What’s the difference between an omelette and a frittata?
No, this isn’t the start of a bad joke. It’s a serious question.
Well, frittatas are an Italian creation and the word itself means to fry. Unlike their more well-known cousin, the frittata is cooked more slowly than a traditional omelette, producing a moister dish. This also means the result is somewhat lighter than the golden brown of an omelette.
This humble meal is incredibly easy to whip up and versatile enough that you can pretty much throw in whichever vegetables – and other foodstuffs – your heart desires. This means if you’re struggling to think of what to do with your leftovers, or just don’t have the time or energy to make a complicated dish after a busy day, then it’s perfect for you. Paired with a salad it can be dinner, or on its own it works well for breakfast or supper.
In this vein, my recipe calls for mushrooms, green peppers and scallions/green onions because they happened to be in my fridge at the time I wanted to cook it. For mushrooms I used a mixture of white and shitake to load the frittata with yummy umami flavor.
Oh, and I almost forgot!
The title of this recipe is “Cheesy Mushroom Frittata!” So to really amplify the flavors of the dish I opted to add some cheesy goodness in the way of parmesan. Like the veggies, the cheese is up to you. I haven’t experimented with too many, but cheeses such as gruyere, fontina and cheddar are all good options.
CHEESY MUSHROOM FRITTATA
By Charlie Butler
yield: 4 portions
What you’ll need:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 12 ounces of diced mushrooms (white and shitake)
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped into small cubes
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 to 1 cup of finely grated parmesan
How it’s done:
1. In a frying pan add one teaspoon of oil and the peppers and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes or so to soften them. Add the mushrooms, garlic and green onions and leave for another 10 minutes until everything is nice and soft and the flavors have had a chance to intensify.
2. While the vegetables cook, whisk the eggs gently in a mixing bowl and then add salt, pepper and 3/4 of your cheese. Once the vegetables are cooked add those to the egg mixture and combine everything together.
3. Wipe your pan clean with some kitchen paper and then add the rest of the oil. Once the oil is hot reduce the pan to a low heat.
4. Pour your egg and vegetable mixture into the pan and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Let it cook for around 15-20 minutes until the frittata is almost entirely cooked except for a little liquid egg on the top. Give the giggle test to make sure nothing is too fluid.
5. Transfer the pan to the grill and cook for around 1 minute under a high heat until the liquid egg on the top has set. Cut into for quarters and serve right away.