Smokey Frittata with Cauliflower and Scamorza

Frittata is a simple Italian dish made with eggs and a combination of vegetables, cheese and/or meat. Or whatever you imagine to be a tasty combination.  It is considered a poor man’s dish made from left-overs. This recipe uses cauliflower and scamorza – a smokey Italian cheese. Easy to make in the oven or in a frying pan,

Ingredients

1 cauliflower, cut into large florets
6 eggs
4 tbsp of Italian panna or crème fraîche
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp sweet paprika powder
200g smoked scamorza, grated (include the skin for extra flavour)
Salt and pepper
3 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp il circolo ‘extra vierge’ olive oil

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 190 ˚Celsius.
2. In a large pan with boiling, salted water, simmer the cauliflower florets until they soften, but still have a bite. You don’t want them too soft as they go in the oven later. Drain and dry the florets.
3. Break the eggs into a large bowl, add the panna or crème fraîche, mustard, paprika powder and parsley. Stir to combine.
4. Add three quarters of the cheese and season generously with pepper and salt.
5. In a large ovenproof frying pan heat il circolo ‘extra vierge’ olive oil and fry the cauliflower until golden brown on one side. This takes about 10 minutes
6. Pour in the egg mixture and spread out the cauliflower egg mixture evenly in the pan.*
7. Cook on the stove on a medium heat for about 5 minutes. The frittata is not yet set. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
8. Place the pan in the oven and cook until the frittata is set and browned. This takes about 10 – 15 minutes. When ready, remove from the oven and let it rest for a 2-3 minutes.
9. Divide into wedges and serve.

*For an oven-free version, continue from step 7 onwards with the recipe below:

7. Cook on low heat for about 10-15 minutes until the egg mixture is nearly set. One side is quite brown now.
   To flip the frittata, hold the lid tightly on the pan and in a one movement flip the frying pan upside down. The frittata is now lying on the lid with the browned side up. Put the frying pan back on the stove and let the frittata slide back into the pan (browned side up).
8. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and put the lid back on the pan. It takes another 5 minutes for the cheese to melt and the other side to brown. When ready, remove from the heat and let it rest for 2-3 minutes.
9. Divide into wedges and serve.

Tips

• Scamorza affumicata is an Italian smoked cheese that melts easily. It is available in bigger supermarkets and in cheese speciality shops. The skin of the scamorza can also be used and provides extra flavour.
• Replace the sweet paprika with smoked sweet paprika – if you have it in your larder. It goes well with the smoky flavour of the dish.

  Recipe (adapted) from Yotam Ottolenghi, Plenty.