Some time ago, in a previous post, I talked about the distinction between frittatas, stradas, and quiches. Torta was not addressed in this comparison of egg dishes. Well, now’s the time.
Torta is a Spanish, Italian, Greek, Albanian, Bulgarian, Maltese, Hungarian, Portuguese, Croatian, Swedish, Serbian, Macedonian, Slovene and Slovak word with a wide variety of meanings for an egg dish, flatbread, or cake (according to Wikipedia).
In Italian, “torta” means simply cake, however sweet or savory. This Italian torta – Zucchini Onion Torta – is an egg dish similar to quiche. My Italian grandmother made it best. A friend in a local Italian Club I belong to, Grazia, makes this torta just like my grandmother. Come to find out, she is from the same city in Italy!
With all the zucchini growing in my garden right now, I couldn’t resist trying to make it myself. The surprising thing to me when making this torta was how little egg is used and yet has the presentation and taste that seems like there are a lot of eggs in the recipe.
My valiant attempt came very close to my grandmother’s version. It turned out so good, you can bet I’ll be making it again soon!
Egg and cheese mixed together.
Saute zucchini and onion in olive oil until crisp tender.
Mix all together and spoon into baking dish.
Torta should be golden brown around the edges.
Slice into pieces and serve.
Zucchini Onion Torta makes a great appetizer, breakfast bites, or anytime snack. Super vegetarian dish and gluten-free.
Serves 4
Save RecipeIngredients
- • 4 cups zucchini (about 2 zucchini)
- • 3/4 cup onion (vidalia or your favorite)
- • 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
- • 1 large egg
- • 1/4 teaspoon salt
- • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- Optional: 1 tablespoon hatch pepper, finely chopped
Instructions
- PREP: Pre-heat the oven to 375º.
- In a large bowl whisk egg and Parmesan cheese.
- Slice zucchini into 1/4?slices and then half or quarter (depending on the girth of the zucchini).
- Finely dice the onion. (If using hatch pepper, finely dice at this time.)
- Sauté zucchini and onions (and hatch pepper if using) in a large frypan with olive oil for about 5-10 minutes on medium heat until crisp tender when pierced with a fork.
- Add salt and pepper. More to taste if needed.
- Remove the zucchini/onion mixture from the pan. If needed, use a slotted spoon to leave behind any vegetable liquid.
- Spoon the zucchini mixture into the whisked egg mixture (you don’t need to wait for it to cool) and pour into a 9? x 9? or 8" x 8" baking dish or pie plate of similar size (no need to grease the baking dish).
- Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
Notes
This torta is good hot out of the oven or cold.
Nutrition