Nettle and Mountain Cheese Frittata

La storia di questo piatto

An alpine meadow folded into six eggs: tender nettle tips, the green of early spring, meet the amber salt of aged mountain-pasture cheese. It is a humble, countryside dish that tastes of grass, altitude and patience, not a monument of old tradition.

Ingredienti

• 100 g Fresh nettles (tender tops)
• 4 pieces Eggs
• 40 g Aged mountain cheese, finely grated (e.g. aged Montasio)
• 15 g Butter
• 1 piece Medium shallot
• 1 g Fine salt
• 5 g Coarse salt (for blanching water)
• 1 pinch Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pinch Nutmeg

Preparazione

1. Wear kitchen gloves or use tongs, as raw nettles sting. Rinse them under cold running water. Bring one litre of water to the boil with the coarse salt and blanch the nettles for 2 minutes, until soft and a vivid green. Drain and immediately rinse under cold water to lock in the colour. Keep the cooking water, which you can use for a vegetable stock or soup.
2. Once the nettles have cooled and no longer sting, squeeze them firmly between your hands to remove almost all the water. Chop them roughly with a knife: the texture should remain rustic, not creamy.
3. In a 20-22 cm non-stick pan with an oven- and grill-safe handle, melt 10 g of butter over medium-low heat. Add the finely chopped shallot and soften it for 2-3 minutes, stirring often, until translucent without browning. Add the chopped nettles and toss for 1 minute to dry them out and season them. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the mixture to a bowl to cool for a few minutes. Taste a little of the nettle mixture and adjust the salt, remembering the cheese is already salty.
4. In another bowl, whisk the eggs with the fine salt, pepper and nutmeg until the mixture is uniform and slightly frothy. Add the grated cheese and mix well. Add the lukewarm nettle and shallot mixture and stir to distribute it evenly.
5. Wipe the pan with kitchen paper, return it to medium-low heat and melt the remaining 5 g of butter, swirling it over the whole base and up the sides. When the butter has melted and just begins to foam, pour in the egg and nettle mixture. Cook over low heat with a lid on for 6-8 minutes, without stirring, until the edges are set and the centre is still slightly moist and soft on top.
6. To turn the frittata, place a larger flat plate over the pan, flip it over decisively and slide the frittata back into the pan from the uncooked side. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Alternatively, without flipping, place the pan under the grill of a preheated oven, about 15 cm from the element, for 2-3 minutes, until the surface is golden. The handle must be metal, not plastic. The inside should remain soft.
7. Slide the frittata onto a chopping board and let it rest for 2 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve lukewarm: the residual heat keeps the cheese soft inside and the fresh flavour of the nettles remains clearly recognisable.