Food writer and Instagram star Elly Curshen is the owner of The Pear Cafe in Bristol. She eats a mostly vegetarian diet, with some fish, and loves frittatas. ‘We make one every day at the cafe. We start with eggs, potato and cheddar but then we experiment!’
See more of Elly Curshen’s recipes
Elly Curshen
Food writer and Instagram star Elly Curshen is the owner of The Pear Cafe in Bristol. She eats a mostly vegetarian diet, with some fish, and loves frittatas. ‘We make one every day at the cafe. We start with eggs, potato and cheddar but then we experiment!’
See more of Elly Curshen’s recipes
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Ingredients
1 x 200g pack radishes, top and tailed
1 large red onion, peeled and cut into 16 thin wedges
2 tbsp butter
3½ tbsp olive oil
200g frozen leaf spinach
12 medium new potatoes, boiled until tender and cooled
6 large eggs
130g mature cheddar, grated
1 x 28g pack basil, leaves picked
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Put the radishes and onion in a small roasting dish and dot with half the butter. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons of the oil and roast at 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6 for 20-30 minutes, until the veg is browning at the edges and the onion is soft. Defrost the spinach according to the packet instructions but do not drain.
Slice the potatoes into thick discs. Heat the remaining butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in a 20cm base diameter nonstick frying pan. Fry the potatoes for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown on both sides.
Break the eggs into a large jug and whisk well. Add a generous pinch of salt and a good few turns of black pepper. Whisk well and stir in the cheese. Rip the basil leaves roughly and add, along with the fried potatoes and undrained spinach, and fold together carefully.
Take the roast radishes and onion out of the oven and slice the radishes into halves. Mix the onion into the egg mix and reserve the radishes.
Preheat the grill. Wipe the frying pan with kitchen paper, then heat ½ tablespoon oil over a low-medium heat. When hot, pour in the egg mixture and swirl around to evenly distribute it. Using a heatproof rubber spatula, draw the edges in from the side of the pan, tip the pan and let the liquid egg flow into the gaps. This helps the whole thing set, rather than just the bottom of the frittata. Do this for 5 minutes, until almost set.
Scatter the radishes over the frittata, distributing them evenly. Place the pan under the grill (making sure the handle is not under the grill if it is plastic) and heat for 3-5 minutes until golden.
Remove and set aside to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Slide the frittata out gently onto a chopping board and set aside for 5 more minutes. To serve, slice into 6 or 8 pieces. This is very good served warm or cold.
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One reason your frittata is soggy, is that an ingredient you used had water or other liquid that was released when cooking the frittata. One solution, is to drain all ingredients first before mixing, or to reheat the ingredients seperately, until the liquid is removed.
Don't overcook! Overcooking eggs makes them rubbery. When you remove the Frittata from the oven, it will continue to cook, especially if you are using cast iron, which retains heat well. You do want it to be set and not liquidy, but keep this in mind so you keep the texture perfect.
Frittatas make great use of leftovers, cook up in 15 minutes and are mealtime-agnostic: they don't feel out of place at breakfast, lunch, dinner, or any snack time in between. Plus, if you have leftovers, frittatas reheat quite well, making them a double leftover combo.
You can serve frittatas straight from the oven or cold — both are delicious. You can even reheat leftovers for a minute in the microwave. Cooked frittatas store well, wrapped in the refrigerator for two to three days. We don't recommend freezing them since the freezer changes the texture of the dish.
Tough vegetables like potatoes, squash and onions need to be pre-cooked since they will not have time enough to soften before the eggs are done. Raw meats such as bacon and sausage also need more time and heat to cook through safely, so get them prepped before your other ingredients.
The best choice for making frittatas, cast iron skillets can safely go from stovetop to oven, and they conduct heat well and evenly. Seasoning a cast-iron pan gives it a non-stick quality, so a well-seasoned skillet will result in the easiest slicing & serving.
Frittatas are incredibly simple. For every six large eggs, you'll want to mix in ¼ cup of milk or cream, ¼ cup of cheese, and about 3 cups of meat or vegetables. The small amount of milk and cheese keeps the eggs soft and creamy and the meat and vegetables give you endless options.
Cook the frittata in the oven just until the centre is no longer wobbly and the edges are golden-brown. If still unsure, place a knife into the centre of the frittata. If raw eggs run out, keep cooking. You want the eggs to be just set as the frittata will keep cooking while it's standing.
Use the right number of eggs: If you underfill or overfill your skillet, the texture of the frittata may be compromised. Thin frittatas easily overcook; thick ones may cook too long on the outer edges before the inside is set. That leaves you with an eggy, spongy dish.
Frittata is an egg-based Italian dish similar to an omelette or crustless quiche or scrambled eggs, enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses, or vegetables. The word frittata is Italian and roughly translates to 'fried'.
For a standard 12-egg frittata, stir in about one cup (shred it first). Want to top the eggs with cheese, too? Shoot for ¼ to ½ cup more. If it's an oozing texture you're after, pick cheeses that have superior melting quality: "This is your cheddar, gruyère, and fontina," says Perry.
Pre-seasoning the eggs with salt helps them retain moisture during cooking. Cooking the vegetables in batches gives us more control over their texture. Keeping the cheese in large chunks gives us oozy pockets in the frittata. Flipping the frittata ensures a creamy, dense center.
The best side dishes to serve with frittata are mixed green salad, garlic bread, waffles, cinnamon rolls, bagel bites, biscuits, potato rosti, roasted vegetables, fresh fruit salad, grilled asparagus, tomato and mozzarella salad, home fries, and quinoa tabbouleh.
Just be sure too avoid adding anything with too much liquid.
Too much liquid will prevent your frittata from setting and, in some cases, make it kind of watery. For that reason, he warns against adding milk, and he recommends draining any vegetables that create a lot of water.
Watery? Don't add water. Seriously, just whisk your eggs together, then scramble on low to medium heat in the pan, taking them off the burner when they start to firm up, whisk, then back again, off, on, off, on. Keep doing that until they have the consistency you want.
When you pour in your eggs, let the frittata set for a couple of minutes on the stovetop. Then keep an eye on it when it's in the oven, and take it out when it's still a touch jiggly—not quite creme brulee-level jiggly, but when the top is a still a tiny bit shaky, get that frittata out of the oven and serve it warm.
Introduction: My name is Margart Wisoky, I am a gorgeous, shiny, successful, beautiful, adventurous, excited, pleasant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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Prep time: 50 mins
