Frittata is one of my lifesaving dishes: it’s quick and easy to make, nutritious, tasty and almost everybody likes it. Moreover, it can be cooked with many different ingredients, making it the ideal dish for any meal, for a picnic, even for a sandwich. It’s inexpensive, can be served warm or cold, and turns into a perfect leftover.Make it with zucchini squash or spinach for a light dinner or breakfast, with potatoes and your favorite sausage for brunch, with mushrooms and ham as a warm appetizer. The choice is almost endless, but I prefer it with vegetables, which make it more digestible and lower in calories.
No matter what ingredients you choose, the basic technique is the same. Just sauté the ingredients beforehand, then add them to the beaten eggs, stir well, and cook.
For a good result, I recommend a good non-stick pan, a heat-resistant spatula and, ideally, a second pan for turning the frittata (but you can also do it with a plate).Expert cooks toss the frittata in the air for flipping it, but I don’t like dangerous aerobatic maneuvers in my kitchen, probably because I don’t have sous-chefs who clean up my messes. I stick to the much safer second-pan (or plate) method and I consider myself lucky if I can flip it without too much spill.
Ingredients:
(serves 2) Sr V B Gf
- 4 eggs, fresh and organic
- 2 big zucchini
- 1 Tbsp. of parsley, chopped
- ¼ yellow onion, chopped
- 4 Tbsp. Evoo
- Salt
- Pepper
Wash and dry the zucchini. Cut and discard the two tips, then cut in rounds approx. ¼ inch thick. Chop the onion and sauté in 2 Tbsp. of Evoo. When the onion starts turning golden, add the zucchini, salt and pepper, and sauté until cooked but not soft, about 10 minutes. Wash and dry the parsley, chop it finely and add it to the zucchini.
Break the eggs in a mixing bowl, add a pinch of salt and beat with an electric beater on high speed for about 3 minutes. Add the cooked zucchini to the eggs, clean the pan with a paper towel and grease it with 1 Tbsp. Evoo. Warm up the pan and pour the eggs & zucchini mix into the pan, spreading the zucchini evenly.
With a non-stick spatula, keep pushing the rim of the frittata towards its center, so that the rest of the eggs come into contact with the hot pan. Keeping the heat on medium/high, repeat this operation all around the frittata. Make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan by sliding the spatula under its rim.
Turn the frittata. For this tricky maneuver I prefer to warm up a second pan, slightly bigger than the first one. I grease it with oil, making sure it’s very warm before transferring the frittata into it. Then I move over the sink – absolutely do not do it over the stove! – to flip my frittata into the second pan.
If you have only one pan, flip the frittata onto a flat plate, then carefully slide it back into the pan.
Again, push the edge of the frittata away from the border of the pan and make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom by raising it with the spatula. If the frittata lost its round shape when you turned it, push it back together with the spatula. Cover with a lid and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on low heat.
Transfer the frittata on a serving plate and serve warm or cold.