Spanish Tortilla with Melted Leeks and Pimentón Aioli

To make the aioli, roll a damp kitchen towel into a donut shape and set it on your work surface. Put a medium bowl on top of the towel so its base fits snugly in the hole. This will help the bowl stay in place as you whisk to make the aioli. Combine the egg yolk, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pimentón picante in the bowl and whisk until well combined and uniform in color. Now start adding the olive oil, drop by drop at first, while vigorously whisking to incorporate it. Once the mixture starts to look thick and creamy, you can begin to add the oil in a slow, steady stream, continuing to whisk vigorously to make sure the oil is incorporated at the same rate it’s added. Keep this up until all the oil has been incorporated and the mixture is thick, creamy and a uniform rosy orange color. The aioli will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To prepare the leeks, trim off the tough bottom from each leek, about 1/4 inch (6 mm) from the root base. Next, trim off the tough dark-green tops, not by just lopping them off but by cutting in an upside-down “V”—this preserves the center of those tops, which is pale and tender. Halve the leeks lengthwise, then slice them crosswise into half-moons 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. You should have about 4 cups.

Put the leeks in a large bowl, fill with cool water and then agitate and stir well as you separate the layers. Use your hands to transfer the leeks to a colander to drain so any dislodged dirt and grit remains in the water. Finally, shake out any excess water, drain the leeks really well and pat dry with kitchen towels.

In a 10- or 11-inch (25- or 28-cm) ovenproof nonstick fry pan over medium heat, warm 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) of the olive oil until it shimmers. Add the leeks, sprinkle evenly with 1 tsp. of the salt and stir well. Cook, stirring every couple of minutes, until the leeks are fully soft and creamy and turn a pale, golden color, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and transfer the leeks to a medium bowl.

Wipe out the pan, then add the remaining 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) olive oil and heat over medium-low heat until warm. Add the potatoes and the remaining 1 tsp. salt and cook, occasionally flipping the potatoes gently so they remain intact, until they’re tender with a slight firmness, 6 to 8 minutes.

Position a rack in the top position of your oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

To prepare the tortilla, crack the eggs into a large bowl, add the salt and whisk until the eggs are well beaten, with no visible blobs of the whites. Add the leeks and stir well until they’re evenly dispersed (they’ll want to clump). Add the potatoes (and any oil in the pan) and stir gently but thoroughly.

Heat the oil in the fry pan over medium-low heat until just warm. Add the egg mixture and use a flexible spatula to start dragging it until some soft folds form as the bottom begins to set. Next, start pulling the egg mixture from the edges and bottom of the pan toward the center, tipping the pan to let the runny egg in the center spill into the edges. As the egg mixture cooks, it will continue to form more of those soft folds. Keep at it until it’s half set, with edges forming and a fairly runny center, about 2 minutes.

While the egg mixture cooks, keep your eye on the edges. When a nice border of set egg has formed, use the flexible spatula to pull the edges of the egg mixture from the pan’s edges so the resulting tortilla will have nice rounded sides.

Soon you’re going to finish cooking the tortilla in the oven, but first you need to make sure the bottom layer (which will ultimately be the top layer) is set. While you’re cooking, occasionally move the pan around in a circular motion with it still on the stovetop. When the entire tortilla moves as one mass in the pan, it’s ready for the oven. Transfer the pan to the top rack and cook until the surface is covered with soft, shiny folds of cooked egg with just a bit of golden runny egg at the center, 3 to 5 minutes.

Grab a plate that’s slightly larger than the pan and invert the plate onto the pan. Using oven mitts or kitchen towels, firmly hold the pan and plate in place and quickly flip the two together, so the tortilla goes bottom side up onto the plate. Put the plate on the counter and carefully remove the pan.

Let the tortilla cool for about 15 minutes, then slather on the aioli and serve. Leftover tortilla keeps in an airtight container the fridge for up to 2 days and tastes great cold. Serves 4 to 6.

From Everyone’s Table, by Gregory Gourdet and JJ Goode. Copyright © 2021 by Gregory Gourdet and JJ Goode. Published by Harper Wave, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Photography by Eva Kosmas Flores.