Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Froġa tat-Tarja (Maltese omelette)



Comfort food. Need I say more?
Although I have certain preference for almost all things sweet, every now and then, I have craving for savory foods and even meat sometimes!
I must admit that for the past 11 years I have eaten meat on maybe 15-20 occasions and has nothing to do with health reasons, it is rather the taste that puts me off.
Back to the froġa now... First time I ate this it was in my mother-in-law's house and I didn't really like it. I have certain dislike of foods that have to be eaten hot, and that was until I realized that I can eat it cold at home!
You see, out of politeness my first ever froġa had to be eaten hot.
Away with good manners and many other things and let's tickle some taste buds.
Pretty much every Maltese family has their own way of making this simple dish, and that means mine is different from my mother-in-law's.
OK,OK... Here I go:

For 4-6 people you will need:
500 grams angel hair or spaghetti (dried weight)
4 medium eggs
250 grams ricotta cheese
6 heaped tablespoons Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese
4 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
50 grams cubed smoked ham
50 grams cubed cheddar cheese
pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper
25 grams butter
2 tablespoons olive oil.

Method:
Cook the pasta according to packet instructions and let it drain in colander.
Whisk the eggs and mash the ricotta into the eggs, add salt and pepper and the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Add the completely drained pasta into the mixture and coat well, so there's no liquid left into the mixing bowl.
In deep frying pan add half of the 25 grams of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat well until the butter has melted.
Spill the pasta mixture into the frying pan and let it fry on moderate fire until the bottom side is crisp. (You can gently lift one end to check that).
After the bottom side is done (golden color), tip the froġa onto flat plate and add the remaining butter and olive oil into the pan and return back the froġa to cook on the other side.
That's it. Very simple, quick and nourishing meal that you can eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner, hot, warm or cold.

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