Prosciutto-Mozzarella Frittata

Prosciutto, mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes go well together in almost anything, whether it be a pizza, a salad, or a panini.  Frittatas happen to be my favorite vehicle for playing the game of "let me throw a bunch of ingredients together and see what happens," so when I spotted this recipe from Food and Wine for a frittata containing the Italian quartet of ingredients, I couldn't resist.  As expected, they worked flawlessly together even when mixed together with lots of eggs, producing a very filling and satisfying brunch dish.

As a note, I make all of my frittatas using Calphalon's frittata pan, a two skillet set that allows you to flip the frittata without creating a mess.  Given my tendency to be a klutz in the kitchen, the frittata pan has saved me many hours of wiping eggs from my stove and walls.  I highly recommend it.

Prosciutto-Mozzarella Frittata
Adapted from Food and Wine
Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 10 large eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tbsp Pecorino Romano cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped basil
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper 
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 plum tomato, cored, seeded, and diced
• 4 slices prosciutto, cut into strips
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, cubed

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, Pecorino Romano cheese, basil, salt, and pepper.
2. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in the deep half of a frittata pan over medium heat.  Add the shallots and cook until they soften, 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the prosciutto and tomato and cook for a minute.  Use a spatula to spread the tomatoes and prosciutto across the bottom of the pan so that they are well distributed.
3. Add the egg mixture to the pan.  Use a spatula to push the cooked pieces of egg to the middle of the pan and allow the uncooked eggs to flow to the outer edges.  Cook for 3 minutes.
4. Poke the mozzarella cheese into the eggs so that the cubes are evenly distributed.  Continue to cook the frittata until it is nearly set, another 5 to 7 minutes.  During the last 2 minutes of cooking, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the shallow half of the frittata pan set over medium heat.
5. Place the shallow pan on top of the deep pan and flip the frittata.  Keeping the shallow pan covered with the deeper pan, cook the frittata for 4 minutes. 
6. Uncover the shallow pan and continue to cook the frittata until it is completely set, approximately 5 minutes.
7. Use a spatula to slide the frittata onto a plate and cut it into wedges for serving. 

Brunch, Italian Style

If you live in New York City, there will be a point when you tire of standard brunch fare, never wanting to see another eggs benedict no matter how gussied up the Hollandaise sauce may be.  You see, brunch is part of the weekend routine in New York, as revered as college football on Saturdays is in every place but New York.  Instead spending our Saturday afternoons watching players on TV duke it out over a pigskin, we New Yorkers duke it out amongst ourselves outside trendy restaurants waiting for crummy mimosas and heavy-handed omelettes.

At some point, most New Yorkers will realize that it is no longer worth spending $30 on food that can be made better at home and in an environment that does not require screaming at each other in order to be heard.  Should you come to that realization, or if you just want to invite some friends over for brunch, I urge you to make a pot of thick tomato sauce with a healthy dose of basil, cook some some eggs in the sauce, and serve it all over some crispy toast.  It will be an unconventional brunch, but a welcome respite from that New York brunch everyone grows to hate.  The Italians don't really do brunch, but judging by this dish, something tells me that I could tolerate the brunch scene in Italy.