Bright frittata

For ➍-➏
100 g fresh or frozen broccoli florets
100 g fresh white mushrooms, sliced
50 g red bell pepper, diced
2 green onions, sliced thin, green tops included
1 tbs butter
100 g cooked ham, diced
8 large eggs
5 cl water
1 tbs cup Dijon mustard
¼ ts dried oregano
¼ ts dried basil
⅛ ts garlic powder
½ ts kosher salt
100 g cheddar cheese, finely-shredded

Preheat oven to 190°C. Spray a shallow casserole dish with vegetable oil.

Sauté broccoli, mushrooms, red bell peppers, and green onions in the butter until barely cooked. They should remain firm and colorful. Remove from heat and stir in ham. Let cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, water, Dijon mustard, oregano, basil, garlic powder, and salt until well combined. Pour into prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle the sautéed vegetables and ham over the top of the eggs, then sprinkle with the cheddar cheese.

Bake, uncovered, for 25 to 30 m, until center is set.

Let rest for 5 m before cutting into wedges to serve.

Prosciutto, spinach & basil frittata

For ➋
4 eggs
10 cl whole milk
small handful of grated cheddar*
tiny handful of Parmesan cheese
4 slices of prosciutto, roughly chopped up
5 basil leaves, cut into a thin chiffonade
handful of spinach leaves
freshly ground black pepper

Set oven to 220°C.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Add in the cheese, and mix to combine. Season with a good pinch of black pepper.

In your oven safe skillet, cook the prosciutto in a little oil, until crisp. Remove the prosciutto from the pan. Add the spinach to the pan, and keep it moving. When it has just wilted, remove from the pan and coarsely chop.

Into the same pan, pour the egg mixture. Toss in the prosciutto, basil and spinach. Gently mix. Heat over a low/medium heat until areas start to thicken (the egg cooks). When these cooked areas start to form, put the pan into the oven.

Cook in the oven for about 5 m, until the whole thing has just set. To check – reach into the oven (using a towel) shake the pan a little. If the middle of the frittata wobbles, then it is not set yet.

When the frittata has just set, crank your oven onto broil. Put this pan straight under the broiler, and broil to give a slightly browned top.

Cut into slices, and serve with a great tomato salad.

*Omit and raise the quantity of Parmesan.

'Frittata' is the Italian word for omelet, although they are prepared differently, usually started on the stovetop and finished under the broiler. The mixture is cooked over a very low heat, more slowly than an omelet, for at least 5–10 m, even 15, until the underside is set but the top is still runny. The result is an egg dish that is firm, and nicely brown on the top and edges, similar to the Spanish tortilla or the Iranian kookoo. It can contain almost any ingredient, even (left-over) pasta as in an omelet Napolitana.

Sophia Loren's omelet Napoletana

For ➍-➑*
150 g spaghetti
50 g unsalted butter
8 large eggs
3 tbs olive oil
1 tbs whole milk
⅛ ts freshly grated nutmeg
¼ ts salt
¼ ts black pepper
75 g ham, cut into 0.5 cm dice
50 g fresh mozzarella, cut into 0.5 cm dice
10 g finely grated Parmigiano cheese

Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well in a colander, then return to pot and immediately toss with 2 tbs butter.

Lightly whisk together eggs, oil, milk, nutmeg, salt, pepper, ham and mozzarella in a bowl.

Preheat broiler.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Cook egg mixture, lifting up cooked edges with a heatproof spatula to let raw egg flow underneath, until set on bottom and almost set but still moist on top, 3 to 5 m. Arrange spaghetti over eggs, pressing lightly with spatula to help pasta settle into eggs, then sprinkle with Parmigiano.

Broil omelet 10 to 15 cm from heat until top is pale golden, 2 to 3 m.

Cut into portions. Serve immediately. Add some tomato sauce if wanted.

*4 as main course, 8 as starter.

This recipe comes close to a frittata, the Italian oven finished omelet. Read more Sophia Loren recipes & history: tiramisu, vermicelli with sauce or spaghetti. Picture shows her as a Naples' Materdei neighbourhood pizza maker in Vittorio di Sica's “L’Oro di Napoli”.