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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This is the ingredient that gives frittatas their signature creamy, fluffy texture. Without this important addition, frittatas cook up flatter and a bit more dense. Follow this tip: After whisking the eggs together, be sure to whisk in some milk or cream.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The longer you cook an egg, the more likely it is to form a green coating on the yolk. Submerging an egg in ice water immediately stops the cooking. The green-gray color (and the whiff of sulfur smell that often accompanies it) comes from the reaction of iron in the egg yolk and sulfur in the egg white.
The egg to dairy ratio: If you are making a smaller frittata use 6 eggs and 1/4 cup of dairy, and if you are making a larger frittata use 12 eggs and 1/2 cup of dairy.
Replace cover on the skillet, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until the egg is lightly browned on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip the frittata and cook until the bottom is again lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes more.
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.
If you don't add seasoning to your frittata, it will end up tasting bland. Season your eggs with salt and pepper before putting them in the pan–a sprinkle of salt on top of the eggs before they bake will only flavor the top crust of the eggs, and not the whole dish.
Add 1 tbsp of milk into your egg mix. The milk will make your omelette nice, fluffy and light. Sprinkle some salt into your mixture and add some chopped vegetables in it. Whisk with a fork, well.
Beat eggs until just blended: Overbeating the eggs invites too much air in to the egg mixture. As the frittata bakes, the eggs will expand and puff up. That can leave them with a spongy texture that's dry and unappealing. You want to combine the eggs well, but stop once everything is fully incorporated.
But besides the nutritional benefits there are a few other good reasons to use egg in breadmaking. It makes the bread lighter and fluffier. The reason for that is the fat in the yolk that inhibits gluten formation just as any other fat would. This results in a looser dough that can expand and puff up more.
Introduction: My name is Kimberely Baumbach CPA, I am a gorgeous, bright, charming, encouraging, zealous, lively, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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Prep time: 50 mins
