Onion Frittata

Just recently we have been re-watching the TV series "The Hairy Bikers' Mediterranean Adventure", which has given us lots of inspiration for dishes to cook. A couple of days ago we watched the episode in which Si and Dave attempt to cook a Tropea onion frittata on the bonnet of a Fiat Panda - hilarious, but not totally successful! Having recently harvested some onions from my Courtmoor plot I decided to see if I could do this dish myself.

I didn't have any Tropea onions, so I used about 500g of my "Ailsa Craig" ones. They are really fresh and still juicy inside. If I wanted to store these for any length of time I would need to dry them further.

I also used a big bunch of herbs from the garden (Chives, Thyme, Parsley and Basil) and some lovely big free-range eggs recently purchased at a local Farmers' Market. Some of my homegrown "Nicola" potatoes were also brought in to provide an accompaniment.

If you want the full details of this recipe you need to buy the Hairy Bikers' book, but I'll paraphrase it for you...

You start by cooking the peeled and sliced onions very slowly, in a covered pan, for about half an hour. This makes them go very soft. Then you remove the lid and turn up the heat to caramelise the onions a bit - not too much, you don't want to make them go bitter.

When the onions are ready you mix them into a bowl containing the (beaten) eggs (use 1 egg per 100g of onions), add some grated Parmesan and loads of chopped herbs, then season to taste. Pour the mixture into a frying-pan in which you have melted a generous knob of butter:

Cook for about 10 minutes or so, until the egg is mostly set, but still a bit gooey. Then you put the pan under a pre-heated grill for a few minutes to cook and brown the top of the frittata. Again, be careful not to overdo it. The top should be well-coloured but not black!

Hopefully this is about right...

After allowing the frittata to cool for a couple of minutes, loosen it in the pan with a spatula and tip it out onto a serving-plate:

Meanwhile, your sliced pre-boiled potatoes will have been sautéing gently for half an hour in some olive oil...

When everything is ready, serve...

Ours was eaten with a proper helping of lettuce, cucumber and tomato salad - not the pathetic little garnish shown in the preceding photo, which was just for cosmetic purposes!

I have to say that I was pretty pleased with how this frittata turned out! The soft sweet onions; the buttery eggs, still slightly soft in the centre; the vibrant fresh herbs; what's not to like?