Recipe/Ricetta - Fortagia al Forno con Zucchini e Funghi (Oven-baked Omelette/Frittata with Courgettes and Mushrooms)

I seem to have great difficulty in cooking fortagia on the stove-top; it's a bit of a shameful thing to have to admit but there it is - no matter which pan I use, be it a skillet or a wok, my fortagii turn out like multicoloured scrambled eggs at best, and at worst, something one might see on the pavement outside a British pub on a  Saturday morning! Even trying to soufflé them under the grill proves hazardous....the last time I tried this, I set off every smoke alarm in my house, due to placing a wooden-handled wok under the grill for too long. It is now an ex-wooden-handled wok!

Then I realised I could just cook it in the oven! Why did I not do this before? Who knows? Anyway, the result is a beautiful and perfectly-formed fortagia every time, and being rectangular, it's really easy to divide up (I recommend a palette knife for this)!

This recipe only uses one whole egg, but has three egg whites. It is very flavoursome (no less-so than if it were made with whole eggs) but at a fraction of the calories and fat content of more traditional recipes. Since I really don't like the taste of eggs (but as a non-meat eater, I need all the protein I can get), I load up my fortaggii with vegetables and cheese (although not too much of course), but it really is up to you what you put in yours. Do feel free to experiment!

Approximate nutritional values per person:

Calories 210

Carbs 12g

Fat 11g

Sodium 422mg

Sugar 10g

Protein 17g

(Please note that these are based on the ingredients I use - your own may be slightly different)

For two people:

3 medium egg whites

1 medium whole egg

100ml semi-skimmed milk

.5 tsp fresh oregano

.5 tsp fresh thyme

5 fresh basil leaves - torn (approx)

Dash of freshly ground black pepper

Dash of sea salt

1 medium zucchini/courgette - either sliced very thinly, or ribboned (I use a Y-shaped potato peeler for this)

50g Romano peppers - diced

2 medium mushrooms - sliced thinly

2 spring onions - sliced thinly

1 clove garlic - smashed

5ml Extra virgin olive oil spray

8 cherry tomatoes - cut in half (you can use more or fewer if you like)

30g grated extra-mature Cheddar (I love Tickler)

You will also need silicone baking parchment.

1. Pre-heat your oven to 175-185°C.

2. Prepare your zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, garlic and spring onions, and then fry gently with the spray oil in a heavy-based pan. I find that a cast-iron skillet works really well.

3. While the veggies are cooking, whisk together the egg and egg whites, along with the milk, seasoning and herbs (you can use the leftover yolks to make a hair masque or face-pack!).

4. When the veggies are cooked to taste, line an oven tin/tray/dish with silicone baking parchment, enough to overlap the edges (this will prevent the fortagia sticking, plus makes it easy to remove from the cooking vessel). Arrange the vegetables on the parchment, then pour the savoury custard over the top. Sprinkle on the cheese, and arrange the cherry tomatoes on top of this.

5. Bake for 20-25 mins, depending on how fast your oven is, and how set you like your fortagia. 

6. Remove from oven, and slide the fortagia, still on the baking parchment, onto a large chopping board - this makes it easy to cut up and serve. 

7. Serve on a slice of wholemeal or granary toast for breakfast, or with salads of your choice for lunch or dinner.

Buon appetito!