Artichoke Omelette from Sostanza in Florence

[DaisyM]

I know this is a long shot, but I'm just back from Italy and one of the most incredible dishes I had was an artichoke omelette from a tiny restaurant called Sostanza.

This was served as an appetizer and it was fluffier then an omelette, but not as light as a souffle. The artichokes were fresh. I've included a link with the picture. I would be thrilled if someone knew how to make this. (btw, I don't think there was any cheese in it)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trickyec...

[Emme]

Here are my thoughts...

Beat 4 eggs til light and fluffy with a little bit of sea salt.
Saute 1 cup or so of artichoke hearts in olive oil til soft and golden.
Take ring molds or smaller circular baking dishes or 6" springforms... grease.
Put the artichoke hearts in the middle, and pour the eggs around them.
Bake at 375 til set to desired... set-ness....

If you want it creamier, add a little milk to the eggs... or a little pureed cream cheese or ricotta or goat cheese.

[mbfant]

The picture is very appealing. It is not an omelette. If the menu calls it that in English, it is probably just an inept translation. The Italian comments I found called it a "tortino", which is a sort of flan, but one said never mind what they call it, it's a frittata, which is pretty much what it looks like, only not quite. The artichokes are certainly cooked first, probably coarsely chopped and sauteed until tender. Where it differs from a frittata is that the center, with the artichokes, seems exposed, not covered with egg. It might have been cooked in the oven like a tortino, but a frittata would be cooked entirely in a pan on top of the stove. And in fact I have just found a photo of it being made in a pan. It looks as though the cook is making a well in the center with a fork. http://thecuriouseater.com/eating-in-... Perhaps somebody can interpret the photo better than I can.

[DaisyM]

MB, you are amazing! The menu was entirely in Italian. I can't remember the name of the dish, but other people who have eaten there called it an omelette. You are right the artichokes were in the center and they were very sweet. The egg was surrounding the filling. And our waiter is the photo!

[escondido123]

I wonder why you say "a frittata would be cooked entirely in a pan on the top of the stove." I went through my Italian cookbooks and the majority of the chefs--Italian--finish the frittata in the oven, some at high temp and some under a broiler.

[mbfant]

The only reason to finish a frittata in the oven is if you are using so many eggs that it would collapse under its own weight if you tried to get it out of the pan to turn it. The normal way to cook a frittata is to slide it out of the pan onto a plate or lid, invert the pan over it, and flip it over. It has always seemed ridiculous to me to heat an oven or broiler to cook side B. "Il Talismano della Felicità" offers the oven as an alternative, but the preferred method is what I said, or else a double pan.

[escondido123]

As I said, most of the recipes I have worked from put the pan in the oven to finish. But of course, to each his/her own...if your method works for you great.

[mbfant]

I'm curious to know whether you are consulting Italian-language or English-language recipes. I've just been looking at Italian YouTubes and they all use a plate or lid to turn the frittata. Some slide it onto the plate, while others (inexplicably) flip it over so that the raw side is in contact with the plate, but so far I haven't seen anyone put it in the oven.

[roxlet]

I've been to Sostanza, but I've never had this omelet. From your picture, it almost looks like an eggier Dutch Baby, which is a kind of baked pancake that puffs up and then deflates and has that rim around it like the omelet seems to. It looks as if the artichokes were sautéed before being added to the omelet, so there is probably some olive oil there. It looks delicious, and artichokes are a trigger word for me -- if I see it on a menu, I have to order them, so I am surprised I missed this delicious treat!

[DaisyM]

Roxlet, we had the bistecca and the butter chicken....all excellent, but this dish was AMAZING. I raved to the waiter and he said, "next time you come I'll tell you how we make it".

[escondido123]

Googled that dish and there were hundreds of raves for it. Looks to me like the omelet was cooked in a small pan and (based upon other comments) allowed to stay quite wet with the sauteed artichokes in the middle. Might actually be a wet fritatta so if thrown in the oven for a minute it could puff up. Oil choice would be based upon taste--was it butter or something else?

[DaisyM]

I"m pretty sure it was cooked in olive oil. Maybe there was also olive oil in the egg mixture to make it wet? It was seriously delicious. I'm going to have to experiment with putting it in the oven and see if that will puff it up.

[escondido123]

From reading other people's comments on the dish in various reviews, it seems the dish is very undercooked to some folks taste. Olive oil would make it oily not wet and it does look quite wet to me.