Ferrán Adrià´s bag-of-chips tortilla

Yes yes. Don´t read it again, you got it right the first time. I always thought this was an urban legend, the bag of chips tortilla. As for the attribution to FA, risen to fame on a bed of foam, like Venus? Impossible, surely?
Well, it´s true. Adrià created a restaurant version of tortilla española that has to be eaten with a spoon, and consists of several layers of soft, bubbly stuff. It´s unveliabably good, complicated, and not what I´m talking about.
This here is the quick, cheat´s tortilla, from his "Cocinar en casa" book. (Which sounds pretty silly, kind of like "Drive your kids to school like Fernando Alonso", but they say it´s good.)
I´ve changed the proportions, and added onions to it, in the humble, unassuming way one changes the recipes of a three-star wonder chef. Because let me tell you, his version pretty much sucks. And if you don´t believe me, see Pim´s review.

In case you´re wondering, why don´t I make tortilla the real way? Because it´s a hassle, takes forever, and gets one no thanks. Not in Spain, anyway.
Not that one cooks for the recognition and the pats on the back, of course not, but you know- I kind of do. And going to all the trouble to make tortilla de patata, only to be told that everyone elses´s grandmother makes the best tortilla, though yours ain´t so bad, no way.
I prefer to turn up at potlucks with some Indonesian ginger chicken ; fifteen minutes work, lots of kudos.

There are those who´ll tell you that a proper tortilla takes so little time anyway, that they can have one up and running in half an hour. Just know this: they lie in their teeth.
Sure, you can get some kind of tortilla in half an hour, but not one with dark caramelized onions, in which the potatoes have slowly poached their way to magnificent oily sogginess. Maybe the laws of physics don´t apply in other people´s kitchens, but in mine, all that takes a loooong while.
I´m not claiming this is the best tortilla you´ll ever have, but it´s very good, much better than many I have eaten, and it really is quick; ten minutes, tops, most of it waiting time.. You can make a batch for a party, or a picnic, in less time than it would take you to peel potatoes for one real one. With some good crusty bread, a bit of mayonaise and a salad, it´s a perfect after work dinner. Next morning, cold, it makes the best possible breakfast, balanced on tomato bread.
It goes without saying that you must start out with good eggs, but mostly good chips. Sour cream and onion Pringles just ain´t going to do the job here.

Tortilla de patatas de bolsa de Ferrán Adrià

You´ll need :
A small non stick frying pan, base diameter approx. 16 cm, 20 at the mouth.
a bit of olive oil
4 eggs,
100 gr. of chips, preferably fried in olive oil, broken inside the bag
and (here´s my contribution, the touch of genius, if you like)
1/2 a cup of fried onions from a bag, the kind you can find in Ikea

Take a bowl, beat the eggs, salt them very lightly, and trow in the broken chips and the onions.
Leave it till they´re soft and soggy, about five minutes.
It will look fairly revolting, and like there´s not enough egg, but stick with it.

Pour a little bit of olive oil in the pan, just enough to coat the bottom. Get it hot, and proceed with the tortilla turning instructions of the last post.
Let it cook slowly, you don´t want a crispy outside, just a firm, golden one. And if it´s slightly runny inside, so much the better.