Frittata 101: Gravlax, Leek, and Chive Frittata

We eat a lot of eggs, a couple dozen between the two of us each week. They're just fantastic for quick, inexpensive meals. Ann hardboils eggs often. I scramble them or make omelettes. And a couple times a month, I make a frittata, a regular feature on the lunch menu at the restaurant. Making frittatas at home is a recent thing: our resident Italian has claimed heretofore that she doesn't like them. I'm glad that phase is done with; she asked me to make this gravlax and leek frittata.

Gravlax, Leek, and Chive Frittata

Frittatas are real winners for dinner, not to mention brunch. They take almost no active work to make: just a touch of prep, then into the oven for a few minutes depending on size. And they are wonderful for cleaning out the refrigerator. Almost anything goes in a frittata.

Last week, I still had some leftover gravlax in the refrigerator along with some leeks left from making leek fritters. It sounded like a great start for a frittata.

Here is a step-by-step for making frittatas.

Two Leeks Before Cooking

I first prepped two really large leeks. Why two? Because I had exactly two in the refrigerator that I wanted to use before they went south. And also because leeks cook down into almost nothing.

Two Leeks Cook Down to Very Little

One of my secrets to making good eggs is that some spice helps them taste eggier without being spicy. I rarely use sriracha except for eggs; otherwise I find it almost too sweet and not spicy enough. You can see that I put a healthy amount in the eggs along with the chives and some salt. This amount of sriracha in 8 eggs will not be detectable to most palates.

Eggs, Chives, Salt, and Sriracha

Things that you want evenly dispersed in the frittata, such as salt, herbs, and spices, mix directly into the eggs before whipping them really well with a fork. Keep in mind that I use extra large or larger eggs. The number of eggs will depend on the size pan you are using. For one person, use a standard 8-inch restaurant skillet which wants three eggs. For two or three people, use a standard 10-inch restaurant skillet which wants eight eggs. None of my pans are non-stick. In fact, the pan that you will see below is actually a stainless steel clad aluminum skillet. If you do it correctly, eggs won't stick to any pan.

Leeks, Eggs, and Gravlax Ready to Cook

Once your oven is to temperature (350-375F will be fine, although we did them at 500F at the restaurant.) you are ready to cook your frittata on the range top. Start your pan on a high flame. Once it gets hot, add a good amount of oil to fully cover the bottom of the pan. Whip the eggs one last time and pour them in the pan. 

Frittata, Flame Off, Ready to Bake

Immediately turn off the flame. With the flame off, you can take your time in adding the fillings to the frittata. If you leave the flame on, you are likely to end up overcooking the bottom of the frittata. Just drop the fillings right on top; they will sink in a bit.

Frittata, Ready to Slice

The final step is to put the frittata in the oven, set a timer, and then relax. You'll know when the frittata is done. As soon as the eggs in the very center are cooked, the frittata is ready to come out of the oven. Cook time depends on a lot of factors, but a general rule of thumb is that in a moderate oven, an 8-inch frittata will take about 8-9 minutes and a 10-inch frittata will take about 18-20 minutes, give or take.

If your pan was clean and hot and you added enough oil to cover the bottom, your frittata will slide right out of the pan onto your cutting board. Sometimes they will stick in small spots, in which case, slide your spatula under the frittata to free it. I generally let the frittata cool for a couple of minutes if I am going to slice it, as in the photo above. I serve small frittatas whole while I cut large ones into 8 slices.

Frittatas are one of the most cost-effective and easiest dinners that I know. Next time you need to clean out the fridge, why not try one?

Frittata Ideas

As I mentioned earlier, just about anything that you want will go into a frittata. They are useful for using up leftover vegetables, meats, and cheeses. Make sure that any meat that you add is already cooked. Consider using leftover starches as well: potatoes, corn, beans, pasta, croutons, and rice have all found homes in my frittatas. Here's a quick list of ideas.

