Frittata or Spanish Tortilla Recipes
Frittata or Spanish Tortilla, It is the all the same surely, I bet the Italians and the Spanish would argue for hours.
Both the Frittata recipe and the Spanish Tortilla recipe have the main ingredient as eggs but do the similarities end there. It is an all time classic recipe made from the basic staples of the kitchen, especially the leftovers. It can be the ultimate portable food as well, great for a tasty nutritious working lunch.
Frittata Recipes
Firstly the term frittata comes from the Italian word friggere which literally means fried. Originally the term was applied to anything fried in a skillet from fried egg to an omelette. The Italian frittata recipe can commonly contain in the recipe meats, vegetables cheese or pasta. Looking for a full Italian Meal ideas.
Ingredients
- 6 frozen beetroot wedges
- 5 eggs
- Salt n Pepper
- 1 tsp of Oil (vegetable or sunflower)
- 1 knob of butter
- 75g goats cheese (broken into small chunks)
Instructions
Place the frozen beetroot into the oven for 25 mins
Meanwhile whisk the eggs and then season
Warm the frying pan (skillet) on a low to medium heat with the oil and butter.
Add the egg mix and allow to cook gentle
After 8 minutes cooking add the goats cheese and the beetroot from the oven
Place the skillet into the oven (200c) for around 15 mins
Remove from pan and serve with a salad
Notes
You can allow this to go cool and store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days
Classic Italian Leftovers & Ingredients
Of course the first ingredients would be tomatoes, garlic and basil. Sausage, pancetta, courgette and olive oil. You could quite easily put any of the ingredients together and make a classic Italian Frittata. Every respectable Italian home would have some leftover Ragu, Imagine the deep rich aroma and taste of a well seasoned ragu running through your frittata.
Spanish Tortilla Recipes
The classic Spanish Tortilla recipe, (not to be confused with the Mexican Tortilla) always has potato on the ingredients list. Ideally they need to be waxy potatoes so they hold their texture during cooking. The added texture to an egg based dish is an added bonus. All to soft or all to hard is not a pleasant experience. Another essential ingredient for the Spanish tortilla recipe is the onion, well seasoned and gently fried of course. The possibilities do not end with potatoes and onions as the Spanish have a multitude of excellent ingredients.
Classic Spanish Leftovers & Ingredients
One of my favourite and probably the most versatile Spanish ingredient has to be Chorizo. Smoked with paprika and other spices it has the ability to enhance flavour in every food it comes into contact with. The Spanish also have their cured meats in the Iberico Ham which would work well in a Tortilla. The Spanish Tortilla also works very well as a Tapas when cut into smaller pieces. The perfect little snack for guest as they walk through the door to eat with their wine.
The Persian Iranian Frittata
Well strictly speaking they do not call it a frittata or a tortilla, it goes by their own name of Kuku. Yes its a new discover for me as well. The Kuku is made with hand fulls of fresh herbs which would often outweigh the egg content. Common herbs used are dill, parsley, coriander spinach and fenugreek leaves. To add the texture in this Persian dish walnuts are often added. This would only be a frugal dish if you had the herbs growing in your own garden as supermarket herbs are expensive.
By Sonabona – Own work, all rights released (Public domain), CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13897776
The Arab world also have their very own egg based dish called the Eggah, these are spiced with cinnamon, cumin and coriander. Adding the spices gives this eggy (tortilla) a very different feels and taste especially with the addition of raisin.
The Magpie Frittata
As the world food stage is now ever closer to us since the internet revolution nothing could be easier than borrowing recipes from other cultures. Yes it seems we have all become magpies and we pick and choose the things we like. So the options are endless for your frittata, tortilla, Kuku or is it a stuffed omelette? The basic rules you need to follow are well seasoned eggs, a good frying pan or skillet (mustard be metal handled) and some tasty leftovers to throw into your dish.
The Goats Cheese & Beetroot Frittata
This frittata was made for the wife to take to work purely for my own brownie points. She loves her beetroot and I had recently bought some frozen wedges of beetroot and not managed to do anything with them. I know, I know frozen beetroot wedges what next. I did of course get these whilst they were on offer at Morrison and may not pay the full asking price when we run out.
The next ingredient that was leftover in the fridge was goats cheese so it was simple. Just put the two together in a big fluffy omelette.
Other great Quick snack ideas Creamy Garlic Mushrooms on Toast or Cheesy Pasta Quesadilla
The godfather of Italian cooking passes
Spanish Inspired Dishes
