Frittata

Frittata

Italian frittata's and Spanish tortilla's are essentially the same things, a thick, egg, almost quiche-like omelet filled with various ingredients. Like a regular omelet, you can put whatever you want in a frittata and naturally, it's a great way to use up leftovers. Unlike regular folded french omelets, the fillings are cooked suspended in the egg rather than wrapped up like a crepe.

Frittata

You can eat them hot out of the pan or at room temperature. They are not limited to the breakfast plate however. Sliced up they also make good tapas. They're great with a salad for lunch and would even make a substantial protein for dinner.

Fresh herbs I had in the fridge

Boiled sliced spuds

I always like to include a lot of chopped fresh herbs and boiled sliced potatoes in mine. This time around, I also added some caramelized onion and red bell pepper for color.

Caramelized onion and red pepper

Runny side up, ready to "flip"

Preparation goes something like this. Chop up all your ingredients, par boil the potatoes and let cool. In the meantime, saute your veggies if using. Beat eggs (I usually go with about three per person). Heat up a non-stick pan. Gently fold in herbs, potatoes, and veggies into the beaten eggs and season with a little s&p. When pan is hot, stir around a couple of teaspoons of butter or olive oil, or give it a shot of cooking spray and slowly pour in the egg mixture. Tilt the pan to distribute everything evenly and allow to cook on medium-low to medium heat for a few minutes. The time will vary depending on how thick the mixture is and how hot the pan is. The trick is to have the heat low enough to not burn the bottom as the top takes time to dry up a little. Test the frittata for doneness by lifting an edge with a wooden spoon. If it comes away from the pan and more or less holds it's shape then you are ready for the flip. Take a plate that is just as large as the pan and cover the frittata. Using both hands, lift the plate and the pan and turn the whole thing upside down. The frittata is now on the plate cooked side up. To finish cooking, slide the frittata back into the pan for a few seconds just to finish cooking the runny side.