I love Frittatas. They are easier to make than omelets and you can expand them to feed a large number of people if you need to. I had read recipes for Frittatas, but never really wanted to cook one until I read Pam Anderson's explanation in How To Cook Without a Book. You can use whatever you have on hand to make these gems and, unlike omelets, there is no technique to master.
To make a frittata, set the oven rack in the upper middle position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Depending on the size of the frittata , a 10 to 12-inch heavy-duty, ovenproof, nonstick skillet is your pan of choice. You can cook the filling and eggs in the same skillet.
Start preparing the frittata ingredients. If you are using vegetables like potatoes or asparagus, you will first steam them, then sautee them in the frittata pan. To steam , place the cut up vegetable , minced garlic clove along with a few tablespoons of water, some olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook on medium-high heat until the vegetable has steamed and the water has almost evaporated. Remove the lid and sautee the vegetable in the oil.
Vegetables like peppers or onions need only a quick sautee. Heat the oil while you are cutting up the vegetables.
While the filling ingredients are cooking, beat the eggs and grate the cheese. When the filling is ready, add the eggs and cook until they start to set around the edges.
Then slide the pan into the oven and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until the frittata puffs.
Pam offers recipes for The Big Frittata (8 large eggs) which serves 4 and The Bigger Frittata (12 large eggs) which serves 6. You adjust the other ingredients accordingly. My only word of caution is to avoid overloading the pan with too many or too much filling ingredients. It's easy to do, but the end result isn't as fluffy or satisfying.
Serve with a salad for a quick and easy supper.
A final word about this cookbook. The subtitle is Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart and I think this is a book that every beginning or aspiring cook should have in their library. What she is trying to do is to create a culinary culture in which the cook can use whatever is at hand and exercise her imagination without being tied to a recipe. If you learn from this book, you will cook with greater confidence and pizazz and you will have repertoire of go-to recipes in your head. That's no small achievement.
Pam Anderson. How To Cook Without a Book. New York: Broadway Books, 2000)
^@^it was indeed delicious! I'll confess, I made a few adaptations... wanting to use what was in the fridge... I used fresh dug parsnips and carrots instead of the recommended peppers,^*^
Posted by: oakley outlet | May 19, 2011 at 05:45 PM
And isn't that the whole point? Brilliant use of what you had on hand, I think.
Posted by: Anne Ritchings | May 19, 2011 at 06:41 PM