What makes this frittata different is the bread. It soaks up the egg and cream and gives the frittata a firm but still tender texture. It also makes it easier to slide onto a serving plate, if that’s how you want to serve it.

　　

Ingredients

makes 6 servings

　　1 large (about 10 ounces) Idaho potato

　　12 large eggs

　　1/3 cup heavy cream

　　Salt

　　Freshly ground black pepper

　　1 1/3 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old bread, crusts removed

　　3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

　　1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch strips

　　1 red and 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch slices

　　1 tablespoon unsalted butter

　　

Step 1

Put the potato in a medium saucepan and pour in enough cold salted water to cover by at least four fingers. Bring to a boil, and boil until the potato is tender, about 40 minutes. Remove and let stand until cool enough to peel. Peel the potato and cut it into 1/2-inch slices.

　　

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Beat the eggs, heavy cream, and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Add the bread cubes and let soak until softened, about 15 minutes.

　　

Step 3

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 10-inch cast-iron or nonstick skillet with a heatproof handle over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until wilted, about 4 minutes. Add the peppers and cook, stirring until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper. Stir the sliced potato into the skillet gently. Add the butter and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet, and heat until the butter is foaming. Add the egg mixture to the pan and cook, still over medium heat, without stirring, just until the bottom is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. There should be a few bubbles at a time around the edges—any more than that means the frittata is cooking too quickly and the bottom will be too brown. In that case, remove the skillet from the heat, reduce the heat, and let the skillet sit a minute or two before returning it to the heat.

　　

Step 4

Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook just until the center is set—firm to the touch—about 25 minutes. If the edges are set and beginning to brown before the center is set, remove the frittata from the oven and finish the frittata under a preheated broiler.

　　

Step 5

If you’d like to serve the frittata hot, let it stand at room temperature about 15 minutes. If you prefer it warm or at room temperature, let it stand a little longer. Run a rubber spatula around the edges of the frittata and shake the pan gently to free the bottom of the frittata. You can serve the frittata right out of the pan or slide it out onto a serving platter.

　　

Variation: Ricotta Frittata

Step 6

Omit the potato from the above recipe. After pouring the egg mixture into the pan, drop 1 1/3 cups fresh or whole-milk ricotta into the egg by the rounded tablespoonful, forming little pockets of ricotta throughout the frittata. Continue cooking as described above.

　　Cooks' Note

　　This simple and satisfying dish can be made even simpler by using a leftover baked potato instead of starting from scratch by boiling a potato.

　　From Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Copyright © 2001 by A La Carte Communications and Tutti a Tavola, LLC. Published by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.Buy the full book from Amazon.