Spanish Tortilla

1. I cut the larger potatoes in half, and then used a mandolin slicer to quickly make uniform slices of the potatoes. If you don’t have one, try to cut the potatoes as evenly and thinly as possible (but those slicers are only about 10 bucks, so you might want to invest.) Peel the onion, trim the ends, slice in half, and thinly slice it, too. Toss the potatoes and onions with ½ tsp of salt and a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
2. Heat about ¼ cup of olive oil in the pan over medium low heat for at least 5 minutes. Add about 1/3 of the of the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt. Cook them on medium low. Yes, MEDIUM LOW, until they are translucent. Stir them regularly--do not allow them to brown; you’re not making hash browns. Set them to drain over a paper towel-lined plate. Cook the rest of the potatoes the same way, adding a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the pan each time.
3. See the potato slice on the left? It’s cooked perfectly, you can see the pattern of the plate almost through it. The slice on the right is raw. Taste your cooked potatoes, are they adequately salted? Good.
4. Beat the 5 eggs with a fork until combined. Add ½ tsp salt. Add all the potatoes into the bowl and stir around.
5. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and swirl around, make sure to get the sides. Pour in the eggs and potatoes. Let them cook for about 5-7 minutes, covered if you like, still on medium low. Resist the urge to turn up the temp. The tortilla in the picture is ready to flip--do you see how the eggs on the edges have cooked?
6. Loosen the edges of the tortilla with a knife or spatula. Set a plate that is bigger than the pan on top. Put your hand on top of the plate, grab the handle with the other, take a big breath, and quickly invert the whole thing. Fortune favors the bold (do it fast.)
7. Add another teaspoon or two of olive oil to the pan. Remember when I told you to resist turning up the temp? Yeah...I turned it up and it got a little dark. No big. Take your inverted tortilla and slide it, raw side down, into the pan. Cook another 4 minutes and invert the tortilla back onto your plate.

Garlic Aioli

1. Put the yolks, garlic, mustard, salt, and lemon juice into your food processor or blender. You can do it by hand, too, but it just takes a little longer.
2. Turn on your food processor and add a slow stream of olive oil until the mixture thickens.
3. It should look like this above. Taste it and add more salt, or a few dashes of vinegar if you think it needs it. Does it taste good and strong? Good.

Cut your tortilla into wedges, serve with the aioli. A green salad is the perfect accompaniment. If you want to be really Spanish, toss the salad with just olive oil, red wine vinegar, and a little salt.