Tour of Italy ~ Day 18... Unbelievable Umbria

Umbria  is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked. It is second only to Tuscany in terms of historical hills towns and beautiful countryside. Along with Tuscany and Sicily, Umbria has sizeable cypress forests in addition to pine and chestnut. One of Umbria's abundant ingredients are the awesomely famous black truffles, often found just tossed into rustic pastas and cooked into golden frittatas, (an open-faced Italian style omelette made by combining vegetables, cheese, meat or other filling ingredients with the beaten eggs, then cooking over direct heat until browned on the underside. Often a frittata if finished under the broiler to set and brown the top).

 Green & Golden Frittata

4 tbs. olive oil
2 medium leeks, white and light green parts, cleaned and finely chopped
1 lb. mushrooms, brushed clean and thinly sliced (or 1 tablespoon grated black truffle)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 medium onion very thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach, washed
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups swiss, gruyere or sharp cheddar, grated
2  large tablespoons sour cream
2  large tablespoons Caponata
1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley

In a 12″ nonstick pan with an ovenproof handle, heat the olive oil.  add the leeks and saute until softened but not browned, about 3 mins.  add the mushrooms and saute for 2 mins., and then add the red pepper, garlic and onion, cook for a few more mins., until the pepper is slightly softened. season with the salt and pepper.  preheat oven to 425; in a bowl, whisk eggs until well-blended.  stir in 1 1/4 cup of the cheese and spinach.  pour the egg mixture over the vegetables in the skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the bottom of the mixture is lightly browned, about 5 mins.  sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.  transfer the skillet to the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake until the frittata is puffed and browned, about 10-15 mins.  remove it from the oven and invert onto a plate; invert it again onto a serving platter, so the browned top faces up.  arrange a large dollop of sour cream and Caponata in the middle, garnish with fresh parsley.  serve immediately.  you can also serve the frittata right out of the pan, or cut in wedges.


To turn this recipe into a Make-Over Monday Recipe, you could always use just egg whites or 2 cups of egg-beaters, to help reduce the calorie count.