Frittata di zucchine... and a bit about the school run in Italy



 

Now well practiced in the art of the Italian school run, I'm noticing the many differences it has with its English counterpart. For a start, rather than an army of Chelsea tractors, here the school gates are flanked by line after line of bikes. Now I'm not suggesting that no English person cycles to school, but I doubt many of us cycle to school in 4 inch heels (yes, really). So well practiced in the art of city cycling, many a well-coiffed Italian Mama effortlessly glides round the corned in her sky scraper Louboutins. Pretty sickening when I wobble round in my shoezone pumps. Adding to that contrast, the school run 'chit chat' here definitely bares little resemblance: today's journey (with my neighbour) focussed almost solely on her current lack of pasta at home... yes, this was a serious matter.

 

Today Caterina (the little girl I'm looking after) had invited a friend round for lunch, but said friend did not have a bike. I assumed we'd just walk alongside with our bikes, but no, this is a town of cyclists, and they will not be stopped. Along with my neighbour and her son, we were a party of five people, 4 bikes and 5 bags (3 of which being humungous school bags... since when did 10 year olds study out of bible-sized tomes?) The children rarely carry their bags home if their parents pick them up (they weigh more than the children do!) so, I ended up with one bag on my back, one in the basket on the front and my handbag under my arm. Meanwhile my neighbour had a bag on the front and a child on the back. We were quite a team. But if school bags feel heavy when you carry them, their weight seems to double wen they're sat above you're front wheel... the tiniest turn and the weight would pull me right across. Now my mum might be reading this, so I'll quickly qualify that I never fell off, never crashed into a car and, after the first couple of wobbles, I had it sussed like a pro... but it was definitely an experience and I certainly felt I deserved my lunch...

 

We had spaghetti al pomodoro for primi again today, followed by this frittata di zucchine. It's another quick and simple recipe but it's a great one for this time of year as there are so many zucchine about... as you may have guessed by the fact that I've already posted 3 other recipes with zucchine and I've only been here a week (Lasagne di zucchine, Risotto con zucchine, Frico di verdure).

 

1 courgette sliced into thin discs
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of a crumbled veg stock cube
4 eggs, beaten

• Fry the sliced onion in the oil on a medium heat for 1 minute until softened.
• Add the courgette and fry for a further couple of minutes until soft and slightly crispy round the edges.
• Add the eggs, swirl the pan and leave, covered, for 1-2 mins until the bottom is beginning to darken in places (and the frittata is cooked most of the way through)
• Flip* and cook the other side for a further minute or two until cooked all the way. Turn off the heat and serve.

* Guiseppina's tip for a successful flip: Place a large saucepan lid (roughly the size of the frittata) on the frittata, upturn the pan onto this lid, then slide the frittata off again back into the pan (thus sliding it in with the cooked side facing upwards)