Eggcentricity

Frittata Estiva al Forno
Oven-Baked Summer Omelette

It's amazing... it is Summer Solstice and it is cold and rainy and miserable here in Frankfurt... brrr! I was just going to make myself a nice, light, Summer frittata this evening- maybe a little salad to go with it and a glass of wine and I would have been happy. And content even. But with this weather?!?! No Way!

I got home cold and wet and in the need of some comfort food!
So that is what I turned my omelette into!
Hot and sizzling and delicious!

Basically, this is two omelettes in one. The first one is a simple affair- a plain egg omelette that is covered in ham or salami, rolled together tightly and then cut into sections. I set these slices into an oven dish and then the other omelette mix gets poured around them and the whole thing bakes together under the broiler. That is what I mean when I say it is like an omelette within an omelette!

Beat 4 eggs, a cup of milk, a pinch of salt and pepper, a light grating of nutmeg and a little chopped parsley, together. This is going to be the basic omelette mix.

Heat up your Teflon pan and when it is nice and hot, pour in a small amount to make a thin omelette. As soon as it has been flipped over once and is cooked through, remove it from the heat and cover it with either a ham or your choice, or a thinly sliced salami if you prefer. I just happened to have some Soppresata at home, which is a mild salami and that is what I decided to use. Make sure to do this whilst the omelette is still warm as the heat will soften the ham or salami and make it easier to roll. Set to one side to cool and prepare the other ingredients. I decided to keep it simple and used green beans, spring onion and cherry tomatoes in mine, but you could also use peppers, zucchini, eggplant... almost any vegetable.

Put the beans into the pan you have just fried your omelette in, add a splash of water, and let them par-boil for 3-4 minutes, just to give them a head-start. Remove from the heat and cool immediately in cold water. This will stop the cooking process and make sure the beans stay firm and fresh and green. Slice the onion and tomato and grate a little salted ricotta cheese. Chop some parsley finely, grab your nutmeg and you pepper mill and get ready to put this thing together!

First, sprinkle a light dusting of breadcrumbs into your dish- this will keep the egg from sticking as well as making it a little firmer later on and easier to remove when serving. Now cut the ham or salami omelette roll into slices of around 1 1/2" and set these into the middle of your dish. Pour in the remaining egg-mix, making sure to get an even spread all the way round. You can now add the beans, onions and tomato slices. Make sure you have a nice even mix. Grate generously with nutmeg and pepper and sprinkle with a little salted ricotta cheese. Be careful doing this as ricotta can tend to be VERY salty and you don't want to overpower the whole thing with it.  Bake for around 10-15 minutes at a moderate heat and then give it another 3-4 minutes under the broiler.

Of course you could make many variations to this basic recipe. Olives, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, even mint or other herbs- you name it! And even though it may not be so warm and sunny outside- pour yourself a glass of chilled white wine and enjoy your meal. And dream of being somewhere warmer and sunnier. Like Siberia....