FRITTATA

I've only ever cooked Frittata once and it was out of necessity. We'd just moved into a new flat and the only thing in the fridge equated to frittata.

Like the last time, this also wasn't deliberate. I've been wanting to try kelewele, Ghanaian spiced plantain but 10 mins into that process and I decided I'd rather something quicker than having to make rice and some sauce. Trouble was I had a friend over who was expecting food.

Looking back into the fridge for some inspiration, I saw some vegetables suggesting a stir fry but I also didn’t want to waste the plantain, then I thought 'Frittata?' I'd never actually seen it made with plantain before but I convinced myself plantain it isn’t so far from potatoes. Moreover, I had no potatoes. If it had gone wrong, we would have just ordered brunch from the cafe next door. Thankfully, it didn't.

I was going to make this a vegetarian dish but for the sake of my meat loving friend, I thought I'd try some halal meat selection that I had left. (Salchichón, Chorizo and Salami). For me, it didn't add much value. To be honest, you can barely even see it (unless you have a keen eye - picture 2 on Instagram) but for them, it was lush. They enjoyed the crisp taste of the fried selection.

At the beginning, when I thought I was making kelewele, I used plantain that were still hard but once I changed my mind, I added softer plantains. Soft plantains are good for this but not too soft. If they are too soft, they'll just soak up all the oil and we don't want that. With spicing this, I grated the onion because blending it would have resulted in too much liquid than was necessary but if you can somehow blend it without the need to add water, then do it. In addition, I used both cayenne pepper and chopped scotch bonnet but if you don't handle chilli well, I'll suggest going with just cayenne pepper, which is what is used for most kelewele.

The amount of plantain used here will vary due to the size of pan used. I used a 30cm cast iron pan and 3 plantains ended up as a thin layer. If you have a similar size pan, you'll need more plantain for a thick layer, should that be what you are going for. Now let's talk Spinach

You'll notice that the amount of spinach used seems excessive but Tesco’s spinach always manage to disappear on the hob. If anyone knows where I can buy non-disappearing spinach, please let me know. Spinach will produce some water during cooking and if I was to judge with pie making experience, this would have affected the frittata. Therefore, I blanched and squeezed out excess water like I usually do with pies.

The advantage of spicing the plantain comes through once you bite into it. You get the top savoury layer of mozzarella, eggs and spinach, then the plantain’s sweetness and spices hit you. Trust me, you should try this. Without further ado, let's do this.

This recipe feeds 3-4 people.

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Ingredients

The Plantain base

✅ 3 medium plantains (the softer the better but not going bad soft)

✅ 2 small shallots

✅ 1 medium onion

✅ 2 cloves of garlic

✅ 1 tbs grated nutmeg

✅ 1 small ginger or a tablespoon grated

✅ 1 teaspoon cayenne or chilli powder or 1 freshly chopped scotch bonnet

✅ Oil to fry

The Frittata

✅ 6 large eggs

✅ 2 salad peppers (yellow and red for colour)

✅ 400g spinach

✅ 200g chopped salami (optional)

✅ 150g mushroom, sliced

✅ 100ml Elmlea double cream

✅ 2tbs coconut oil

✅ 1 teaspoon garlic, ginger, pepper and a pinch of salt

✅ 6-10 cherry tomatoes

✅ one ball of mozzarella

Directions

1. Slice your plantains in either small thin slices or in cubes and set aside

2. Grate onions and shallots, then combine all dry ingredients with plantain

3. Set aside on a paper towel to absorb any liquid

4. Wash and place the spinach in a colander and blanch (pour hot water over)

5. After 2-5 mins, squeeze out all excess liquid

6. Fry the salami for a few minutes and take off the pan (skip if not using salami)

6. Stir fry peppers for a few mins, then add spinach, mushroom and season

7. Slice cherry tomatoes into halves and pan fry until the side down looks a bit toasted

8. Whisk cream into the eggs, salt (if needed) and also set aside

9. Fry the plantains

10. As the plantain fries and you remove from oil, begin to set it at the bottom on a cast iron pan or any ovenware you are using. It should be easy to mould the plantains into whatever ovenware you are using as they’ll be softer now

11. Spread the stir-fried vegetables on the plantains and top with whisked eggs

13. Carefully place the tomatoes in place and top that with shreds of mozzarella

14. Bake at 150°C for 25 mins or until a knife through comes out clear