Potato, Chorizo, and Vegetable Omelet

Excerpted from Tapas by Penelope Casas with permission from Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. © 2007. Photography by Jim Smith

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup olive oil
• 2  medium potatoes, peeled, in small cubes
• 6  eggs
•  sea salt
• 1  small onions, preferably Vidalia or 1  small other sweet onion, chopped
• 1⁄4 lb chorizo sausage, preferably imported, skinned and diced
• 1⁄4 cup  about 2 ounces diced serrano ham or 1⁄4 cup prosciutto
• 1⁄2 cup  cooked peas
• 1⁄2 cup  cooked baby lima beans
• 2  tablespoons  minced  piquillo peppers or 2  tablespoons pimiento, home prepared

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a skillet and fry the potatoes slowly until they are tender – they should not color. (This could also be done in a deep fryer.) Meanwhile, beat the eggs lightly with the salt. When the potatoes are done, drain, reserving about 4 tablespoons of oil, and add the potatoes to the eggs, and let set 15 minutes.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the reserved oil in the skillet and sauté the onion until it is wilted. Add the chorizo and ham and cook for another couple of minutes, until the chorizo begins to give off its oil. Stir in the peas, limas, and piquillo pepper or pimiento, and cook 2 minutes more. Add this mixture to the eggs and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Heat another 2 tablespoons of reserved oil in a clean 10-inch skillet until very hot. (It must be very hot or the eggs will stick.) Add the egg mixture, spreading it out rapidly in the skillet with the aid of a pancake turner. Lower the heat to medium-high and shake the pan often to prevent sticking. When the eggs begin to brown underneath, invert a plate of the same size over the skillet and flip the omelet onto the plate, or slide onto a dish, cover with a second dish, and invert. Add about 1 tablespoon more of the oil to the pan, then slide the omelet back into the skillet to brown on the other side.
4. Lower the heat to medium and flip the omelet two or three more times (this helps to give the omelet a good shape while it continues to cook), cooking briefly on each side and tucking in any rough edges with the back of the pancake turner. It should be juicy within. Transfer to a platter and cut into 8-10 wedges.
5. Variation: Other cooked vegetables, such as asparagus, green beans, green pepper, or mushrooms, may be added to the omelet instead of or in addition to the peas and limas.