frittatina di verdure (vegetable frittata)

[tperes]

I was watching Ciao Italia this past weekend on my local pbs station. The cook on it (Mary Anne?) made a friatta that she topped with a beautiful veggie salad made from red potatoes, zucchini, and grean beans (and maybe some other veggies). Unfortunately, I don't remember what she used for the dressing (other than olive oil and balsamic vinegar).

I have searched the pbs and local KET websites, and all they list is a very brief description of the show.

Any chance anyone caugth this and knows what I am talking about? I have tried the recipe search functions at allrecipes, epicurious, and foodnetwork, to no avail.

TIA for any help!

Tanya

[Alethea]

I think this on Google. It sounds delicious.

Vegetable Frittata (Frittatina di Verdure)
From: Ciao Italia in Umbria by Mary Ann Esposito
(St. Martin's Press; November 2002; ISBN: 0312303297; HC)
Cookbook Heaven @ Recipelink.com

Pietro Cardoni's Umbrian garden had everything I needed to make is vegetable frittatina. The beauty of this "recipe" is that it allows you use a variety of your favorite vegetables, resulting in a tasty omelet whose flavor is lifted by a balsamic vinegar dressing. Instead of folding the vegetables into the egg mixture, they are cooked separately to retain their al dente texture and then placed on top of the frittata along with some aged ricotta cheese (ricotta salata) and peppery arugula. A great luncheon idea. Other vegetables could include small broccoli or cauliflower florets, asparagus, sweet peppers, summer squash, and sugar snap peas. Get inspired!

Serves 4

Dressing:
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

To make the dressing: Combine the vinegar, olive oil, and salt in a jar and set aside.

4 ounces chunk pancetta, cut into cubes
8 ounces green beans, julienned
2 small new potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 small carrots, peeled and cubed
2 small zucchini, cubed
4 eggs
1/4 cup minced parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 slightly green tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded arugula
4 ounces ricotta salata cheese, cut from the wedge into small, chiplike pieces

Fill a plastic bag with ice cubes and 3 cups of water and set aside.
Cook the pancetta in a 10-inch nonstick saute pan until crispy. Drain the pancetta on paper towels and set aside.
Fill a 1-quart saucepan with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil and add 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook the beans, uncovered, until al dente (just tender); they should retain their crunch. Remove the beans with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the bag with the ice water. (This stops the cooking process and allows the beans to retain their vibrant color.) Leave the beans in the bag for 3 or 4 minutes, then remove them with a slotted spoon and let them drain on paper towels. Add the potatoes to the boiling water and cook until al dente: remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and set aside. Cook the carrots in the same water and drain them in the same way as the green beans.
Whisk the eggs in a bowl with the parsley and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a 10 inch nonstick skillet. Pour in the egg mixture and cook until it is set. Slide the frittatina onto a serving dish and cut into4 wedges. Arrange the tomato slices over the top of the frittatina, then the beans, potatoes, carrots, zucchini, arugula, and pancetta.
Pour the dressing over the top and sprinkle the cheese over the dressing. Serve immediately.

Variation: If you cannot have eggs in your diet, use Egg Beaters, substituting 1 cup for the 4 eggs.

[tperes]

Thank you Alethea! I didn't even think to google it. :rolleyes:

I can't wait to try this out (minus the pancetta) this week. I just bought a bunch of the veggies at our Tuesday farmer's market.

[tperes]

Okay I made this for dinner last night. First off, I cannot make a frittat to save my life. I just don't know what my problem is. With that being said, next time I make this, I am going to just make the vegetables on top as a salad and maybe through in some cannellini beans and cheese (I didn't have any).

For the veggies I used:

new red potatoes
fresh stringless green beans
sugar snap peas
squash
zucchini

Cooked the potatoes and beans/peas as directed. Put in bowl w/other veggies, mixed w/ dressing (which was yummy!). Plated on top of "frittata" (I use that term loosely in my case), topped with chunked avocado (it was just perfectly ripe) and tomato slices.

I didn't have any cheese to put on top of it, and I omitted the pancetta. DH said it needed something to cut the oil in the dressing, so I think next time I make it I will add cannellini beans, the ricota salata or fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and serve it with some crusy bread.

All in all, an easy, quick-to-come-together dish.