Frittata and shredded potato

[AlaMoi]

DW does a "breakfast group" - new restaurant this trip.  came home raving over a super delicious omelet.  brought some home in a doggie bag to be deconstructed...

 

I'd call it a frittata more than an omelet as all the "goodies" are cooked into beaten egg vs. a typical "filling" - looked to be made in an 8 inch pan.  fried methinks - it was a bit crispy / crusted on the outside.

 

but anyway....

 

a main additive is shredded potato.  my question is does one cook / parboil the shreds prior to use in the egg dish?

 

diced onion and diced crisped bacon completed the add-ins; folded in half for service & topped with shredded cheddar,

[Deryn]

My personal preference (to be sure the potatoes cooked in the time it took the rest of the ingredients to cook) would be to boil the potatoes (not too overdone though) and then grate them. I might then be still tempted to sauté the grated potatoes to give them a bit more taste before adding them to the egg mix - or just grate and sauté without the boiling part. I wonder though if using store bought plain hash brown potatoes is what the restaurant may have done. Most potato frittata recipes I find on the web say to cook the potatoes in some manner first.

[AlaMoi]

I was thinking to grate them raw, then either boil or steam in a strainer.

I have the idea cooking prior to shredding might not work out - would they not be so soft as to mash rather than grate?

 

... a bag of pre-shredded frozen would probably die of freezer burn before cooking-4-2 would use them up (g)

[gfweb]

A tortilla espanola recipe might be helpful here. Pretty much the same thing.

[Lisa Shock]

I make potato frittata all the time. I use a cast iron skillet, 12" for groups and my 100+ year old 4" pan for single servings. You can do either raw or cooked, however, raw shreds experience a lot of shrinkage. (the frozen type also shrinks an amazingly large amount, like you need half a pound for a 12" skillet) I personally prefer boiled potatoes that are then shredded. You can cook them days ahead of time. Don't forget to season the water, or use stock instead of water. Butter or oil your pan liberally, add the seasoned shreds. (I like to toss with salt, herbs, and finely diced onion before adding.) Let them get a bit crispy before adding the beaten seasoned eggs, lower the temp, cover to capture heat for a few minutes, then finish under the broiler. You can top with a little grated cheese before broiling, and let that brown a little. Sometimes, I like to top with tomato concasse and/or diced green chile before broiling.

 

My favorite variation on this, however, is to take leftover scalloped potatoes, or potatoes Anna and use them as the base. To get extra browning, I start with beurre noisette. I take the cold leftover block and julienne slices off one end, then flip them on their sides into the pan. (so that what was formerly the heart of the casserole is now on the bottom) Heat through, then keep cooking until the outside is crisp, add the beaten eggs, let them get warm with the lid on for a few minutes then broil. I personally make scalloped potatoes pretty garlicy, this flavors the frittata pretty well. I also tend to use cheese (mozzarella) and cream, so the frittata crust retains some creaminess as the cheese doesn't meld into the egg layer so much, unlike cream or butter alone.

[ElainaA]

40 minutes ago, Lisa Shock said:

I make potato frittata all the time. I use a cast iron skillet, 12" for groups and my 100+ year old 4" pan for single servings. You can do either raw or cooked, however, raw shreds experience a lot of shrinkage. (the frozen type also shrinks an amazingly large amount, like you need half a pound for a 12" skillet) I personally prefer boiled potatoes that are then shredded. You can cook them days ahead of time. Don't forget to season the water, or use stock instead of water. Butter or oil your pan liberally, add the seasoned shreds. (I like to toss with salt, herbs, and finely diced onion before adding.) Let them get a bit crispy before adding the beaten seasoned eggs, lower the temp, cover to capture heat for a few minutes, then finish under the broiler. You can top with a little grated cheese before broiling, and let that brown a little. Sometimes, I like to top with tomato concasse and/or diced green chile before broiling.

 

My favorite variation on this, however, is to take leftover scalloped potatoes, or potatoes Anna and use them as the base. To get extra browning, I start with beurre noisette. I take the cold leftover block and julienne slices off one end, then flip them on their sides into the pan. (so that what was formerly the heart of the casserole is now on the bottom) Heat through, then keep cooking until the outside is crisp, add the beaten eggs, let them get warm with the lid on for a few minutes then broil. I personally make scalloped potatoes pretty garlicy, this flavors the frittata pretty well. I also tend to use cheese (mozzarella) and cream, so the frittata crust retains some creaminess as the cheese doesn't meld into the egg layer so much, unlike cream or butter alone.

I must immediately make scalloped potatoes so I can make this . In my husband's family his grand father and his father made frittata for Sunday breakfasts. So, so does he. I have to decide whether I show him this post or pre-empt him next weekend.

Edited February 16, 2016 by ElainaA (log)

[Alex]

If you use shredded raw potatoes, you might want to squish some liquid out of them first. Serious Eats has a brief how-to summary.

[AlaMoi]

my concern is if used shredded&raw, they may not cook-to-my-liking given the fairly short egg cook time....

 

so, time to 'sperrymint.....

 

squeeze out . . . indeed.  hadn't thought of that - bit like kotoffel-klosse....

Edited February 16, 2016 by AlaMoi (log)

[suzilightning]

eggy potatoes...torta espanola...whatever you want to call it

if I have boiled potatoes or baked potatoes I use 'em...not crazy about raw and shredded THOUGH I would squeeze the bejeezus out of them

 

ham, onion, red peppers, potatoes and eggs....salsa

Edited February 16, 2016 by suzilightning (log)

[Lisa Shock]

2 hours ago, ElainaA said:

I must immediately make scalloped potatoes so I can make this . In my husband's family his grand father and his father made frittata for Sunday breakfasts. So, so does he. I have to decide whether I show him this post or pre-empt him next weekend.

 I forgot to add that I also like to use Emmental/Swiss cheese instead of mozz, and/or occasionally a touch of smoked gouda or parmesean for flavor. I don't like cheddar, jack, or related cheeses. Not that it matters, go with what your family enjoys. That said, crusty, browned swiss cheese is pretty great.

 

I have a stoneware bread pan from Pampered Chef that I often use to make the potatoes. Once they are cooked and cold, in the loaf shape, it's super easy to slice them into julienne strips.

[lesliec]

I'm with those who have suggested tortilla espanola as a reference.

 

There's a trick I haven't seen in any recipe, but I've seen at least two Spanish grandmothers do it on TV (in José Andres' and Rick Stein's shows, I think), and since I learned it my tortillas have become legendary.  It's simple: rather than slicing the potatoes thinly (or shredding, as above) and hoping they'll cook in the same time it takes the egg to harden, deep-fry them first, along with similarly thinly sliced onions.  You don't want to get them crunchy, just softened.

 

The recipe I use is (roughly, depending on the size of your raw materials) six spuds, two onions and six eggs.  A mandolin is useful for the slicing, but I can see using a grater or food processor to shred.  Pre-cook time for shredded would be significantly shorther than for sliced, I'd imagine.

[pufin3]

Used to be a favorite at my little resturant.

We used Yukon Gold or Kennebec potatoes.

We washed them and put them through the grater attachment. You can do the same with your food processor.

Into a cold lightly salted water bath for half an hour or so. Lots of water!

 We put what we were going to use right away into a large clean cloth and we squeezed out as much liquid as we could. Leaving the rest in the cold water.

 As the servings were ordered we fried portions enough for each fratita in bacon fat in a large cast iron fry pan.

 The key is to soak the potatoes in cold water to help remove some of the starch and then to REALLY squeeze out any water.