Corn frittata

March 24, 2010

I notice my son recently posted a quote on Twitter: “Real men eat quiche – at a truck stop.”

Quiche in its many forms from a soft melty leek one through to a large chunky vegetable-laden monster has been a popular item at parties, in café snack and salad cabinets or as part of a family meal.

Bruce Feirstein’s book Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche was published in 1982 and the title probably made some contemporary lads feel there was something sissy about quiche.

These days real men probably aren’t too concerned one way or the other – they’re too busy in their kitchens trying to make macarons - and now the frittata has joined the fray.

The quiche and the frittata have much in common, except that a frittata doesn’t have the extra calories of the quiche’s pastry shell. This is a good dish to make ahead and serve at room temperature or lightly chilled. It goes well with a salad and at this time of the year it’s good to include some of the late summer harvest.

Today’s recipe uses an ear of fresh corn but you can substitute a drained can of corn kernels if you prefer. Don’t used creamed corn though.

If you have a frypan with an ovenproof handle, this is idea for the job. Otherwise do the final cooking under the grill, protecting the handle with a couple of layers of foil. And please don’t forget to use an oven mitt when you grab the pan handle. It’s a trap for young players.

Corn Frittata

8 large eggs
1 red onion
1 brown onion
1 red pepper
oil
1 ear corn
6 slices of prosciutto
3 small potatoes
100g soft goats’ cheese
salt and pepper
a handful of small tomatoes, halved.
fresh basil

Finely chop the onions and deseeded pepper and sauté in a little oil until tender. Cut the prosciutto into ribbons and cook a further minute. Set aside to cool down a little.

Meanwhile microwave the potatoes till tender – about three minutes. Cool and slice.

Remove the husks and slice the kernels from the corn cobs.

Whisk together the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Add the goats’ cheese broken into small lumps. When the pre-cooked vegetables are sufficiently cool, stir them into the eggs.

Rinse the pan and heat up a tablespoon of oil then tip in the egg mix, turn the heat to medium and cook until the egg starts to set and the bottom is brown.  Push the halved tomatoes and several fresh basil leaves into the surface and put the pan in a preheated 180C oven for about 10 minutes till the frittata is no longer wobbly. Alternatively, preheat the grill and finish off the frittata under the heat.

Place an upturned plate over the top of the pan and turn both over to the frittata comes out onto the plate. Cover with another upturned plate and repeat the procedure so the finished frittata is right side up.

Serve at room temperature with a leafy salad and a good vinaigrette. Serves four.

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