Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Quick & Easy A Frittata Can Be Elegant & Satisfying

As I have mentioned before, my husband has been a great source of knowledge about Western cooking. Through him I have learned much about the wonderful yield of a crock pot and a convection oven as well as about cuts of meat such as roasts, steaks, ribs, the wide variety of hams and sausages, the incredible beauty of a good marrow bone, and the amazing large dinners that often feature two or three kinds of starchy foods. However, those large dinners are for special occasions. When we dine alone, we almost always opt for simple and easy to prepare dishes. One of these I especially like is a frittata. They are quick and easy. Served with a glass of wine, a crusty baguette and some salad, they can be as soul satisfying as their close cousins, the omellete, quiche, or pizza. The beauty of these dishes is their nature of being a blank canvas, receptive to almost any ingredient we have on hand (though we tend to avoid peanut butter and canned tuna). Here is the latest verson of a frittata my husband made just last Saturday evening.







This dish was featured on Asian Food Channel (Official)
facebook page on 24 July 2012

 
Serving: 4


Ingredients:


(use your own imagination here) various mushrooms, cleaned and sliced to fill 1 1/2 cups six eggs
two or three dashes of soy sauce
3/4 cup shredded emmantel cheese
3 tblspns whole milk
2 tblspns water
3 medium shallots, sliced thin
1 ounce sweet saki
1 whole diced bell pepper (capsicum)
2 small or (one large) tomatoes, deseeded and diced
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (pepperoncin)
2 tablespoons 2 or 3 long stem chives, sliced in 1/4 inch lengths (for color and flavor on top) arugula or mustard greens (for color and flavor on top)
2 tablespoons regular olive oil

Method:

In a large mixing bowl add six eggs, soy sauce and water and whisk vigorously to incorporate air. (Hint: a large bowl should result in a shallow mixture that more readily allows the air bubbles to develop. An electric hand mixer can reduce the labor.) Set aside. In a ten inch non-stick pan add olive oil and heat over a medium flame. Add olive oil and sliced shallots, fry until just approaching transparency Add mushrooms, bell pepper, and red pepper flakes stirring frequently until all are tender and shallots show very slight caramelization Without removing the contents, deglaze pan with the saki, stirring and scraping the bottom vigorously for 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes and cook for one more minute Giving one last vigorous whisk, add egg mixture to the pan and reduce flame to low. Cover pan with a lid or aluminum foil with the reflective side facing in Check pan contents frequently. Using a spatula to lift an edge of the frittata will allow you to check the bottom. Your looking for the top to approach firmness and the bottom to become golden brown. Timing is critical. With the top half inch of the frittata still slightly liquid, add shredded cheese, spreading evenly across the surface. Replace cover and cook until cheese melts, approximately 1 minute. Toss chives across the surface and lace with fresh ground black and red pepper to taste Replace cover and cook for one more minute or until firm on top. Turn off flame and allow to set for two - three minutes. The frittata can be loosened with a large plastic spatula and slid on to a serving plate or served directly from the frying pan using a plastic pie wedge spatula. Serve with a tossed salad and crusty bread. Serves four as a simple main course or six as a starter.

21 comments:

  1. Your frittata is truly elegant. Fantastic pictures that truly do your dish justice!

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  2. (Editor's note: Dear Mother Rimmy, you are very kind. Thank you. Hope you will let us know what you put in yours. For my part, I can't wait to try your beefy, mushroom, spinach casserole. I'm cool with anything that calls for bisquick. I was much relieved to find on the shelves in Malaysia. Cheers!

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  3. The food in these photos make my mouth water, this looks very yummy. Diane

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  4. (Editor's note: Many thanks. It is. )

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  5. It indeed does look elegant. Looks very yummy too...!

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  6. Beautiful! I want to make this for dinner tonight. For some reason, I love eggs- but have never made a frittata

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  7. I love to make frittatas! Yours looks gorgeous. I usually make frittatas on friday or saturday night to get rid of the produce I have left from the week.

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  8. Wow, this is a gorgeous Frittata! I'm so glad you dropped by for a visit so that I could devour your delicious blog...it's divine! :D

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  9. You may not believe. I love reading cook books,dont know why. Ican spend time reading them and looking at the pics. I do not try many of them due to shortage of time.
    I wanted to ask you, Q P cooking stands for what?I didnt quite get it.
    The dish looks good.
    Have tastier days ahead.

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  10. Love your new look, photos, recipes, and the print option!

    Veronica-I am setting up a list for the "Lovely Blog Award" and you are being added to it. Your blog truly deserves the award...right now, as the highest, as far as I'm concerned for putting so much effort, heart and soul...but mostly "beauty" into it.
    Please copy and paste the award, mention who it came from, and then add 15 bloggers of your choice to give the award to.
    Elisabeth

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  11. Elegant Frittata indeed.

    Thanks for dropping by :-)

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  12. Cooking Gallery, Erica, Dawn Dishes it out, girlichef, dr. anthony, swathi, Elisabeth and Rachana,
    Many thanks for taking time to comment. I will definitely pass them to my darling hubby who cooked the dish.

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  13. I love a good frittata!

    This looks exceptional! Again, beautiful presentation!

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  14. Your frittata looks delicious! I have yet to cook one myself but would love to soon. Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Debbie,
    Thanks for dropping by. I love your lovely pink cup cakes and the reason they were baked. Hope to see you again.

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  16. Lisa,
    Please do and let me know how yours come out.

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  17. very nice, thanks for sharing :)

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  18. meltingbutter,
    you are most welcome and thanks for commenting.

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  19. This looks good enough to serve to guests. Your food photography skills are amazing!

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  20. Yummy I love frittatas too. So versatile and yummy!

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