Frittata al Tartufo (Truffle Omelette)

Eggs and truffles.  Truffles and eggs.  I was emptying the refrigerator & cupboards from overlooked ingredients that needed to be cooked.  Dinner was an odd mixture of leftovers. I had 4 eggs and an open miniscule bottle of preserved black truffles that was almost reaching its time limit.   Being preserved, it is incomparable to the fresh ones because of its diminished distinctive taste & fragrance.  For this bit of loss, I am boosting it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil with white truffle essence.  You can smell it as soon as you enter the kitchen. 

This is a sprint dish.  Five minutes tops and you will have it on your table.  I needed something like this that can get along with the rest of my extractions from the fridge.  Leftover caponata, leftover grilled corn that I revived with  a mixture of melted butter, parsley & salt and some prosciutto crudo that I had completely forgotten about.  The kids love grissini wrapped with prosciutto crudo.  I am doubtful if they will eat the frittata with truffles.  Unless.... I drown them with ketchup... which I did and I'm sorry and embarrassed to say.  Cooking at home is like serving in a restaurant.  Our plate contents are all different.  One doesn't eat this but eats that.  The baby can't eat this so she gets something else.  When I was growing up, we were all eating the same thing whether we like it or not.  I wonder if I am doing something wrong here. 

If you have your ears close to our kitchen walls, you would have heard the wailings during mealtimes.  We started to impose our new table rules.  We move to the succeeding food courses together and we pass through a fresh green salad (if there is any) & a fruit before concluding the meal with a dessert.   The waiting alone to finish a course causes a lot of whining & complaints.  The eating of the salad was another story.  

Fortunately, the fruit was easy because both kids are fruit eaters.  Two hours later, with completely deaf ears & almost waving the white flag, we won.  We actually did it!  We were able to feed the kids.  Dinner was a re-run of lunch but about 5 minutes shorter and less whining.   Oh dear, and this is supposed to last for years.

My 6-year old son has started first grade and stays until the afternoon in school.  He eats lunch in school with his classmates.  The school publishes the weekly menu both at their internet site and at the entrance of the school to let the parents know what the kids are eating.  I noticed the same procedure when my son was going to a pre pre-school where we chose to leave him until after lunch.  I like it.  I like the idea to be given the importance to be informed about what our kids are being fed.  They are eating a 4-course lunch everyday which I am happy about.  How do they keep them still that long?  And the food is impressively healthy.   They start with pasta, then meat or fish with vegetables, green salad (sometimes), fruit & dessert.  Morning & afternoon snacks are mostly fruit & drinks.  They say that the snacks should help the kids tide themselves over for lunch, not to fill them up so that they will still have space for the main meal.  I am perfectly agreeable to that.  Now, with the healthy food my son is getting from school, I think I should continue at home too. 

Frittata al Tartufo (Truffle Omelette)

Ingredients:
Serves 4 (as appetizer)

• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp. parmigiano reggiano, grated
• shaved truffles
• parsley, chopped finely
• salt & pepper
• extra virgin olive oil with white truffle essence

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk the eggs then add the parmigiano reggiano.  Season with salt & pepper.
2. Over low - medium heat, in a saucepan with extra virgin olive oil, pour the egg mixture.
3. After 1 minute, sprinkle the shaved truffles and parsley on top. 
4. When the frittata is cooked through, invert it with the help of a plate or the saucepan cover.  Cook for a minute.
5. Divide the frittata into 4 & cut them into bite-sizes.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil with white truffle before serving.