Zucchini and Ricotta Frittata

            My father always could (and as far as I know still can) cook only one dish (let’s make a remark here: by cooking I understand something that goes beyond topping a piece of bread with a slice of cheese and involves, at least, heating oil in a pan) – that is fried eggs. And, I should give him the credit, he took the process of cooking his dish quite seriously (it was so cute to watch him breaking the eggs into a pan and then keeping an eye on them so that they wouldn’t burn) and even managed to diversify his dish from time to time: he used to chop some additional ingredients and throw them in the pan together with the eggs. He loved to add some bacon or salami to his final dish, and what he got on his plate eventually even resembled a substantial meal.

            Only later on I learnt that my father was not a pioneer of the smart idea of adding yummy things to fries eggs – almost in every cuisine you will find a version of this dish. To my mind, Italian frittata is the most outstanding example of it. I love the fact that it’s a dish that leaves a lot of space for creativity: basically, you don’t need a strict recipe for making it; you can treat it as an opportunity to use leftover food to create a new meal. Thus, you can put chicken, vegetables or even pasta in it. And although I prefer to treat it the same way, I cannot but confess that there are a few combinations of flavours that make the best frittata for me. One of it is ricotta and zucchini. Soft and juicy in the middle, with a nice parmesan crust on top, it is one of my favourite breakfasts. It’s healthy and delicious, irresistibly tantalizing and ultimately easy to make!

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

½ big zucchini, grated

½ medium onion, finely chopped

1 small garlic clove, minced

¼ cup ricotta, crumbled

1 egg

2 egg whites

1 tbsp low-fat milk

1 tbsp parmesan, grated

salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat grill or oven to 220C.
2. Heat oil in a 12 cm pan over low heat and sauté onion for a few minutes. Add garlic and grated zucchini, season to taste and cook till the moisture evaporates. Put crumbled ricotta on top.
3. In a bowl, whisk eggs and egg whites with milk; pour the mixture in a pan, stir a little, put a lid on and cook for a few minutes.
4. Sprinkle parmesan on top of the frittata and put into the oven (or under the grill) for 5 – 7 minutes or until the top is golden in colour.

Notes:

1. If you’re not as selfish as I am, you can make a big frittata instead of an individual one: increase the quantity of ingredients, take a large pan and serve your frittata cut into wedges, just like pizza.
2. The leftover frittata is delicious even cold, with some green pesto smeared on top.