Tag Archives: frittata

A Frittata and a Glass of Wine

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Tracie P’s superb frittata inspired my post today for the Houston Press. We paired it late Saturday night with a bottle of 2008 Fixin by Mongeard-Mugneret, which I had picked up — literally — for a song for $26 in San Antonio (where I spoke at a wine dinner earlier in the evening).

I’ve posted these passages — one probably known already to you and one that may surprise and delight you (I hope) — over at the Houston Press as well. But I just had to post them here, too.

From “An Omelette and a Glass of Wine”

“If it were true that wine and eggs are bad partners, then a good many dishes, and in particular, such sauces as mayonnaise, Hollandaise and Béarnaise would have to be banished form meals designed round a good bottle, and that would surely be absurd. But we are not in any case considering the great occasion menu but the almost primitive and elemental meal evoked by the words: ‘Let’s just have an omelette and a glass of wine.'”

Elizabeth David, T.B. Layton’s Besides, 1959

Omelette

“Of all French dishes, the omelette is perhaps, the most thoroughly representative. The French omelette is known far and wide, by reputation, at all events, and various are the parodies of the great French dish that are to be met with in the different corners of the world. In some places, omelettes are served up in a liquid melting mass; in other places they take the form of solid custard-like composition; elsewhere they take a leathery shape, and are altogether as unpalatable as they are unlike the real thing. An omelette, moreover, is a dish which most Frenchmen, whether he cooks or not, declare that they are adepts [sic] at concocting. The French poet, the painter, the dramatist, the statesman, the aristocrat — all will tell you that had it pleased Providence to place them in the classes from which, as a rule, cooks spring, they would have won renown by the excellence of their omelettes alone. No saying is more true than that which declares every French man to be a born cook; and the foremost dish on the execution of which he prides himself, is the omelette.”

—Charles Dickens (ed.), Household Words, 1882

Frittata di pasta porn (and recipes)

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After I made Spaghetti al Pomodoro the other night for dinner (in this case bucatini), Tracie P used the leftover noodles to make a Neapolitan-style Frittata di Pasta. The dish was so stunning, visually and otherwise sensorially, that I was compelled to document it. After all, this is my “web log” after all, isn’t it? Enjoy… and thanks for reading!

frittata di pasta

Spaghetti al Pomodoro

As my good friend Renato dal Piva taught me (when I used to play in his clubs in the Bellunese), you should be able to get the tomato sauce simmering by the time the water boils. By the time the pasta is done cooking, the sauce will be ready.

Finely chop ¼ medium size white or yellow onion and sautée with a handful of flat-leaf parsley together and one lightly crushed garlic clove in extra-virgin olive oil. When the onion becomes translucent , add 1½ cup puréed, crushed, or whole canned cherry tomato (if using whole Roma tomatoes, crush the tomatoes using a spatula). Add ¼ cup room-temperature white wine. Season with kosher salt, pepper, and crushed chili flakes. Simmer until the pasta is not quite cooked through (about 1-2 minutes under the suggested cooking time).

frittata di pasta

In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to boil. After it begins to boil, season with a generous handful of kosher salt. Cook the spaghetti until not quite cooked through (as above). About 3 minutes before the pasta is done, add ½ ladleful of its cooking water to the sauce. When the pasta done, fold the noodles into the sauce and toss over low heat. Serve hot, drizzled with a drop or two of extra-virgin olive oil and with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano on the side (ironically, I prefer not to sprinkle with the cheese, despite my northern tastes, while Tracie P, with her southern tastes, opts for cheese).

For the tomato sauce, our favorite brand is La Valle, in particular its cherry tomatoes (pomodorini). We also like Muir tomatoes from California and Progresso is good, too. The important thing is to find tomatoes to which nothing but salt has been added (Del Monte, Hunt’s etc. will all work fine). In summer months when fresh basil is available, omit the flat-leaf parsley and add torn basil leaves after the tomato sauce has begun to simmer.)

For the pasta, we used La Valle bucatini that Alfonso had brought us from Jimmy’s Food Market in Dallas. As far as commercial, easy-to-find brands are concerned, Tracie P likes DeCecco (her southern tastes), while I like Barilla (my northern tastes).

frittata di pasta

Frittata di Pasta

Beat two eggs with a handful of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, add the beaten eggs to the leftover pasta in a mixing bowl, and toss gently. Cover the bottom of a small pan with extra-virgin olive (about 2 tablespoons depending on the size of the pan) and heat over medium-flame. As soon as the oil begins to smoke, add the pasta and cover. Cook for 2-3 minutes and then reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes and flip (to flip, quickly remove cover and then recover with a ceramic plate; hold the plate in place, swiftly turn the frying pan over and then slide the frittata back in the pan). Cook for another ten minutes and serve hot.

Once cooled, wrap the frittata in plastic wrap and conserve in the fridge. It will be great, sliced on bread or re-warmed. With the quantities above, Tracie P and I obtain 3 meals!

Buon appetito, ya’ll!