Anyone for Frittata (Emergency Dinners)

Member Name: ks.h

Product:	Emergency Dinners
Date:	02/03/02 (176 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quick and easy , Lovely hot and cold

Disadvantages: None

It must have happened to all of us at one time or another, you’re not expecting visitors and have planned a lazy day in with just a quick sandwich for lunch, then the doorbell rings and the friend you haven’t seen for a few months is standing there. You offer the friend a cup of tea or coffee and settle down for a chat, before you know it your belly thinks your throat has been cut, the rumbles from your tummy are getting louder than the conversation and you just have to have something to eat. It’s obvious your friend has no intention of leaving, there’s still so much catching up to do, so you say “Will you join me for lunch?” and the friend replies “Oh I don’t want to put you to any trouble, we’ll just have a sandwich.”

Now you don’t want to offer the friend a sandwich, you have been trying to out do each other since you were five year old so you tell your friend you were going to cook yourself a light meal anyway and it’s just as easy to cook for two as it is for one, no trouble at all. Now of course you’re very pleased to see you’re friend but isn’t it just like her to turn up just before lunch, she has always been trying to catch you out, you would never dream of doing the same to her.

Well off you go into the kitchen, with her following close behind, you have to cook something simple that sounds a little more impressive than an omelette so you tell her you were going to make yourself an Italian Frittata, it’s very quick.

What you need:

5 or 6 eggs (depending on the size of egg)
About half a cup of grated Parmesan cheese (use Cheddar if you don’t have Parmesan)
Salt and pepper (freshly ground black pepper is best)
About two and a half ounces of butter (or margarine)
About ten ounces of cold left over pasta with whatever sauce.

Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them lightly with a fork. Stir in the pa
sta and the cheese and season to taste.

Heat half the butter in a large frying pan and as soon as the foam subsides pour in the pasta mixture. Cook on a moderate heat, without stirring for a bout four to five minutes (until the bottom is golden brown) Loosen the frittata by shaking the pan backwards and forwards.

Take a large plate (big enough to cover the frying pan) place it upside down over the pan and turn the pan and frittata over onto it (you might need to wear oven gloves to do this and keep a tight hold of the pan and plate).

Now you have your frittata on the plate add the remaining half of the butter to the frying pan. As soon as the butter stops foaming slide the frittata back into the pan and continue cooking until it is golden brown on the second side (about three to four minutes)

Remove from the heat, cut into wedges and serve either hot or cold.

So you don’t have any left over pasta in the house and you haven’t got time to cook the pasta and leave it to cool, after all your showing your friend you can knock up a meal very quickly without a lot of work, no problem:

Try this simple frittata

Five or six eggs
About three tablespoons of olive oil
About four finely chopped spring onions
About two large tomatoes, chopped (or a few thinly sliced left over cooked vegetables)
About two ounces of cooked ham (or other cooked meat)
A clove of finely chopped garlic (optional)
Salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, stir in the spring onions and cook for about three to four minutes. Add the garlic (optional) and ham and stir over a medium heat until just golden, stir in the tomatoes (or vegetables) and season to taste.

Break the eggs into a bowl and beat lightly with a fork, raise the heat under the frying pan and after about one minute pour in the eggs. Mix them quickly into the other ingredients.

Reduce the heat to medium and
cook without stirring for about five to six minutes (until the frittata is puffed and golden brown) if the frittata is sticking shake the pan backwards and forwards.

Turn the frittata onto a plate and then slide it back into the pan onto its other side. Cook until golden brown on the second side (about three to four minutes) then remove from heat.

The first frittata takes about fifteen minutes to prepare and cook, the second takes about twenty to twenty-five minutes.

Back to my unexpected visit from my friend, well we had the first type of frittata and I served it with salad, followed by ice cream (well I couldn’t over do it, it had to look as if I wasn’t going to any trouble) which beat the frozen pizza she cooked for me about six months ago when I was kind enough to drop in on her unannounced.

My friend left a few hours later suitably impressed, she has a few months to plan for the next time I just drop in on her and I have about ten months to find another quick emergency lunch ready for her next visit to me (we love each other really). Any ideas?

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