Frittata and French Omelets

Originally published on April 30, 2008

From now on when I teach a cooking class I will post the recipes here. Although, I have already written an entry on omelets I have learned some things since then. I haven't written anything about frittatas to date. I made these recipes for two classes recently and they went over well.

The beautiful thing about frittatas and omelets is their versatility. You can fill them with practically anything savory. The only limit to them is your culinary imagination. Fillings can be as basic as ham and cheddar cheese to something a little more gourmet - like the filling I will tell you how to make. We will get to this later; first, let's start with the frittata.

Frittatas are Spanish "omelets." They are not flipped to cook the top, rather they are cooked a little over halfway in a nonstick pan or cast iron pan and then placed in the oven or under the broiler to finish them off. You can add whatever you want to them--just make sure that what you are adding has most of its moisture cooked out of it before adding or you will have wet spots in your frittata. (A funny story: I was teaching this class on Thursday and a lady, who was taking the class, lived in Spain for a spell. She talked about how she missed Frittatas and how after they would eat them they would go to a tapas bar. The people in the class started laughing and cackling. I immediately knew that they had mistaken what she said as "topless bar" because I thought she said "topless," too. She was quite embarrassed, but I cleared it up for her. Yes, the wine was flowing for some folks that night. Maybe you had to be there; it was funny at the time!)

Savory Frittata (serves 4-6 people)

8 eggs
5-6 Red or white potatoes (small)
½ Medium onion (large dice)
½ cup cubed ham (ham steak)
½ cup of good grated Swiss or Gruyere cheese
Enough freshly grated Parmesan to sprinkle over the top
12” nonstick pan

Transfer the pan to the broiler and broil until the top is browned and the frittata has puffed. Keep an eye on it while it is in the broiler or it WILL burn. Sprinkle the top with the grated Parmesan cheese and serve with sour cream condiment.

Sour Cream Condiment

16oz Sour cream

1 bunch of scallions or chives (or both)
Salt and white pepper
1 t. ground roasted garlic or garlic powder
1 t. parsley
10 inch nonstick pan. I am linking to this pan because it is the slickest pan that I have ever used. This is the pan I reach for every time I make eggs.
1 T. cream to thin the mixture

Thinly slice the scallions or chives and add other ingredients. Mix well and let sit for an hour or two (a day is better) in the fridge. Other uses: use as a vegetable dip or as a condiment for crackers or baked potatoes.

Port Wine Omelet Filling (serves 10-12 people)

1 medium onion cut into strips
3-4 red and/or yellow bell peppers cut into strips
¼ cup of ham sliced into strips (used for flavor)
2 flats of mushrooms rinsed and sliced (Appx. 30-40 medium mushrooms)
1/2-3/4 bottle of inexpensive Port wine
1 t. beef or chicken base
Chopped parsley for garnish
2 T. Butter for sautéing
2 T. Butter for finishing the filling
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper

Sauté onions, ham and peppers for a few minutes to soften and add the mushrooms (you will think there are too many, but they will cook down)—season with salt and pepper. Once well cooked (very little moisture left in the pan, deglaze with the bottle of Port wine. Reduce the liquid until it starts to “tighten.” You are looking for the consistency of high quality maple syrup (sauce will coat the back of a spoon). DO NOT LEAVE THE PAN. This sauce can go from liquid-to-syrup-to-burnt quickly. Remove pan from the burner and finish the filling with the butter. Now it is time to make your omelets! Grab a high quality nonstick pan and get going.

2-3 egg omelets will give you the tenderest omelets. The French omelet involves a technique that I can’t really write about, but that you need to know. The beautiful thing about the technique is that there is no flipping or turning of the omelet. I will let Julia Child—God rest her soul—show you how to make omelets the “French” way. Click here to see her do it.

Excerpts below are for educational purposes only and are borrowed from: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I.
Let the eggs settle in the pan for 2 or 3 seconds to form a film of coagulated egg in the bottom of the pan.
Then increase the angle of the pan slightly, which will force the egg mass to roll over on itself with each jerk at the far lip of the pan.

As soon as the omelet has shaped up, hold it in the angle of the pan to brown the bottom a pale golden color, but only a second or two, for the eggs must not overcook. The center of the omelet should remain soft and creamy. If the omelet has not formed neatly, push it with the back of your fork.

Grasp the handle of the pan with both hands, thumbs on top, and immediately begin jerking the pan vigorously and roughly toward you at an even, 20-degree angle over the heat, one jerk per second. It is the sharp pull of the pan toward you which throws the eggs against the far lip of the pan, then back over its bottom surface. You must have the courage to be rough or the eggs will not loosen themselves from the bottom of the pan. After several jerks, the eggs will begin to thicken. A filling would go in at this point.