In 1599 someone wrote down how tortillas were made in Spain. And settles once and for all the debate between “con and sincebollistas”
Whoever writes this (honesty above all) is a sincebollist unredeemedone of many supporters of the firm conviction that the Spanish tortilla should not contain onion under any circumstances. Having said that, I have to admit the following: if there is an ingredient that can claim its historical place in the national omelet, in addition to eggs, it is the onion. Even before the oil or the potato. And not only because the latter did not reach Europe until well entered the 16th century. Long before the Spaniards even became familiar with what a potato was, they were already feasting on onions and eggs, without the need for any tuberculous seasoning. In fact, it took centuries for the potato to join the party. “Of the art of cooking”. Jesús Munárriz said that “it’s all in the books”. That (pardon the redundancy) is applicable to everything, from history to science, through human passions, religion, geography and of course gastronomy. A few weeks ago, coinciding with Tortilla Day (March 9), the Royal Academy (RAE) wanted to remind us on Instagram dusting off an old book that reveals how our 16th century ancestors ate. The work in question is titled ‘Book of kitchen art’ and basically it is a recipe book from 1599 in which culinary techniques, advice on food and drink and the secrets of the jobs of butler, maître, waiter, carver or cook are detailed. Some recipes for meat and fish are also included. The work is interesting both for its age and content and for its author. As remember The Royal Academy of Gastronomy was written by none other than Diego Granado Maldonado, the head chef of Philip III himself. And are you talking about tortillas? Yes. Although probably the tortillas that Diego Granado tells us about are not similar to that pincho that you usually have with beer. What Felipe III’s chef does is explain how to make a juicy omelet using eggs, bacon, cheese, cinnamon… and (exactly) onion. “Ten fresh eggs are enough and you have six ounces of streaky bacon cut into cubes, and three ounces of onion that has been cooked in the embers of the embers, and finely chopped, and fried with melted lardo, and with the bacon cut, put with the eggs three ounces of buttery cheese, half an ounce between pepper and cinnamon, and finely chopped herbs, and put everything in the pan where the bacon and onion are, and make the tortilla, and serve hot with orange juice on top. Later the cook clarify including how to make a double 14-egg omelet or even other options of up to 15 eggs with salted pork jowl, cheese and breadcrumbs. In the latter case, many of the original ingredients vary, but the basics are repeated: eggs and finely chopped onions. The ‘pre-patatil’ era. Curiosities aside, Granado’s book is interesting because it shows us how the Spanish ate (and prepared tortillas) long before potato consumption spread throughout Europe. After all, humans have been familiar with this tuber for millennia, but its popularization on the old continent is relatively recent. Although it is believed that the potato began to be cultivated ago 8,000 years in the Andes mountain range did not make the leap to the other shore of the Atlantic until late in the 16ththanks largely to the soldiers of Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada. No love at first sight. Today it may seem incredible to us that our ancestors 500 years ago did not succumb to the delights of good roast potatoes or that they were quick to change bacon for potatoes in their tortillas, but the truth is that at first that elongated tuber from Peru and Colombia did not exactly cause a stir. José Carlos Capel, critic and member of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy (RAG), remembers it in an article published in March 2024 precisely coinciding with Tortilla Day. The potato did not begin to triumph until a few centuries later. In fact, we have to go back to the 18th century, during the reign of Charles III, when crops were organized to combat famine. The Spaniards of that time looked at the tuber with eyes so different from those of 2026 that in 1785 an Irishman living in Madrid, Henry Doylededicated a book to him to clear up doubts: ‘Treaty on the use and benefits of potatoes’. A success story. Perhaps in Austrian Spain, potatoes were not very successful, but things changed over time. So much, in fact, that right now each Spaniard consumes on average around 20 kilos per year if we add the fresh, frozen and processed varieties. Around 1767 the agronomist José Antonio Valcárcel already wrote on the use of potatoes to make tortillas. At some point between the 16th century and that date, the tuber sneaked into the recipe, forming a successful tandem with eggs that was consolidated over time. It worked so well that it ended up eclipsing the rest of the ingredients that Granado kept in his pantry, in the palace of Felipe III. The great unknown. Who, when and how had the happy idea of creating what we know today as ‘Spanish omelet’? There is theories They attribute the credit to General Tomás de Zumalacárregui, in the 19th century, during the siege of Bilbao, but the reality is much simpler (and discouraging): we have no idea. “No matter how much we search through old recipe books and literary allusions, we will never know who created one of our iconic dishes,” explains Capel. What is clear is that the potato omelette as we understand it is not such an ancient culinary work. In fact, it was not consolidated until the 18th or 19th century. Even more recent is the name with which we distinguish it: ‘Spanish omelet’. Turning the tables. Capel contributes another key that complicates (even more) the story. Perhaps in Spain, omelettes were made with eggs and onions rather than with potatoes, but as time passed and once the concept of what we … Read more
