Israeli-style baked courgette, bulgarit and mint frittata with toast

Name: Israeli-style baked courgette, bulgarit and mint frittata with toast
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Israeli and Mediterranean
Ingredients: 330 g Eggs (6 medium 55 g eggs); 300 g Courgettes (2 small, firm courgettes); 160 g Feta or Bulgarian white cheese, 16–24% fat (250 g block) (Bulgarian cheese, bulgarit, or feta, drained: 120 g in the eggs, 40 g on top); 40 g Spring onions (3 spring onions, a third of a bunch, white and tender green parts); 10 g Fresh mint (a generous handful, about 40 leaves or one-fifth of a bunch; reserve about ten uncooked leaves to serve); 25 g Extra virgin olive oil (2½ tbsp: 10 g for the pan, 10 g for the baking dish, 5 g uncooked to serve); 2 g Fine salt (2 pinches: 1 g on the courgette, 1 g in the eggs; the feta provides the remaining salt); 1 g Ground black pepper (½ tsp); 60 g Lemon (½ lemon: zest for the frittata, the rest cut into 2 wedges); 180 g Bread (baguette or country loaf) (4 × 45 g slices of country bread, toasted)

40 min20 min hands-on easy2/5dairy831 kcalLighter version available

main dishShabbat-friendlyoven-bakedgood leftoversvegetarianLighter version available

The frittata of Israeli cafés: courgette sautéed until golden, salty Bulgarian cheese, mint and spring onions, baked in a hot dish then browned under the grill. Serve with lemon zest, a drizzle of uncooked olive oil and toast.

Ingredients for two

330 g	Eggs 6 medium 55 g eggs
300 g	Courgettes 2 small, firm courgettes
160 g	Feta or Bulgarian white cheese, 16–24% fat (250 g block) Bulgarian cheese, bulgarit, or feta, drained: 120 g in the eggs, 40 g on top
40 g	Spring onions 3 spring onions, a third of a bunch, white and tender green parts
10 g	Fresh mint a generous handful, about 40 leaves or one-fifth of a bunch; reserve about ten uncooked leaves to serve
25 g	Extra virgin olive oil 2½ tbsp: 10 g for the pan, 10 g for the baking dish, 5 g uncooked to serve
2 g	Fine salt 2 pinches: 1 g on the courgette, 1 g in the eggs; the feta provides the remaining salt
1 g	Ground black pepper ½ tsp
60 g	Lemon ½ lemon: zest for the frittata, the rest cut into 2 wedges
180 g	Bread (baguette or country loaf) 4 × 45 g slices of country bread, toasted

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C, or 170°C fan, with the shelf in the middle. Wash the courgettes, trim the ends and coarsely grate. Finely slice the spring onions. Pick the mint leaves, reserving about ten small leaves to serve, and chop the rest. Finely grate the zest from the half-lemon, then cut it into 2 wedges.
Heat 10 g olive oil in a 26 cm frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the courgette, spring onions and 1 g salt, spread out and cook for 7–8 minutes, stirring every minute. The courgette should release its water, then the pan should become dry again and the courgette turn golden in places. This brings out its sweetness and prevents a watery frittata. Turn off the heat and leave to cool slightly in the pan.
While the courgette cooks, spread 10 g oil over the base and sides of a 22 × 22 cm baking dish and put in the hot oven for 5 minutes. The eggs will sizzle on contact and the bottom will brown. Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl, add 1 g salt and the pepper, and beat with a fork for 30 seconds. Crumble the feta into large pieces.
Add the cooled courgette, chopped mint and 120 g feta to the eggs and mix. Remove the hot dish with oven gloves, pour in the mixture, which should sizzle at the edges, and spread evenly with a spatula. Crumble the remaining 40 g feta over the top.
Bake on the middle shelf for 13 minutes, or 15 minutes in a ceramic dish. It is ready when the edges are golden and pull away from the dish, and the risen centre no longer wobbles when the dish is gently shaken. A knife inserted into the centre should come out without liquid egg, or a thermometer should read 70°C at the centre. If needed, cook for another 2–3 minutes. Switch to the grill and cook for 2 minutes, watching closely, to brown the top and the feta. Do not cook any longer: resting finishes the cooking, and overcooked eggs become rubbery.
Remove the dish and rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, put the 4 slices of bread under the still-hot grill for 1 minute per side, until golden. Cut the frittata into four, drizzle with the 5 g uncooked olive oil and scatter with the lemon zest and reserved mint leaves. Serve two pieces per person with toast and a lemon wedge to squeeze over.

Variants and their steps remain below the recipe.

Lighter version

How the taste changes:

The thinner frittata contains less salty cheese and fewer little creamy pockets of feta. Courgette, mint and lemon stand out more, with a larger proportion of vegetables to egg.

Eggs : 275 g
Feta or Bulgarian white cheese, 16–24% fat (250 g block) : 100 g
Bread (baguette or country loaf) : 90 g

Beat 5 eggs instead of 6. At step 4, put 70 g feta in the eggs and 30 g on top. The layer is thinner, so start checking after 11 minutes, or 13 minutes in ceramic.

At step 6, toast 2 × 45 g slices of bread, one per person.

5 eggs, less feta and less bread; the sautéed courgette, mint and lemon zest provide the flavour.

On your plate

Recipe

831 kcal · protein 44 g · carbs 51 g · fat 48 g

Quantities per person

165 g Eggs
150 g Courgettes
80 g Feta or Bulgarian white cheese, 16–24% fat (250 g block)
20 g Spring onions
5 g Fresh mint
12.5 g Extra virgin olive oil
1 g Fine salt
0.5 g Ground black pepper
30 g Lemon
90 g Bread (baguette or country loaf)

Cooking tips

Serve cold the next day in a pitta or ciabatta sandwich with a little tomato: the Italian panino alla frittata makes a Saturday lunch with no cooking. It keeps covered in the refrigerator for 2 days. Do not shorten step 2: until the pan is dry, the courgette still has water to release, and cooking it properly develops the flavour. In summer, replace half the mint with dill.

Equipment : oven with a grill, 26 cm frying pan, 22 × 22 cm metal baking dish, or thick grill-safe ceramic; not glass, which could shatter when the cold mixture is poured into the hot dish or under the grill, grater with coarse and fine sides, mixing bowl and fork, knife and chopping board, oven gloves

Israeli café frittata with Bulgarian cheese and herbs, using courgettes sautéed in olive oil as in frittata di zucchine.

Israeli-style baked courgette, bulgarit and mint frittata with toast

Method

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On your plate

Recipe

Cooking tips

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