Known in Italy as a frittata, or in Spain as a tortilla, a flat omelette can be served hot or at room temperature, at any meal. Take a tip from Spanish tapas bars and serve it, cut into bite-size pieces, instead of salty or high-fat snacks with drinks.
The trick for a perfect frittata is to cook over a medium to low heat and allow the mixture to set slowly without stirring. Stirring once the egg has begun to set will break the mixture apart. Too high a heat will burn the base before the egg is set sufficiently to finish under the grill.
Fennel and courgette frittata: Replace the pepper, onion, and sweetcorn with 1 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced; 85g (3oz) mushrooms, thinly sliced; and 1 courgette, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced across. Sauté these vegetables in the hot oil for 3 minutes before adding the partly cooked potatoes.
Pepper and potato frittata: Use 3 peppers (any colour) and 2 onions; omit the sweetcorn.
*Sweetcorn is a useful source of dietary fibre and vitamins A, C and folate. Although some vitamins are lost in canned sweetcorn, they are retained in the frozen vegetable.
*Potatoes and peppers both contribute vitamin C to this dish.
I made this for the first time and it looked delicious, although it tasted rather bland. Perhaps browning the onions at the beginning would add more flavour. I also added salt, which was not mentioned in the recipe. I shall try adding tuna next time. After cooking one side of the frittata, I turned it on to a large plate and then slid it back into the frying pan to cook on the other side, instead of using the grill. - 08 Nov 2012