London lunch box: Herb and cheese frittata with basil tomatoes

This week, Laoise Casey puts leftovers to good use with a simple and adaptable frittata recipe
Laoise Casey
Laoise Casey15 May 2017

The frittata is ideal lunch box material – cheap, simple and easy to transport. And of course it tastes wonderful. I’ll often make one the night before work, then slice it into thick wedges once cooled, to pop into my lunch box the next day. It’s also a handy fallback recipe to have when you’re short on time and/or inspiration and indeed an excellent way to use up leftovers.

This week’s recipe takes three simple ingredients: eggs, cheese and herbs. Here I’m using feta and pecorino, combined with parsley and mint. But more often than not I’ll use up what I have in my fridge. and experiment with different fillings.

The main thing I think about a frittata is to use strong flavours. Some of my combinations are intentional, but the vast majority have been borne from jumbled fridge forages. Try one of these: Boiled baby potatoes thickly sliced, gherkins, capers and cheddar; caramelised red onions, asparagus and ricotta; sweet potato, bacon and spinach; peas, courgette and mascarpone; smoked salmon, dill and tenderstem broccoli; merguez sausages with red pepper and coriander.

This recipe serves two. If I’m cooking for one, I’ll make this for dinner with a large side salad then pack up the remaining half. Two meals for the price of one is just what you need to ease you into the joy of making your own lunch.

Ingredients (serves 2)

10 cherry tomatoes, quartered

Small handful of basil leaves, roughly torn

10ml sherry vinegar

6 medium eggs

70g feta

Large handful of parsley, finely chopped including the stalks

2 tsp olive oil

20g pecorino, finely grated

Small handful of mint leaves

Method

Preheat oven to 200C, gas mark 6. In a bowl stir together the tomatoes, basil and sherry vinegar. Season with sea salt and pepper and set aside.

Whisk together the eggs and season with sea salt and black pepper (remembering the feta will add salt). Crumble the feta then stir into the eggs with the parsley.

Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium-hot heat. I find a 20cm frying pan is ideal for 2 people. Once hot, wipe the oil with kitchen paper to spread it evenly. Pour in the eggs and turn the heat down to low. With a spatula, draw the edges into the middle a couple of times. Cook until it is beginning to set around the edges, around 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle the pecorino on top. Finish cooking in the oven for 6 minutes, until it is fully set but still moist in the centre. Transfer from the pan onto a board and scatter the mint leaves on top. Once cooled, cut into 6 wedges.

Laoise (Lee-sha) is a chef, food stylist and writer, living in London. Follow her on Twitter @laoisecooks and Instagram @laoisecooks. She studied at Leiths School of Food and Wine, where she now teaches. She has worked in a number of top London restaurants including The Dairy in Clapham and Paradise Garage in Bethnal Green.

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