Ina Garten-Inspired Frittata
The thin layer of water that collects under a frittata gets blamed on the courgettes. It is the eggs.
Egg protein sets into a loose mesh, and if you keep heating it that mesh contracts and wrings out the water it was holding. A frittata taken out when the centre is just set is tender and dry underneath. Given another four minutes to be safe, it tightens, weeps, and turns slightly rubbery on the base.
Pull it when the middle still looks a shade underdone and shivers when you move the pan. The residual heat in a cast iron pan finishes it in the two minutes it sits on the counter.
Jump to the recipe ↓Ina Garten-Inspired Frittata
Serves 6 · Breakfast
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 40 min
Moderate7 steps, 11 ingredients
Ingredients
- 10 eggs
- 3 tbsp double cream
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- 250 g mushrooms, sliced
- 200 g spinach
- 100 g Gruyère, grated
- 50 g Parmesan, grated
- 2 tbsp chopped basil or chives
Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).
- Brown the mushrooms in a dry 25 cm ovenproof pan, then add the oil and onion and soften .8 minutes
- Wilt the spinach in, and cook until the pan looks dry.
- Whisk the eggs, cream, salt and pepper. Stir in the Gruyère and herbs.
- Pour over the vegetables and cook on the hob, until the edges set.3 minutes
- Scatter the Parmesan over. Bake , until the centre is only just set and still shivers.12–15 minutes
- Rest , then slide it out. It firms as it stands.5 minutes
Cook the vegetables first, separately, and get the water out
Every vegetable worth putting in a frittata is full of water — courgette, mushroom, spinach, tomato. Added raw, they release it into the egg during baking. Cook them down first, in the same pan, until the pan looks dry.
A splash of dairy, not a lot
Two tablespoons of cream in a dozen eggs gives a softer set. A hundred millilitres makes a quiche without a crust and it will not hold together when you cut it. A frittata is mostly egg, deliberately.
Start it on the hob, finish it in the oven
Three minutes on direct heat sets the base and the edges, which is what lets the frittata release from the pan cleanly. The oven then cooks it from above so the top sets without you having to flip anything.
Storing
Three days, and it is genuinely good cold — better cold than reheated, which tightens the egg further. It is not worth freezing.
Questions people ask
Why is my frittata watery?
Either the vegetables went in raw or the eggs were overcooked. Both release water.
Can I make it ahead?
Yes. It is designed to be eaten at room temperature, so make it in the morning for lunch.
What size pan?
25 cm for ten eggs. A larger pan gives a thin, dry frittata; a smaller one will not cook through in the middle.
Can I use milk instead of cream?
Yes, and keep the quantity small either way. Too much dairy and it will not hold a slice.
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