It is a very exciting time in our house as our twins are beginning secondary school in St Clare’s Comprehensive in Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim. It is about 20 minutes away and is the same school my siblings and I attended.
Connor and Lucia will spend the first few weeks trying all subjects and then choose. I hope home economics is one, but it is up to them. Connor will know a few people there from playing soccer with the Fermanagh Rangers.
It’s an egg-citing time for them... which brings me to the stars of the show this week. Eggs are a great nutritious option for students heading back to school. I find myself eating more and more eggs these days, and Amelda makes a great omelette.
One of my first jobs was to make omelettes in the Great Northern Hotel in Bundoran.
This frittata recipe is from Sicily. It is cooked until set firm, making it excellent picnic food or as a light lunch or supper. Instead of pancetta, you could use smoked bacon or leftover ham.
For Parmesan, I recommend the Simply Better 30 month matured. It is one of the best I have had and I met the producers when filming Italian Food Trails.
The second recipe, with the manchego cheese, has a bit of a Spanish twist to it. I also like it with a cheddar cheese like Drinagh, which is also a great cheese for an omelette. You could add some chopped, cooked ham or a few diced cooked mushrooms.
Happy cooking,
Neven
Pancetta frittata
with Parmesan cheese
Ingredients: Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil
25g butter
3 Spanish onions, thinly sliced
175g piece pancetta, cut into small lardons
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
3 garlic cloves, crushed
8 large eggs, beaten
50g freshly grated Parmesan
1 tsp finely chopped fresh sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lightly dressed green salad, to serve
Method
1 Heat one tablespoon of the oil and the butter in a large sauté or frying pan. Add the onions and start by cooking over a fairly high heat, stirring constantly, until they begin to soften but not brown. Reduce the heat and continue to cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently so the onions do not stick or brown. They will need about 30 minutes in total to caramelise.
2 Stir the pancetta into the onion mixture, with the thyme and garlic, five minutes before the end of cooking time and continue to cook until the pancetta has begun to sizzle and crisp up. Tip into a large bowl and leave to cool for at least five minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper.
3 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Add the eggs, Parmesan and sage to the onions. Stir well to combine – you should have 1.2 litres of mixture in total.
4 Heat the remaining oil in an ovenproof heavy-based pan, that is about 23cm in diameter and deep enough to take the mixture. Swirl to coat the sides of the pan evenly, then pour in the egg mixture and cook for 6-8 minutes over a low heat to set the bottom and sides.
5 Transfer the pan to the oven and cook, uncovered, for about 20 minutes until just set, puffed up and lightly golden. Loosen the sides with a palette knife and cut the frittata into wedges.Serve warm or cold, straight from the pan. Have a separate bowl of the salad to allow guests to help themselves.
Baked eggs with tomatoes, chorizo and manchego cheese
Ingredients: Serves 4
Butter, for greasing
1 ripe vine tomato, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1 small raw chorizo sausage, skinned and finely chopped
4 large eggs
4 tbsp cream
25g manchego or cheddar cheese, finely grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Thick slabs of toasted sourdough bread sliced into chunky fingers, to serve
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C. Butter four ramekins and scatter the tomatoes and chorizo in the bottom. Crack an egg into each ramekin and season with salt, then add a tablespoon of cream to each one and scatter the manchego or Cheddar on top.
2 Arrange the ramekins in a roasting tin and pour in enough boiling water to come about halfway up each ramekin. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes until the eggs are set and the cheese is bubbling.
3 Set a ramekin on each plate and add the chunky toasted sourdough bread fingers to serve.
Read more
Neven Maguire: summer shows and summer salads
Neven Maguire: very versatile Irish pork
It is a very exciting time in our house as our twins are beginning secondary school in St Clare’s Comprehensive in Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim. It is about 20 minutes away and is the same school my siblings and I attended.
Connor and Lucia will spend the first few weeks trying all subjects and then choose. I hope home economics is one, but it is up to them. Connor will know a few people there from playing soccer with the Fermanagh Rangers.
It’s an egg-citing time for them... which brings me to the stars of the show this week. Eggs are a great nutritious option for students heading back to school. I find myself eating more and more eggs these days, and Amelda makes a great omelette.
One of my first jobs was to make omelettes in the Great Northern Hotel in Bundoran.
This frittata recipe is from Sicily. It is cooked until set firm, making it excellent picnic food or as a light lunch or supper. Instead of pancetta, you could use smoked bacon or leftover ham.
For Parmesan, I recommend the Simply Better 30 month matured. It is one of the best I have had and I met the producers when filming Italian Food Trails.
The second recipe, with the manchego cheese, has a bit of a Spanish twist to it. I also like it with a cheddar cheese like Drinagh, which is also a great cheese for an omelette. You could add some chopped, cooked ham or a few diced cooked mushrooms.
Happy cooking,
Neven
Pancetta frittata
with Parmesan cheese
Ingredients: Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil
25g butter
3 Spanish onions, thinly sliced
175g piece pancetta, cut into small lardons
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
3 garlic cloves, crushed
8 large eggs, beaten
50g freshly grated Parmesan
1 tsp finely chopped fresh sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lightly dressed green salad, to serve
Method
1 Heat one tablespoon of the oil and the butter in a large sauté or frying pan. Add the onions and start by cooking over a fairly high heat, stirring constantly, until they begin to soften but not brown. Reduce the heat and continue to cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently so the onions do not stick or brown. They will need about 30 minutes in total to caramelise.
2 Stir the pancetta into the onion mixture, with the thyme and garlic, five minutes before the end of cooking time and continue to cook until the pancetta has begun to sizzle and crisp up. Tip into a large bowl and leave to cool for at least five minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper.
3 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Add the eggs, Parmesan and sage to the onions. Stir well to combine – you should have 1.2 litres of mixture in total.
4 Heat the remaining oil in an ovenproof heavy-based pan, that is about 23cm in diameter and deep enough to take the mixture. Swirl to coat the sides of the pan evenly, then pour in the egg mixture and cook for 6-8 minutes over a low heat to set the bottom and sides.
5 Transfer the pan to the oven and cook, uncovered, for about 20 minutes until just set, puffed up and lightly golden. Loosen the sides with a palette knife and cut the frittata into wedges.Serve warm or cold, straight from the pan. Have a separate bowl of the salad to allow guests to help themselves.
Baked eggs with tomatoes, chorizo and manchego cheese
Ingredients: Serves 4
Butter, for greasing
1 ripe vine tomato, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1 small raw chorizo sausage, skinned and finely chopped
4 large eggs
4 tbsp cream
25g manchego or cheddar cheese, finely grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Thick slabs of toasted sourdough bread sliced into chunky fingers, to serve
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C. Butter four ramekins and scatter the tomatoes and chorizo in the bottom. Crack an egg into each ramekin and season with salt, then add a tablespoon of cream to each one and scatter the manchego or Cheddar on top.
2 Arrange the ramekins in a roasting tin and pour in enough boiling water to come about halfway up each ramekin. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes until the eggs are set and the cheese is bubbling.
3 Set a ramekin on each plate and add the chunky toasted sourdough bread fingers to serve.
Read more
Neven Maguire: summer shows and summer salads
Neven Maguire: very versatile Irish pork
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: