The SICILIAN FRITTATA Mystery Revealed

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Guest Blogger: GeGe Tan

Listen to A Sicilian Frittata Story on The Maria Liberati Show

When Maria’s neighbor surprised her with a bag of freshly picked cipolotti onions, the first dish that comes to her mind is Fresh Onion Frittata. If you don’t grow cipolotti onions in your garden, don’t worry, they can also be found local farmer’s markets in Italy and the US.

Fresh Onion Frittata

Ingredients:

• 10 eggs

• ½ cup grated parmigiana-reggiana

• 8 ounces of ricotta cheese

• 3 fresh cipolotti onions

• ½ cup milk

• ½ cup dry white wine

• A pinch of salt and pepper

• A pinch of nutmeg

• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

1. Peel and clean the cipolotti onions, removing the tougher outer layer.

2. Chop the onions and sauté in olive oil on low heat. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.

3. Add in wine, be careful not to brown onions.

4. Let alcohol evaporate, add in 2 tablespoons of water and cover, cook this way over medium low heat

5. Once onion has become transparent, remove from heat and set aside.

6. Place ricotta cheese, eggs, milk, grated cheese, nutmeg in a bowl and whisk together with a wire whisk.

7. Pour into the onion mixture

8. Preheat the oven to 400 °F, bake for 20 minutes until frittata is firm.

Serve with a dry, chilled white wine like Trebbiano D’Abruzzo. Because the hint of sweetness of the frittata and the acidity of the Trebbiano wine makes them a perfect combo, just like how the Italians say this wine and the frittata 

“make the perfect marriage.”

The traditional way of making frittata might put people off because it involves frying and flipping it over, but baking makes the process much easier. Marisa Raniolo Wilkins believes, a cookbook author and blogger from Sicily said that what set frittata apart from omelet is when making a frittata, eggs are not beaten until stiff, and the egg yolks are not added separately.

However, if you just can’t resist to try making an authentic fried frittata, Marisa has some secret tips to share with you. First, press the frittata while you are cooking it, this can make the runny egg liquid go to the side. Then you gently lift the frittata up, allow the egg liquid to go underneath. Once all the egg liquids have been absorbed, you can put a plate on top and turn it upside-down, and then you slip it back into the fried pan and finish it off.

“Frittata is very, very easy to cook,” said Marisa. Italians also spice up their frittata using herbs and grated cheese.

When it comes to localization of Italian foods, frittata is no exception. Marisa grew up in Trieste but visited Sicily very often. Frittata from the two regions were different. In Trieste, there are less ingredients, a typical frittata might have some zucchini, ham, or cheese. But frittatas in Sicily contain a lot more vegetable. Because vegetable releases liquid when they’re fried, people would add breadcrumbs to soak up the excess liquid. “I found that to be quite different than the rest of Italy,” said Marisa.

In the northern part of Italy, there are fruit frittata, where people put fruit with caramelized butter and sugar, and this makes a sweet version of frittata. People would also add milk and flour to absorb the liquid from the fruit, sometimes even dust some flour on top of the frittata.

“I’ve always found fascinating how food in different cultures is connected,” said Marisa.

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