Frittata: Italian Omelette Technique

The Italian frittata — thick, firm, cooked through, served at room temperature — is categorically not a French omelette. Where the French omelette is soft, barely set, and served immediately, the frittata is solid throughout, can be eaten hours after cooking, and is intended as a preparation that improves with time. The cooking technique: the frittata is cooked slowly in olive oil on the stovetop, then finished under a broiler or flipped and browned on the second side.

• Spanish tortilla española (SP-04) is structurally identical but uses potato as the primary filling
• Persian kuku sabzi is the same thick-omelette principle applied to a herb-dominant filling
• Japanese tamagoyaki is the opposite extreme — thin layers, rolled, sweet