Free Don't Sweat the Aubergine by Nicholas Clee

15 minutes. The top will probably still be runny. Now, you could do what the professionals do: set a large plate over the pan; rapidly turn over pan and plate so that the frittata lands on the plate upside down; slide the frittata back into the pan for a few minutes, to set the other side. Or do what I do: put the pan under the grill for a minute. Cut the frittata into wedges.
    Variations include all those described above for rolled omelettes. Or add bacon or pancetta: chopped slices or cubes.
SPANISH OMELETTE (TORTILLA)
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HOW TO MAKE IT
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    1 large Spanish onion
    400g potatoes, sliced or cubed (most kinds will do; new, waxy potatoes hold their shape better)
    250ml olive oil
    5 eggs, beaten lightly
    That’s a lot of olive oil. You’re part-frying, part-braising the vegetables in it. Slice the onion finely; peel and slice, or cube, the potatoes , dropping them into cold water if you need to keep them waiting for a while and don’t want to discolour them. Warm the olive oil in a sauté pan, or any kind of heavy pan with a lid. Add the onions and potatoes, stir and cover, cooking them above a moderate heat. After 5 minutes or so, stir again, as the onions start to collapse. Keep monitoring the pan; be careful how you stir once the potatoes soften, because they find breaking up easy to do. When the vegetables are cooked, drain them in a sieve, reserving the oil. Stir the vegetables into the beaten eggs, and add salt to taste. Take a couple of tablespoons of the oil, warm it in a frying pan, and cook the omelette as you would a frittata (see above).
CHEESE SOUFFLÉ
    Some dishes are bogey dishes, while others seem to come right every time. My mother, a very good cook, was hopeless at making chips. I have a hit-and-miss record with crackling ( see here ). But my record with soufflé – a dish with a scary reputation – is good.
    For 2
    28g butter
    1 tbsp (28g) plain flour
    140ml milk
    100g Cheddar (or Gruyère, or similar), grated
    A few scrapings of nutmeg
    Ground black pepper, or cayenne (optional)
    3 eggs, separated 1
    Make a béchamel ( see here ) with the butter, flour and milk. As you can see by comparing the quantity of milk with that in the standard recipe, it will be thick. Stir in the cheese, nutmeg and pepper (if using).
    Beat the egg yolks. When you’re sure the sauce is cool enough not to curdle them, stir them in.
    Whisk the egg whites until, when you lift the whisk from the egg, it forms soft peaks. 2
    Pour the cheese mixture into the egg white, and fold it in without beating (which would drive out the air). You use a turning and lifting motion, until the mixture is amalgamated.
    Lightly smear an oven dish with oil (which is a more effective non-stick agent than butter, because it does not contain solids). In my experience, the shape of the dish does not matter. Pour in the egg and cheese mixture, and bake at gas mark 5/190°C for about 30 minutes, until risen, set and browned on top.
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HOW TO DO IT
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    1 • Separating . Crack the egg on the edge of a bowl, and allow the white to pour in. Gently, with your hand held over the bowl and your fingers straight, tip the yolk on to your fingers, opening them slightly to allow further white to slip through. Moving the yolk from hand to hand can encourage this process. (I got this technique from the opening sequence of a TV biopic of Elizabeth David.)
    2 • Whisking . Try to avoid letting any trace of yolk creep into the egg white. Don’t add salt or, despite what some experts recommend, lemon juice or vinegar: as mentioned several times already in this chapter, they soften egg whites.
    I use a hand-held whisk, feeling that, in spite of the work involved, it enables me more accurately to judge the progress of the foam.
    Use a large bowl, and tip it towards you, so that the whisk gets access to as much egg white as possible. You should stop beating when the whisk, lifted from the foam, creates peaks, which do not subside. As when making a pouring custard ( see