Sometimes we see a dish being made on a TV food programme and have to go and make it straight away. This frittata was one of those. It’s a recipe by Rachel Allen and was made originally with bacon, which we don’t eat. This fact is of considerable confusion to Pablo who counts bacon/ham as an essential foodstuff and fears I am missing out on proper food. He frequently tries to tempt me to eat ham, from his own pigs of course. Pablo pities D, who does occasionally eat meat, so they go out for the occasional ‘vino y jamón’ evening.This is typical of the Spanish attitude to ham which to them is not meat; it is quite common in restaurants for me to order a dish sin carne for it to arrive at the table with crispy ham sprinkled over the top. “Pero, jamón no es carne,” the waiter will protest in confusion.

So instead of bacon we substituted smoked salmon, and it was excellent. 40g butter
350g spinach, stalks discarded, washed and shredded
1 tbsp olive oil
Smoked salmon, cut into roughly 2cm pieces
8 eggs
175ml single cream [we used longlife nata para cocinar]
100g cheese [Rachel uses gruyere, we substituted Parmesan] grated

Preheat the oven to 200®C/gas 6.

For this recipe you need to use a frying pan which can be put into the oven.

Put a 25cm ovenproof frying pan on a medium heat, add 15g of butter and the spinach leaves. Season with salt and pepper, and stir until the spinach wilts. Drain the spinach and set aside.

Place the pan back onto the heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the smoke salmon and cook for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the smoked salmon to the spinach. Leave any fat in the pan.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the cream and cheese. Mix in the spinach mixture, season with salt and pepper to taste. Put the pan back onto the heat and add the remaining butter. When this is melted and foaming, pour in the egg mixture and turn the heat to low [above]. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the frittata is a light golden colour underneath [below]. Then place the frying pan into the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or until golden on top and just set in the centre. Slide onto a warmed plate, and cut into slices to serve. It can be served hot, or later at room temperature.

5 to remember
el programa de televisión – television programme
ahora mismo – straight away
tenemos que hacerlo – we have to make it
considerable – considerable
escencial – essential