Name: Tortilla de raya
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 565 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 300 g salted dried ray (raya seca), food-grade, checked for bones and cartilage; 1600 ml cold water, for refrigerator soaking, discard afterwards; 1400 ml fresh water, for boiling ray; 6 eggs, large, about 50 g edible each; 130 g red onion, finely diced; 65 g spring onion, thinly sliced; 12 g garlic, minced; 25 g ají panca paste; 25 g plain wheat flour; 35 ml vegetable oil; 2 g ground black pepper

Tortilla de raya — Lambayeque omelette with shredded salted dried ray

Yield 4 generous servings

Prep 25 minutes

Cook 50 minutes

Passive 490 minutes

Total 565 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Tortilla de raya — Lambayeque omelette with shredded salted dried ray

Tortilla de raya is a northern Peruvian omelette in which dried salted ray is softened, cooked and shredded before it is mixed with eggs. The dish is particularly associated with Lambayeque. Its fish is not a fresh fillet folded into an ordinary omelette: the preserved, fibrous strands are a defining component.

Soaking salted ray in the refrigerator softens it and reduces some of its salt. The fish then needs a separate gentle boil so it can be handled and shredded, with skin and cartilage removed. Saltiness still varies from one dried-fish supplier to another, so additional salt is intentionally absent from the ingredients.

The shredded fish is combined with beaten eggs, red onion, spring onion, garlic and ají panca. Small thick tortillas are easier to turn than one very large disc. Cook them slowly so the exterior does not scorch before the centre of the egg mixture reaches its safe temperature.

Ingredients

300 g salted dried ray (raya seca), food-grade, checked for bones and cartilage
1600 ml cold water, for refrigerator soaking, discard afterwards
1400 ml fresh water, for boiling ray
6 eggs, large, about 50 g edible each
130 g red onion, finely diced
65 g spring onion, thinly sliced
12 g garlic, minced
25 g ají panca paste
25 g plain wheat flour
35 ml vegetable oil
2 g ground black pepper

Method

Desalt the dried fish.Put the salted dried ray in a covered bowl with 1600 ml cold water and refrigerate for 8 hours. Drain, discard the liquid and rinse the ray once more. The dried ray bends rather than snapping and the rinse water has less surface salt. For food safety, rehydrate in the refrigerator, never on the warm counter.
Boil and shred the ray.Add softened ray to 1400 ml fresh water and simmer until tender. Drain and inspect with tongs; remove skin and any loose cartilage before the fish is shredded after a brief cooling period. Fish fibres separate with a fork and no rigid cartilage remains among the shreds. For food safety, preserved fish is not assumed ready to eat; cook thoroughly and remove cartilage and bones.
Soften the aromatic mixture.Warm 10 ml oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook red onion, garlic and ají panca until softened; set the pan aside off heat. Onion is translucent and the chilli paste has lost its raw edge.
Cool the cooked components.Let the boiled fish and onion mixture cool side by side for 10 minutes before breaking the fish into shreds and folding both into the eggs. Both components are safe to handle and the fish has been separated from cartilage. For food safety, do not leave cooked fish at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.
Mix eggs and fish.Beat six eggs with flour and black pepper until smooth, then mix in shredded ray, spring onion and the cooled aromatic mixture. Divide into four roughly equal portions. No dry flour remains and the shreds are spread through the egg mixture. For food safety, clean utensils after handling raw eggs; do not taste uncooked mixture.
Fry four tortillas.Use the remaining 25 ml oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Cook two tortillas at a time, turning once, and repeat for a second batch. Probe the thickest centre; each tortilla must reach 71 °C. Tortillas hold together, show a lightly browned surface, and each centre measures 71 °C. For food safety, egg dishes without meat or poultry should reach at least 71 °C; do not rely on colour alone.
Portion while hot.Transfer the four finished tortillas to separate plates; inspect any visible larger ray pieces one final time before serving. Each omelette is set through the centre and no bone or cartilage is visible.

Practical

Success points

Desalt and simmer the preserved ray, then make small thick omelettes and probe the centres. Keep the overnight fish soak cold, then remove cartilage before combining the flesh with beaten egg.

Serving, storage and substitutions

Serve one tortilla per person while the edges are lightly crisp and centres remain set. The salt content depends on the preserved ray; do not add salt blindly. Refrigerate cooked tortillas promptly at 4 °C or below for 3–4 days and reheat to 74 °C. Soaked ray should be cooked rather than held warm. Fresh fish is not an equivalent substitution for salted dried ray; it changes the moisture, salt and characteristic shredded texture.

Control points

Omelette tears on turningtoo large a disc was made — keep each tortilla small and let the underside set before flipping.
Omelette stays wetpan heat was too high for its thickness — reduce the heat and cook until a thermometer reads 71 °C.

Nutrition per serving (estimated)

Serving size1 of 4 servings
Calories385 kcal
Carbohydrates12 g
Protein46 g
Fat16 g
Fibre2 g
Sodium1180 mg

Allergens and food safety

Fish, eggs and wheat (gluten). Salted dried ray may retain considerable sodium despite soaking; it must be food-grade and carefully checked for bones/cartilage. Cook the egg-fish centre to 71 °C and chill soaking fish below 4 °C.

Closing

Lambayeque-style omelette with softened shredded ray, eggs and ají panca. Desalt under refrigeration, remove cartilage and cook the eggs fully.

Tortilla de raya — Lambayeque omelette with shredded salted dried ray

Ingredients

Ingredients

Method

Practical

Success points

Serving, storage and substitutions

Control points

Nutrition per serving (estimated)

Allergens and food safety

Closing

Peruvian National Dishes

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Home-style Lima ceviche with a light garlic dressing