One of the best things about a holiday in Spain is the opportunity to eat plenty of freshly made tortillas – the famous Spanish omelette made simply from onion, potatoes and egg, served at every cafe and tapas bar in the country - hot, cold, as a side dish or in a roll.

There are variations, including one which includes chopped chorizo sausage. Obviously, we cannot eat this as chorizo is made from pork, but I subsituted it for worsht and it worked well. And while I was in experimental mood, I also decided to use sweet potato instead of regular spuds which gives both extra flavour and nutrients. I also added some fresh chilli for some extra zing. It makes a fantastic, thrifty meal for two and is very tasty - so much so that I thought I would share the recipe with JC readers. If you happen to have a very large frying pan you can double the quantities and make it for four. Serve with a green salad. If you have any left over you can take it to work cold the next day in a sandwich.

Method

● Heat a little oil in a fairly hot, medium/large frying pan and add the onion. Sauté until it has softened and is beginning to brown. Then add the worsht and stir for a couple of minutes.
● Add the sweet potato and incorporate with the onion and worsht.
● Add the chilli and season.
● Ideally, your frying pan has a lid - if so place on top now, turn down the heat to simmer. If not, cover with a large plate.

● Cook for around 20 minutes or until the sweet potato is soft.
● In the meantime beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper.
● When the onion and potato mixture is cooked, turn the heat up to medium/high and add the egg.
● When the egg begins to set, draw in from the edges to the middle of the pan with a spatula to allow runny egg to collect at the sides. When no more runny egg is left, take the pan off the heat.
● This is the tricky bit. Place a large plate over the pan, take a deep breath and invert the pan over the plate. If all goes well the omelette should be sitting on the plate. Now simply slide it back into the pan, so the cooked side is on top. Put the omelette back on the heat for a minute or so until the bottom has browned
● If this sounds too precarious an operation, you can place the pan under a moderate grill for a couple of minutes until the top has browned.
● Cut the omelette into wedges and serve with salad.