Ok, we have now officially had our first diversion. Let us move on. Frittate. Or, as we usually hear them described (Annalena shivers): frittatas. They seem to be easy. They seem to be simple. After all, it's a dumbed down version of an omelet, right?
DO. NOT. GET. ANNALENA. STARTED. No, they are not. And while they are not complicated, if you think you can start a frittata, go and get your hair done, and then come back and finish, well, honestly carini, you deserve what you get.
Frequently, when Annalena eats a frittata, she feels unsatisfied at the end (that is true with so many things, but we will not discuss that, other than to ask: did you know one of Annalena's favorite songs is Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is?"). So, when Annalena saw a recipe suggesting that we add GRAINS to our frittate, well... sign her up.
Now, to be certain, this recipe is nothing new. People have been making them this way for hundreds of years. As Annalena's gal pal Annalisa, who lives in Sicily once said "what's so special about using leftovers? You don't throw away food." CERTO CARA CERTO. And this will make you WANT to re-use the leftovers. It really will.
When we cook we frequently have left overs, especially with grains: rice, farro, barley, etc. Even pasta. Save it. You can use it for this recipe, and you won't regret it. Annalena had leftover rice. She would make it with anything. Let's begin.
Annalena was making this for two people, so she used six eggs. To size this up, add two more, for any additional person:
The dark stuff in the center, is a tablespoon of fish sauce. Use soy sauce or shoyu if you are avoiding fish and meat. You could leave this out entirely, but you'd miss it. What Annalena also had, was the leftover rice from earlier that week:
And also, leftover pole beans:
You can see that Annalena chopped the beans, and there was rosemary and some mushrooms in the rice. Your grain can be "clean" or "dirty," doesn't really matter. If you don't have leftover vegetables, you're ok, but if you have a vegetable in the house, use it. You know you don't eat enough of them.
Well, remember Mao's statement "to make an omelet you have to break eggs?" (That's not actually what he said, but that's what was reported). You also have to stir them up.
Frittate do not need the "lightness" of a souffle, so we are only mixing our ingredients together, so as to combine them. What this means is that the eggs should have a uniform color: no yellow or white streaks.
Put those aside for a minute. Put a couple of tablespoons of butter (or olive oil, if you're staying away from the animal stuff: of course, you are eating eggs, but Annalena tries to accommodate), and add one sliced shallot. USE A NON STICK PAN. USE A NON STICK PAN. USE A NON STICK PAN. (Did you get that this is the most important thing in this recipe?). Cook that shallot at medium low heat (in fact, cook everything here at less heat than normal):
When you have something like this (after about 2 minutes)
Have a rubber spatula recipe, and pour in your eggs. What you see below, is going to happen immediately:
Can you see the bubbling at the edges, and the way it cooked, almost like a pancake? This is a good thing, which will turn into a bad thing, if you do not do things right (and this is where our amateur frittate makers screw up). Get your spatula, and GENTLY, AND SLOWLY stir things from the bottom, and all around the pan:
The eggs ae going to cook quickly, and what you want to do is distribute the heat and the cooked product, as well as you can. This also prevents the eggs from becoming tough. Do this, for about three minutes, and then step back. Now, we are going to start doing something really, REALLY important.
Annalena is lifting the frittata from the pan. You do this so that you can get it out of the pan when it's done. The protein in eggs really likes the pan surface, even if it is non stick. So you are going to do the above, all around the pan. At first, not so far into it: the eggs are still soft. But after you do it for 2-3 minutes, things will have congealed sufficiently, that you will get all the way to the center. And that's a good thing.
At this point, you will have been cooking, for about 7 minutes, and you'll have something with a surface that looks like so:
You could eat these eggs now, but if you did, you'd wonder why you bothered. So, lower the heat even further, put a lid on the pan, and let it cook, undisturbed, for five minutes.
Annalena hopes you can see the nice, creamy surface. If you are feeling hesitant, take your spatula and move it under the eggs again, to make sure nothing is sticking, and the beast is at one. Because next, you are going to put your faith in something. Turn down the heat. Wait a minute. Say a prayer. Put a plate big enough to cover the frittata over it, and cover your hands. Now, very bravely, seize the pan as close to the cooking part as possible, and flip it ) (Annalena's hands were occupied, so she couldn't photo this). You will get:
Not perfect, but pretty damn pretty, yes? And, if yours does not come out as one, no one is going to know if you just push it together. It is even LESS likely they will know this, if you have something tasty on hand, like tomato sauce, or sauteed mushrooms, or more of those vegetables, or, if you have generous friends like Annalena does, chilies rellenos. You can put them on top of the frittata, and it looks even better:
"Simple food " ain't so simple, ragazzi. It takes a bit of focus, but with that, you can do it. So, the next time you go to a brunch spot, spend 17.00 for a frittata, and wonder if it was worth it, go home and make one. You may stop standing on those brunch lines. OR, you may have more respect for the kitchen staff. One way or the other, you'll be a better person. xoxoxoxoxxoxo
1 comment:
Mmm, food for thought, and now thinking about food. This is a new idea for me, one to be explored. Thank you.
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