T
rying to explain what a frittata was to my fiancé (who is, to his defence, South African) went a bit like this…
It’s like a Spanish tortilla…
Its like a giant omelet with tasty stuff in it…
Its like a quiche without a crust…
Whilst these all helpfully describe this Italian egg dish, I feel the later is the best choice and far quicker than having to make pastry but all the satisfaction of the contents. That said it is SUCH a versatile recipe for adding in anything you’d usually do with your quiche – spinach, flaked salmon, smoked haddock, chorizo, peppers, chicken, feta, chorizo…its endless and a good fridge raider meal as long as you’ve got a pack of eggs.
It started out as our vegetarian Monday night meal…and then I added bacon. But add mushrooms & feta and it makes an excellent vegetarian sharing brunch dish. Or instead of using a frying pan, tip the mixture into individual muffin wholes for bitesized ‘frittata’ snacks! Perfect warm or at room temperature and a really quick dinner fix.
The fresh courgette salad here was the perfect light and zesty side which I’d recommend. But a simple salad would also go down a treat. I cannot stress the simplicity of this one. Sometimes going back to basics is so rewarding.
Serves 4
- 6 large free range eggs
- 3 thick cut or 6 skinny rashers smoked bacon
- 1 large or 2 small white onions, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 bag kale or a few big handful
- 1 large handful grated cheddar cheese (gruyere would also be amazing here 50/50 with cheddar)
- Few sprigs rosemary or thyme (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 220.
- Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. Gently saute the onion for about 8-10 minutes with some salt and freshly ground pepper. You want it to turn soft and golden so it needs slow and low cooking (often covered with a lid if you can to create some steam). After this time the onions will sweeten.
- Chop the bacon into the pan in bitesized pieces and cook for a few minutes.
- Crush the garlic and add with the chopped rosemary/thyme if using and cook gently for a few minutes.
- Whilst this is cooking, bring a pan of water to the simmer and plunge in your kale. Cook for just 1 minute and then drain and leave to dry.
- Once the onion and bacon are cooked, add the kale and mix to combine.
- Whisk the eggs in a big jug with some salt and plenty of pepper. Grate in the cheese using about 1 big handful but as much as you like really.
- Turn the heat to a medium low on your frying pan and quickly pour oven the egg/cheese mixture evenly making sure it fills all the gaps in the pan. Allow to cook for about 30 seconds to form a bit of a crust around the edge before popping the frying pan in the oven.
- Cook for 8-10 minutes until golden on top! It won’t take long to cook so it should be set in the middle fairly quickly and even puff up and ‘soufflé’ a little.
- Remove from the oven and carefully (and skilfully!) slide it out onto a serving board. If is ends up in one piece, nice job.
- Serve with a lovely simple salad of watercress/rocket with some lemon juice or my courgette salad below…
Courgette, Almond & Lemon Salad (Serves 4)
- 4 large courgettes, chopped in matchsticks
- 100g flaked almonds
- 1 handful chopped coriander
- Handful basil, leaves roughly ripped
- Zest 1 lemon
- Parmesan cheese to serve.
- Heat a frying pan over a high heat. Add the flaked almonds and toast for a few minutes until beginning to turn golden. Keep your eye on these, shaking often as they will burn quickly. Set aside in a bowl.
- In this bowl, add the coriander, basil and the zest of the lemon.
- Heat the frying pan again until hot and add just a small tsp of olive oil.
- Add the courgette matchsticks and fry quickly, shaking the pan often. You don’t want to colour them or turn them soggy, you just want to warm them and take the raw edge off.
- Season well with freshly ground pepper and salt.
- Remove from the heat and toss with the almonds and herbs.
- Peel over (using a speed peeler) some nice wafers of parmesan cheese. Serve!