Colósimo, La Falda and Gabino: history and secrets of three of the best tortillas in Madrid

The potato omelette belongs to the genre of basic classics of the Spanish recipe book.. There is no house, neighbor or neighborhood bar that does not make it, although today many prefer to use prefabricated products.. In Madrid they are made in a masterful way, there are many bars and taverns that embellish it, whether with onion or without onion.. Among our favorites are Sylkar, Colósimo, Taberna Pedraza, Bodegas La Ardosa, Triciclo, La Primera, La Penela, La Falda, Garelos, Las Tortillas de Gabino, Juana La Loca or Casa Dani. Most of them in skewer format, which is how this delicacy should be enjoyed.. A tasty little bite.

At El Confidencial we talk to three chefs to tell us their secrets, as well as the story behind them.. For this occasion we contacted Ricardo Romero, from Colósimo, the neotavern located at 67 Ortega y Gasset who, by the way, revealed to us that he has just opened another establishment right across the street, Menudeo; the Galician Xan Otero, who delivers tortillas in La Falda and La Lorenza; and a figure of the local gastronomic star system, Nino Redruello, who 19 years ago already glimpsed the future of the recipe by inaugurating Las Tortillas de Gabino with his brother, Santiago..

Colósimo: the tortilla that is slowly poached for 40 minutes

The first thing Romero highlights about his tortilla is the potato, which is almost always sour, when the season allows it: “It's good for everything.”. If you put a lot of fire on it, it doesn't burn, it holds up.”. Poaching the potato takes about 40 minutes, it is done very slowly. “We have been making them since six in the morning,” he reveals of an omelet that also has candied onion..

The other basic ingredient is their eggs, which come from Granja Campomayor, in Palas de Rei, Lugo.. “Our secret is that everything is homemade and natural. They never turn out the same, for the mere fact that we are not machines. Neither do the chickens. “Sometimes they come out whiter and people complain to me,” he says with some of that Andalusian grace that characterizes him and his brother, Mané, who is the one who is usually always in Colósimo's kitchen.. A reference for the purest flavors and traditional stews that opened in February 2019. The omelette can be accompanied by its essential stew croquette, a skewered hake or the delicious beef meatballs in tomato sauce.

We took the opportunity to ask about Menudeo, a tavern that points out ways. “We will have our own pickles, pickles and sausages,” he says proudly.. “We have started making sausages and we have a butcher shop in Sonseca that makes marinated cured meat and loin”. The marinade with mackerel, according to what he says, is embellished. “And I'm waiting for the hunting and mushroom season to start to get started with it.”.

La Falda: a honeyed chicken egg omelette from Mos

The teacher Rafael García Santos said of it: “One of the best (sic) potato omelettes… capable of equaling and surpassing the greatest”. Xan Otero opened this old neighborhood bar eight years ago in Lavapiés, on the traditional Miguel Servet street, where good beer and drinks always shine. “When we opened we thought about having an unpretentious dish, something simple. A client who came a lot told me that he had a friend from Mos, who was President of the Association of Poultry Farmers of the Galiña Breed of Mos.. So I talked to him and we started bringing those eggs,” Otero confesses of that divine tip-off..

Your omelet has monalisa potatoes and six eggs. “First we poach at 140°, give it a touch and finish at 180°. We like to beat eggs with a fork and energy. To finish, we mark it in the pan, a minute or a little less for each part,” he continues.. “We try to make it not like Betanzos”. The egg is the protagonist, along with that subtle mixture between the egg and the starch that the potato has released..

The Skirt is under construction these days. It will open next Thursday after a renovation that aims to give more importance to the kitchen, which will be fully visible. The Venezuelan Alejandro Oliveira, one of the chefs who has made the name of the tortilla begin to be heard beyond Madrid, will also officiate there.. Oliveira will be the one to represent La Falda in the XVI Spanish Tortilla de Patata Championship that will be held on Sunday, October 1 in Alicante.

Meanwhile, Otero slides some of the bites that will be on the new La Falda menu: octopus salad with paprika mayonnaise, mussels in sea urchin sauce, chickpeas with cachucha, chestnuts and scallop, squid gyozas with miso foam and mirin , pickled stingray, wonton lasagna with Thai mince, chorizo onion croquettes, meatballs in coconut and kimchi sauce… Irresistible.

Gabino's Tortillas: a reference that draws on family tradition

Nino Redruello's eyes widened when the stewed tortillas they prepared in La Ancha passed in front of him.. “At that time, more than 20 years ago, I began to be interested in these types of tortillas.”. I saw that they were from the post-war era, that they were served with a stew to rehydrate them,” he says of one more variant of our popular exploitation cuisine..

At the age of 26, together with his brother, Santiago, he decided to start a business alone, betting on that family tradition of the tortilla.. And, in turn, pay tribute to one of the cooks who had always been with them, Gabino: “He was the one who educated us to do things well when we were still a neighborhood tavern.”. With the name, Las Tortillas de Gabino, and an idea behind it, to offer different preparations of tortillas, it opened its doors in 2004..

“Our potato omelette draws on the Basque and Madrid traditions, which is how my uncle and my mother made it.. On the one hand, I like the potato to be candied, because the starch it releases joins with the egg and forms a cream.. And on the other hand, I think that Basque frying gives the potato much more flavor,” he tells us.. In this way, it currently offers a classic, which they call Velazqueña, and six or seven variations.. There is cod porrusalda, garlic soup, stewed with tripe, potato chips with salmorejo or truffle, among others.

To accompany it, they have decided to divide the dishes between those that come before the omelet and after. For this first section, they offer fresh and fun dishes: natural green beans with pea cream, Russian salad with red shrimp, au gratin razor clams, churruscado octopus, idiazábal croquettes… And to finish, there is always a good fish available (breaded grouper and ratatouille; Roman-style hake; and grilled monkfish) and a good meat (cheek, secret, escalope or sirloin).