Shrimp, Baby Corn, Thai Basil, Green Curry Paste
Tomato, Spaghetti, Basil
Corn, Poblano, Chorizo
Potato, Hard Chorizo, Piquillo
Smoked Sausage, Ricotta, Chive, Pecorino
Spinach, Feta, Tomato, Oregano
Broccoli, Bacon, and Swiss Cheese
Rapini, Cannellini, and Porcini
Smoked Sausage, Onion, Tomato, Pesto
Sausage, Mushroom, and Smoked Gouda
Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese, Capers
Chorizo, Jalapeño, Cilantro, Queso Fresco
Salmon, Red Onion, Dill, Lemon Zest
Asparagus, Bacon, and Cheddar
Caramelized Onion, Pancetta, and Cheddar
Roasted Chicken, Corn, Poblano, Oaxaca Cheese

Pancetta, Rapini, and Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

Bread Cubes, Fresh Tomato, and Basil

Spaghetti Squash, Pine Nuts, Nutmeg, and Lemon Zest

Crab, Herbed Cream Cheese, and Chives

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese

Wild Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, and Brie

Fennel, Tomatoes, and Olives

Gravlax

Gravlax, salt- and sugar-cured salmon, is a thing of beauty. And it is so simple to make that I'm not sure why you would ever buy it. I've been making gravlax regularly for at least 35 years. I recently put up a tail section of a salmon filet as gravlax, the first that I have made at home in more than two decades. I never needed to: we always had plenty at the restaurant.

Everything Bagel, Chive Cream Cheese, Gravlax, Shallots, and Capers

I can't really think of a time at the restaurant when we wouldn't have at least a couple sides of salmon curing and a couple more in service. I even came up with my own spin on it, calling it prosciutto of salmon, salmon that had cured more than is typical for gravlax and then hung to dry and age for a couple of weeks, just like a ham. Sliced ultrathin, it had a lot of the same great umami qualities as a good ham. Think katsuobushi or bottarga meets prosciutto.

Many recipes make gravlax seem more complicated to prepare than it truly is. Weights, slotted pans for draining, cheesecloth, precise amounts of salt, etc. Baloney! You'll see none of that as you follow along below. Making gravlax is truly simple.

Deboned Salmon Tail Section, Skin On

If I'm not using whole sides to make gravlax (who needs a whole side at home?), I like to use the tail portion. Why, when many recipes suggest that center cut is the best? Because at home I want to serve the center cut portions for dinner and use the less desirable tail portions for gravlax. It's going to be sliced paper thin anyway, so why use the best parts? Pull all the pin bones with a pair of needlenose pliers and leave the skin on.

Cover the Salmon with Sugar, Salt, and White Pepper

Place the salmon skin side down in a glass or stainless steel pan. The salt will eat up an aluminum container, so use something non-reactive. The ratio of sugar to salt is a personal preference. I believe that most people, like me, like a lot less sugar than salt. First, I sprinkle the salmon with a small amount of sugar, just a good sprinkling. Then I cover the salmon in a good layer of salt as you can see above. I sprinkle the whole with a bit of ground white pepper.

If I were going to add an herb for flavoring, I would put it on next. Dill is the classic herb. I omitted it because I didn't have any. I also love to use Thai basil or anise hyssop to flavor the salmon.

Gravlax After 48 Hours

The fish then goes into the refrigerator. You can cover it or not. After 48 hours, I pull it out and check on it. Here is where experience comes into play. The fish is edible at any point. You have to decide what texture you want. I like mine firm to the touch throughout the whole filet. The thinner points are going to firm first. In the photo above, the lower three quarters of the fish are cured to my liking.

At this point, I rinse the fish, pat it dry, and rinse out the curing pan. Then I put the fish back in the pan and re-cover only the parts that I want to cure further with more salt. I check the fish every day from this point to see how it is progressing. I was satisfied with this piece after 4 days, 96 hours total in the cure.

After rinsing the fish and patting it dry, you can serve it right away. But I like to put the fish back in the refrigerator, uncovered, and let it dry a bit for 24-48 hours. This does two things. It fully firms up the flesh and it lets the salt equalize throughout the filet so that there are no super salty spots.

It's important to note that there is no right or wrong time to take your salmon out of the cure. It is a matter of personal preference. Although my preference is for a longer cure and a firmer texture more akin to a ham, I also love a brief 10-minute cure for meltingly soft salmon sashimi. There's a spectrum and you have to find your spot on the spectrum through experimentation. Do understand that the longer the cure, the saltier the result.

There are various ways to slice gravlax. For soft textured (24- to 48-hour) gravlax, it's often best to slice the fish vertically down to but not through the skin. Then you can slide your knife along the skin to remove all the slices at once. With firmer and saltier gravlax such as I make, it's probably best to take very thin slices towards the tail. I start about three inches back from the tail and make a very thin slice to the tail. Then I maintain this angle for the entire fish, yielding slices that you can see through as in the very top photo in this post. You can see the chives in the cream cheese through the salmon.

Making gravlax is very simple, a lot simpler than a lot of recipes make it seem. It's also ultra-rewarding to cure something so delicious yourself. And yes, those bagels were fabulous!