Pea, goat’s cheese and bacon frittata

“Oh” said the mobile calorie intake unit my friend. “You made tortilla for brunch?”. “No, I haven’t”, I answered. “This is a frittata”. “Like an omelette?” asked a confused  mobile calorie intake unit friend. “No, no….”  was the only possible answer “It is a frittata… just eat it, will you?”.  Thankfully, he did. Otherwise I would have to start a lenghty on the specifics of omelettes, tortillas and frittatas.  A tortilla can never be baked and it is always done in a two step process (indeed a process, until you learn how to turn it around without a mess of epic proportions). An omelette is normally made with 2 or 3 eggs and folded. A frittata is baked – or fried and baked…  And, let’s not forget tortillas are Spanish, omelettes are French and frittatas are Italian. But, all of them, a perfect dish for a festive brunch.

Pea, goat cheese and bacon frittata ( adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course)

Ingredients

• Olive oil to fry
• 8 slices of smoked bacon,  chopped
• 2 medium leeks
• 150g peas, thawed
• a few basil leaves, roughly sliced
• 8 large eggs, beaten
• 4 tablespoons of parmesan cheese grated and enough to sprinkle all over the frittata
• 150g soft goat’s cheese, thickly sliced
• sea salt and black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC oven and the grill on its highest setting.

Heat oil in a non stick ovenproof large frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the bacon for 2-3min.

Add the red pepper. Continue to cook for another few minutes until the bacon is golden brown and crisp. Add the leeks, and let it sweat until everything is tender.

Toss in the peas and cook for another minute or two, then add the basil roughly missing.

Cut the goat’s cheese in chunks and scatter half of it over the top.

Break the eggs into a large bowl and beat them. Add the parmesan cheese. Season with lots of black pepper.

Poor the beaten eggs over the vegetables and gently shake over medium heat. As the omelette begins to set at the bottom, grate the remaining goat’s cheese on top and season with pepper.

Place the plan under the hot grill in the oven for a few minutes until cooked through and golden on top.

Slide the frittata out of the pan and cut into wedges to serve.