Vegetable frittata: an omelette you never have to flip
The Italian answer to the question of what to do with eight eggs and the last of the vegetables in the fridge. It differs from an omelette in that everything is stirred through the eggs rather than folded inside, and it finishes in the oven, so there is nothing to flip. There is one secret to a creamy middle: low heat and taking it out a minute early. A frittata keeps cooking in the pan after it leaves the heat.
Your own work in that: 27 min.
- Vegetables 12 min
- Eggs 15 min
- Resting 8 min
Step by step
0 / 5 doneFry the vegetables
Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof pan 24 cm across. Fry the sliced onion 3 minutes, add the diced pepper and half-moons of courgette, salt them and fry 8 minutes over fairly high heat, until the vegetables brown at the edges and their water has evaporated. Add the garlic for the last minute.
Ingredients: 1 pcs courgette · 1 pcs red bell pepper · 1 pcs onion · 1 clove garlic · 3 tbsp olive oil · ¼ tsp salt
TipWet vegetables are the usual reason a frittata comes out watery and refuses to set. A courgette gives up a lot of water — let it do that in the pan, not in the eggs.
Browned at the edges, the water goneBeat the eggs with the cheese
Beat the eggs in a bowl with a fork together with the cream, parmesan, salt and pepper — just until combined, about 20 seconds. Don't whip them: an aerated mixture rises in the oven like a soufflé and then sinks and wrinkles on top.
Ingredients: 8 pcs eggs · 50 g parmesan · 3 tbsp whipping cream (30%) · ¾ tsp salt · ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
TipThe parmesan brings salt and savour of its own. With another cheese, halve the salt and taste the mixture before it goes in.
Twenty seconds with a fork, no whippingPour in the eggs and lift the edges
Turn the heat low and pour the eggs over the vegetables, spreading everything evenly with a spatula. Cook 6–8 minutes, every so often pulling the set edge away from the pan wall so the liquid egg runs into the gap. It is ready for the oven when the base and sides are set and the top is still wet.
TipHigh heat sets the base before the top has begun: you get a rubbery crust underneath and raw egg above.
Low heat, egg running under the set edgeFinish under the grill
Slide the pan under a hot oven grill for 3–4 minutes, on the second shelf from the top. The top should set and turn lightly golden, while the centre still wobbles a little when you shake the pan. Take it out at exactly that point — with an oven glove, as the handle is very hot.
TipNo grill? Bake 8 minutes at 190 °C, or put a lid on the pan and hold it on the lowest heat another 5 minutes — the steam will set the top.
Three minutes under the grill, the centre still wobblingRest before cutting
Leave the frittata in the pan 5 minutes. Residual heat finishes the middle, the mixture firms up and it cuts into clean wedges instead of sliding apart on the plate. Scatter with basil, drizzle with oil, cut and serve.
Ingredients: 10 pcs fresh basil · 1 tbsp olive oil
Five quiet minutes, then a clean knife
Before you start
What else goes in
Sliced boiled potatoes, spinach (squeezed dry!), mushrooms, the end of a piece of ham, halved cherry tomatoes. One rule only: everything must be already cooked and dry.
Cold, for lunch
A frittata is one of the few egg dishes that is genuinely good cold. Cut into squares and layered with paper, it keeps 3 days in the fridge.
Eggs per pan
For a 24 cm pan count 8 eggs, for 20 cm — 6, for 28 cm — 10. The mixture should stand about 2 cm deep; thicker and the centre never sets, thinner and it dries out.
If the handle is plastic
Cast iron or steel goes under a grill. If your only pan has a plastic handle, tip the fried vegetables into a greased dish (about 24 cm), pour over the egg mixture and bake 20–25 minutes at 180 °C, until the centre is set.
