Recommendations

Tortilla de patatas with Osborne Manzanilla

On the plate lies a thick potato omelette, lukewarm, with a moist centre and a barely coloured exterior. The manzanilla answers with a light, salty and bone-dry wine that cuts the oil in the tortilla.

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From the shelf

The bottle

Osborne Manzanilla is made from palomino from the better pagos and, according to the bodega, matures for about three and a half years in American oak casks via the solera system in Sanlucar de Barrameda. According to the Consejo Regulador, Manzanilla may only be made there, at the mouth of the Guadalquivir; the microclimate of that town keeps the velo de flor thick and alive all year round, and that gives the style its lighter, saltier character. The yeast layer protects the wine from oxidation and keeps it pale. The bottle is at 15 percent alcohol and comes in 75 centilitres.

Osborne Manzanilla

The combination

Why this works together

A tortilla de patatas is mild in itself: potato, egg and onion, cooked in olive oil, with salt as the only seasoning. That means the wine has nothing to overpower and only has to clear the palate, and a manzanilla is built for that. The acidity and the 15 percent alcohol lift the oil from the mouth, so the next bite is like the first. At the same time the salt in the wine does something to the egg: in research on taste interactions, acidity lowers the threshold at which salt is noticed, so the mild saltiness of the tortilla comes through more clearly. Because the manzanilla has no residual sweetness, that salty line stays in place. For manzanilla the Consejo mentions salads, cold soups and everything from the sea, and in Sanlucar itself the tortilla is a regular companion at the bar.

At the table

The dish

  • For 4 people
  • Ready in 45 minutes
  • Type starter

What you need

  • 8 eggs
  • 750 g waxy potatoes
  • 200 g onion
  • olive oil, generous amount
  • salt

How to make it

  1. Peel the potatoes and the onion and cut both into thin pieces of equal size, so that they cook at the same speed.
  2. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a frying pan over low heat. Let the potato and onion soften in it without browning; allow twenty to twenty-five minutes.
  3. Meanwhile beat the eggs thoroughly until there is foam on top.
  4. Drain the potato and onion in a sieve so the excess oil runs off. Gently fold them through the eggs without breaking them up, and season with salt.
  5. Let the mixture stand for five to ten minutes so that the potato absorbs the egg.
  6. Heat a clean pan over medium heat with a thin layer of oil. Pour the mixture in and let the underside set.
  7. Flip the tortilla using a flat lid or plate and cook the other side. Work around the edges with a cup.
  8. Let the tortilla rest for ten minutes and cut it into wedges or cubes.

In the glass

Serving

Serve this manzanilla very cold, at 6 to 8 degrees according to the Consejo's style page and 5 to 7 degrees according to its own guide; for manzanilla the Consejo advises putting the bottle in a bucket of ice and water. Use a catavinos or white wine glass of about 200 millilitres and fill it by a third. An opened manzanilla, like a fino, keeps only briefly, about a week in the fridge; after that it loses precisely the light, salty freshness the tortilla needs.

All about Osborne ManzanillaBack to Recommendations from ’t Bockje

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