Frittata or Quiche, does it really make a difference?

I've always wanted to make a Frittata although I always wondered what the difference was between them. I know that generally speaking, a quiche has a crust although there are some quiches that don't. I've never eaten a Frittata, let alone made one, so the only thing I had to go by was how they looked in pictures.

A quiche, to me, always looked a little more wet and softer in texture than a Frittata. The Lovely Wife makes a good quiche and I also remember the quiche sold in my neighbourhood Milk Bar in Australia that Joe and Claudette (the owners) used to call an Egg and Bacon Pie. To complicate matters, some people refer to Fritattas as Spanish Omelletes as well...

One thing I've learnt though is that the same thing can be called something completely different depending which part of the world you come from. Case in point is what we call Currypuffs here in Malaysia are known as Empanadas elsewhere and variants of the same include Perogies and I'm sure all sorts of other names in other countries or cultures.


So anyway, I decided I was going to make a Frittata for lunch and I wasn't going to worry to much about whether it was a Quiche, a Spanish Omellete or a Frittata. To me, it was a Frittata and that settled it.
I based this recipe on a combination of recipes from various Australian Women's Weekly cookbooks as well as different recipes found on the web.

This is what I did.

Ingredients
1 onion - chopped
4 cloves garlic - chopped
3 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
3 potatoes
200g Bacon - diced
8 eggs
100ml cream
50g spinach - blanched and chopped
1 red capsicum - diced
1 green capsicum - diced
200g mushrooms - sliced
100g cheddar cheese - grated

Method
Skin the potatoes. Boil potatoes until just tender. Slice into thin slices and set aside. Meanwhile fry the onion, garlic, basil and oregano. Add in the bacon and mushrooms and continue to fry until well cooked. Add in the capsicum and spinach and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Line the base of a 9" cake pan with baking paper. Place a layer of potatoes on the base and cover with half the vegetable and bacon mixture. Place another layer of potatoes and cover with the remaining vegetable mixture. Whisk together the eggs and cream till incorporated and season with salt. Pour over the mixture and cover with grated cheese. Bake in a Preheated 190C oven for about 20-30 minutes till the top is golden and egg has set. Allow to cool slightly before overturning out and removing the baking paper underneath. Flip right side up onto a serving platter.

I placed this Frittata on to a bed of lettuce for effect but it turned out that the lettuce added some nice salad-like crunch to the Frittata. I also served this with basil roasted tomatoes. It might be an idea to place the tomatoes on top of the Frittata after it's been unmoulded rather than serving it as a side.



The Lovely Wife enjoyed the Fritatta although she started the whole debate again about Frittata and Quiche. The kids thought the Fritatta was really tasty although my son felt it was a little eggy.

I liked it not just for the taste but also how easy it was to prepare. I will definitely use this recipe again for a vegetarian version or maybe even add in some spicy sausage for a variation on the same theme.



So Frittata? Quiche? Spanish Omellete? What are the real differences? I'd like to know!!