Frittata

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Frittata
TypeOmelette
Place of originItaly
Main ingredientsFried beaten eggs
VariationsFritaja (Istria)
  •   Media: Frittata

Frittata is an egg-based Italian dish, similar to an omelette, crustless quiche or scrambled eggs, enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses or vegetables.

History

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The Italian word frittata derives from friggere and roughly means 'fried'. This was originally a general term for cooking eggs in a frying pan. Outside Italy, frittata was seen as equivalent to "omelette" until at least the mid-1950s.[1]

Frittata has come to be a term for a distinct variation that Delia Smith describes as "Italy's version of an open-face omelette".[2] When used in this sense, there are four key differences from a conventional omelette:

  • While there may or may not be additional ingredients,[3] such as cubed potato,[4] such ingredients are combined with the beaten egg mixture while the eggs are still raw[5][6] rather than being laid over the mostly cooked egg mixture before it is folded, as in an omelette.[7]
  • Eggs may be beaten vigorously, to incorporate more air than traditional savory omelettes, to allow a deeper filling and a fluffier result.
  • The mixture is cooked over a very low heat, more slowly than an omelette, for at least five minutes,[6] typically 15, until the underside is set but the top is still runny.[2][8]
  • The partly cooked frittata is not folded to enclose its contents, like an omelette, but is instead either turned over in full,[5][8][9] or grilled briefly under an intense salamander to set the top layer,[2][6][8] or baked for around five minutes.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Elizabeth David (1954). Italian Food. Barrie & Jenkins (published April 5, 1990). ISBN 978-0-7126-2000-0. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  2. ^ a b c Delia Smith (1998). Delia's How To Cook. Vol. Book One. BBC Worldwide. pp. 48–49. ISBN 0-563-38430-1. the Italian word here is lentamente—very slowly
  3. ^ "Italian dictionary entry for "frittata"". Vocabolario treccani. Treccani. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  4. ^ Andrea Soranidis (2017). Classic Italian Potato Frittata recipe.
  5. ^ a b Robert Carrier (1963). Great Dishes of the World. Sphere Books (published 1967). p. 121. ISBN 0-7221-2172-5. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  6. ^ a b c Sarah Brown (1984). Vegetarian Cookbook. HarperCollins. p. 127. ISBN 0-7225-2694-6.
  7. ^ H L Cracknell; R J Kaufmann (1972). Practical Professional Cookery. Macmillan (published 1973). pp. 114–119. ISBN 0-333-11588-0.
  8. ^ a b c Nigel Slater (1992). Real Fast Food. Penguin Books (published 2006). pp. 39–40. ISBN 978-0-14-102950-4.
  9. ^ Gillian Riley (1 November 2007). "Eggs". The Oxford Companion to Italian Food. Oxford University Press. p. 168.
  10. ^ Jamie Oliver. "roasted chilli frittata". Jamie magazine issue 7. Archived from the original on 2011-02-20.
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  • Media related to Frittata at Wikimedia Commons