Courgette, Pancetta, Potato and Smoked Cheese Frittata
Frittata is often referred to as an Italian omelette, but I’m not so sure. To me a frittata is more like a Spanish tortilla; deep filled, with plenty of substance (preferably potato) and interesting ingredients, and although the eggs are the point, they are not necessarily the star of the show, as they are in a softly set omelette.
Frittatas are a meal in themselves, a one-pot-wonder open to interpretation. Think of filling them as you would a quiche; combinations of egg friendly ingredients, many of them already hanging about in the fridge no doubt, bound together and softly set; cheese, peas, bacon, onion, garlic, asparagus, courgette and so on.
The filling ingredients must be cooked beforehand too – the internal temperature will only ever be hot enough to set eggs not cook raw vegetables, but this is a positive in my book, making the frittata hard to beat for recycling leftovers.
Ingredients
(A 30cm frying pan, 6cm deep will feed 4- 6 people)
1.5kg potatoes
2 x average onions, thinly sliced
2 x cloves garlic, crushed
200g smoked cheese in small cubes
3 x courgettes, halved and sliced
12 x rashers of pancetta, chopped into small pieces
50g butter
8 x eggs, beaten
Peel and halve the potatoes; bring to the boil in a large pan of salted water. Drain once cooked, then cube or slice them once they’re cool enough to handle.
Fry the pancetta until crispy, then remove with a slotted spoon, leaving behind the oil.
Add half the butter to the oil in the pan and sauté the courgettes, in two batches if necessary, until soft. Remove the courgette and add it to the pancetta whilst you fry the onion.
Add the remaining butter to the oil in the pan, then add the onions along with the garlic and sweat without colouring until softened. Now add back the pancetta and courgette, the cubed potato and cheese, give it all a really good grinding of black pepper and a smattering of salt, and gently fold it all together to mix.
Pour over the eggs, gently shaking the pan to disperse it evenly, then pop the pan back over a low heat whilst you preheat the grill on a low setting.
Leave the pan undisturbed for 10 minutes on a low-ish heat; it will appear cooked and set around the edges but still be loose in the centre. Slide the pan under the grill for another 5 minutes to finish the top off.
Let the frittata rest for a couple of minutes before sliding it out of the pan and cutting into wedges.