Although he grew most of the vegetables we ate, my father wasn’t really much into cooking. He was in charge of salads and made eggs on Sundays, but that was pretty much the extent of it. Dad did, however, have a few signature dishes that he loved to prepare – and he did so with great gusto! One of said dishes was a frittata.

A frittata ^[1] is a fancy, Italian name for a baked, open-faced omelet. It’s an egg-based dish that usually contains a combination of various vegetables, cheese and meat. The cooking is started on the stove and then finished off in the oven. It is very similar to the Spanish dish, tortilla de patatas ^[2], except that there is no flipping involved, making it much easier to execute.

Frittatas were always on the menu at my house on “meatless” meal days like Christmas Eve and Fridays during Lent. My dad would thoughtfully plan what to include in his frittatas based on what was growing in his garden at the time. His favorite kind was filled with caramelized onions, fresh asparagus, mushrooms and big hunks of mozzarella cheese. He would prepare each component of the dish separately, and with the skill of an architect, would carefully construct his creation before cooking it. Then, Dad would strut into the dining room, proud as a peacock, and present his masterpiece to us. I can still see his face, beaming with satisfaction and delight! My father’s frittatas always turned out perfectly – much better than mine ever do. I wish I had paid more attention to his technique. I guess I just thought that he would always be around to make them. Sigh…

While it looks rather impressive, a frittata is a super simple dish to prepare, with lots of room for creativity. And, it works equally well for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can put just about anything but the kitchen sink in it too, making it a great choice for when you need to purge your fridge. This frittata is filled with onions, potatoes, ham and Parmesan cheese, which is what I happened to have handy on the night I made it. If I had planned ahead, I would have probably also added mushrooms and some mozzarella or provolone chunks. It’s all good!

Do you ever make frittatas? What are your favorite things to put in them? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments.