Frittata - The Other Omelette

Origin

The word frittata seems to have two possible origins. The first being the Italian word friggere meaning to fry and the other being the word for a mess, “Hai fatto una frittata,” which loosely translates to, “You've made quite a mess.”

The second origin makes sense being that in Italy frittata isn't a traditional or formal meal but rather something that is thrown together with scraps you've got lying around. You'd use the bits of veggies and meats that are about to spoil the same way you might for a soup or stock. For this reason there isn't a tried and true recipe nor is it likely you'll find it on a menu.

Outside of Italy it is common to see the term omelette and frittata used interchangeably but there are some things that make them different. In a frittata: the extra ingredients are added to the raw eggs and are incorporated rather than encompassed; generally more air is incorporated during the whisking process; they are cooked over a lower heat for longer and finished in an oven or salamander, basically something that heat from both sides; a frittata is not folded, which is why it is sometimes called an open-faced omelette.

There are other similar recipes such as the Spanish tortilla, the Iranian kuku, and the French quiche. A common ingredient that I wasn't aware of before is potato! So if you want to stick closer to the origins of this recipe I suggest using potato as part of your vegetable mix. If you want to do this, cook your potato first!

Ingredients
all link on ingredients are to the ingredient spotlight posts of this blog

Oil or butter for the pan
6 Eggs
¼ cup Milk
~1 cup Vegetables (I used mushrooms, bell pepper, and garlic)
~1/2 tsp each salt and pepper (to taste) and other spices if you wish (I added fresh parsley ~1/8 cup)

Optional
Use as part of above ~1 cup Protein like ham or bacon, if desired
Cheese, shredded, if desired

Tools

Knife and cutting board
Bowl
Whisk or fork
Oven safe frying pan, I prefer cast iron

Directions

Preheat you oven to 375 F.

Begin by preparing your vegetables (and protein if you so choose) by dicing them into ¼ - ½ inch pieces.

Start heating your pan over medium heat so it's good to go when your egg mixture is ready.

Crack your eggs into a bowl, add the milk and beat together. You want them to be completely incorporated and frothy.

Gently stir in your spices (at the very least you should be using salt and pepper) and diced ingredients. You just want to make sure they are coated in the egg mixture.

Carefully pour the egg concoction into your pan. It should begin to cook immediately. You don't need to cook it all the way through in this step as we're going to bake it but you do want to make sure the edges cook. (you can see i was impatient in my pictures and it took a little longer for my frittata to cook in the oven because of it.) I like to swirl the pan to get the egg walls just a little higher than they pour in naturally.

Once the egg begins to set you can toss the pan into the oven and finish it in there. This will take between 15 and 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it. You're looking for it to inflate! It can get pretty big, don't fret, that just means you incorporated a good amount of air into your mixture when you whipped it!

** If you are adding cheese I suggest adding it to the top of your frittata in the last five minutes of cooking however you could incorporate it into the egg mixture.

Pull it out and let in rest for a few minutes. Cut into pieces, I like triangles like a pizza but you can do squares for smaller pieces, and serve.


Serving

I usually serve my frittata hot, as is and usually at dinner. However, it is also a fantastic breakfast food. Often I serve it alone but personal favourite sides would be a spring green salad and/or home fries. Other similar recipes, namely the Spanish tortilla, are often served at room temperature as an appetizer so I'd say there's nothing stopping you from serving your frittata that way as well.

Short and Gritty

1. Preheat oven to 350 and heat pan on medium heat
2. 1/4 inch dice veggies
3. Mix eggs, add other ingredients, gentle stir to coat
4. Pour egg mixture into the pan and cook until edges are set
5. Finish for about 15 minutes in the oven
6. Serve