Bacon, Leek, Potato and Cheese Omelette

This little baby contains three of my favourite ingredients – bacon, eggs and cheese – how could it fail!  It’s more akin to an Italian frittata than it is a traditional omelette, but I like it thick and substantial as a main meal rather than a light supper.  It’s another one of those convenient one-pot wonders that I love so much and if you have leftover cooked potatoes even more convenient; not that it’s a lot of work if you don’t! 

I’ve been feeling out of sorts and really quite fragile for a few days but had a craving for this yesterday!  This is really not hubby’s cup of tea, frankly he’d rather chew his own arm off than eat cheese or eggs so I made it for myself while he was out playing cricket!  The recipe (such as it is!) below served one person but can easily be doubled, or more depending on how many people you are cooking for. 

As always in my kitchen, this is a very adaptable little dish. I treat a frittata as a fridge clearing exercise a lot of the time; anything and everything that needs using up can be tossed in! 

Today I used : 

2 small new potatoes

The green part of a medium leek

3 rashers of bacon

2 eggs

½ tsp English mustard powder (or ½ tsp of made-mustard)

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

1 or 2oz of grated cheddar cheese

Small knob of butter 

·         Firstly, cut the rashers of bacon into strips and cook over a low heat until browned.

·         At the same time, cut the potatoes into chunks and pop in a bowl with a little boiling water and microwave for a few minutes until cooked.

·         Remove the bacon to a dish and add a small knob of butter to the pan and melt.

·         Cut the leek in half lengthways and then slice widthways, add to the melted butter and cook gently for a few minutes.  Add the cooked potato pieces and cook gently together. 

·         While the leeks and potato are cooking together, beat the two eggs with ½ tsp of mustard powder, a pinch of cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste.

·         Add the bacon to the pan and combine everything together.

·         Add the beaten egg to the bacon, leek and potato mixture and stir in, swirling around the pan until the egg is evenly distributed.  Add the grated cheese to the top of the mixture.

·         Cook gently on the hob until the egg is set and then pop under the grill to finish cooking and brown the cheese. 

A dusting of cayenne pepper after it comes out from under the grill finishes this off a treat! 

You could serve a nice light salad alongside this but I usually just go with the traditional Welsh Valleys accompaniment of good bread and butter!   

This is the sort of dish that always reminds me of my grandparents.  It’s the sort of thing that the old ladies would prepare for a late supper for the menfolk – not that they ever called it anything as fancy as a frittata in those days!