ‘war omelette with simulated potatoes‘.

In it, ingenuity and hunger joined hands to use boiled albedo (the white part of the orange peel) instead of potatoes; and a paste based on oil, flour, baking soda and water, instead of egg.

Although it may seem ridiculous, Doménech was one of the most prolific gourmets and kitchen editors in Spain. That is to say, he knew what he was doing.

How do you make a “war omelet”? A few months ago, our colleague Jaime de las Heras explained how it could be recreated: “for three people use three thick-crusted oranges, one onion, salt, 1 clove of garlic, olive oil, 4 tablespoons of wheat flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, white pepper powder and water.”

You have to “grate the orange peel until the white part appears”, cut it into fine pieces and soak it in water for two or three hours. Then it is drained, salted and fried in a pan with a little onion.

The rest is simple: beat “three or four drops of oil, salt, flour, baking soda, pepper and between eight and ten tablespoons of water.” Then it is mixed with the orange and curdled like a tortilla.

Image | Salah Ait Mokhtar | USDA

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