Frittata
Frittata is a delicious and extremely simple dish that you can find in any Italian region. Everybody has their own special recipe for it — which means that you just can’t go wrong. Whomever the cook, a frittata will always contains eggs (obviously), typically one or more vegetables, often some cheese and possibly some ham. It’s different from a French omelette because it is more set and it is delicious even hours after being cooked. And it’s different from a Spanish tortilla because the vegetables need not be fried and it is usually much thinner.
Frittata is a great way to use leftover vegetables; honestly it does not matter how little of them you have left, there will always be enough for a frittata (a bit like when you make a quiche). I find it’s also a good and sneaky way to make your children eat veggies; my son is really picky with green stuff but will eat a (partially green) frittata.
Frittata is also great for aperitivo and dinner parties — just cut it into squares and let your guests help themselves! It is best if a bit warm but it is delicious even at room temperature.
The most common frittata are with courgette, onions and spinach but you can make them with mushrooms, peas, tomatoes, broccoli and also can add parmesan, other cheese, ham or bacon to it. Let your imagination (and your fridge) inspire you!
The following recipe requires a 26/28 cm non-stick pan and will serve 3 or 4 people as a main course.
Frittata
- 6 eggs
- salt
- pepper (optional)
- about 1 cup of cooked vegetables (courgette)
- 2 tbsp of parmesan
- olive oil
Beat the eggs until smooth, add salt and pepper. If the vegetables are in big chunks you may want to cut them in smaller pieces or mash them with a fork. Then mix the vegetables with the eggs, they should not be too hot (otherwise the eggs will start cooking when in contact with the piping hot veggies) and add the parmesan if you like.
Heat 1 or 2 tbsp of olive oil in the non-stick pan (26 or 28 cm), then pour the egg mixtures, lower heat and cover with a lid. The thicker the frittata the lower the heat, this will ensure it will cook thoroughly without burning on the outside.
While it cooks you should check with a spatula that the frittata is not sticking to the pan. Once the bottom is cooked and the upper part looks less runny but still soft, you have to turn the frittata. Experts do flip it in the air with a clever wrist move, but I don’t. Just use the lid and slide the frittata on it then rapidly turn the lid over to the pan and let the frittata complete the cooking.
Now cut it in squares or wedges — it depends on the size of the party!
For a printable version of this recipe, click here.
-Michela
4 COMMENTS - Add your own
We LOVE making Frittata. It is exactly what you say — using your leftovers to make a tasty meal.
Though… we don’t flip it in the pan to cook the other side. We just stick it in the oven and broil it for a few minutes to cook the top bit. (Sometimes we even sprinkle the top with some extra parmesan cheese!) Maybe this isn’t true frittata style, but it’s yummy!
I love frittatas too! It’s so much easier to make frittatas for a crowd too than omelettes. I haven’t mastered the “flip” yet either so what I do is make my frittata in an ovenproof fry pan, set the oven on broil, and once my frittata is 3/4 set on the stove top I pot it in the oven for a few minutes ( you have to watch it because it cooks quickly). Yumm!
This looks delicious.
We thought our readers would love it too, so we featured it in our Sunday post.
http://www.bunchfamily.ca/sunday-morning-fritatta-snow-fort-sort-day
[…] often eat a frittata filled with whatever veggies we find in the […]