One of the most famous Spanish dishes of all time, the Spanish Tortilla has a surprisingly mysterious origin story. For many years the beginnings of the tortilla were attributed to a poor housewife in Navarra. Legend has it that the Spanish Army visited her home during the First Carlist War and all she had to feed the troops were potatoes, eggs, and onions, thus inventing the Spanish Tortilla. In recent years, however, this myth has been debunked. Historians have since found mentions of the quintessential Spanish dish dating all the way back to 1604 and by the late 1700s, the recipe was already widespread across the country. Given that Spanish explorers introduced potatoes to Europe as early as the 1530s, it is likely that the dish appeared not long after. There is also much debate surrounding the region in which the tortilla was invented, with documentation in Valencia, Navarra, and Extremadura. If the 1604 date is to be taken as the true birth of the Spanish Tortilla, then the dish’s birthplace belongs to Extremadura. No matter where or when the dish is from it has become a favorite worldwide for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s the perfect breakfast with a slice of jamón and a cortado or late-night snack with a glass of Spanish wine.