Filoscio napoletano, Naples’ beloved mozzarella omelette, is the perfect example of what Italians call un piatto salvacena or a “dinner saver”. It means a dish you can throw together in just a few minutes using ingredients that you’ll almost certainly find your kitchen. For those days when you’re too tired or too busy to make any serious effort in the kitchen.

In this case, those ingredients are eggs and mozzarella, two Neapolitan staples. They come together in a way that’s actually quite unusual in Italian cookery. A filoscio is not your usual frittata or flat omelette. It resembles rather more an omelette in the French style, quickly made over a lively flame with the egg wrapped around a distinct filling, not mixed in the with egg is the case of a frittata. The resemblance isn’t coincidental. Filoscio is one of many dishes in Neapolitan cookery that evidence French influence from the long Bourbon rule over southern Italy. Indeed, the very name filoscio comes from French, but more about that in the Notes.

And yet a filoscio is not quite a French omelette, either. For one thing, It is cooked in olive oil, the most Italian of cooking fats, and the mozzarella filling is, of course, quintessentially Neapolitan. And that filling should be very abundant, so the egg just barely covers the massively oozing cheese. Moreover, a filoscio isn’t rolled in the classic French manner but rather folded over. Of course, American readers will feel right at home here. When it comes down to it, filoscio is basically a good old fashioned folded cheese omelette, albeit one with a very Neapolitan twist.

Ingredients

Serves 1 or 2, depending on appetites and whether served as a main course or snack

4 eggs
One smallish ball of fresh mozzarella, approximately 200g (6 oz) (see Notes)
salt and pepper
25g (2 Tbs) freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano, or to taste (optional)

Directions

Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl, along with a pinch of salt, pepper and (if using) the grated cheese.

Slice the mozzarella and pat the slices dry with paper towels. If you find it a bit bland, season the slices lightly with a sprinkle of salt.

Grab a medium sized carbon steel or nonstick skillet, about 28-30cm/11-12inches wide. If using carbon steel, preheat it until you can feel the heat with your hand hovering over the skillet.

Drizzle olive oil into the skillet over a medium flame, enough to cover the bottom of the skillet. When the oil shimmers, add the eggs and swirl them over the bottom of the skillet. For the first few moments, stir the eggs so they cook evenly, then let them set. The bottom should have very lightly browned.

When only a thin layer of uncooked egg remains on top, lay the mozzarella slices in a single layer over one half of your omelette. Then fold the other half over to cover the mozzarella.

Lower the heat and cover the skillet. Continue cooking over gentle heat until the mozzarella has fully melted.

Serve immediately while the mozzarella filling is still creamy. It will ooze out on to the serving plate, which is exactly what you want.

Filoscio (Neapolitan Mozzarella Omelette)

Notes

Having the right size skillet is key to a successful filoscio. The eggs should form a fairly thin layer on the bottom of the skillet. This way both the eggs and the filling will cook quickly. On the other hand, the filoscio shouldn’t be so large it becomes unmanageable. For the four eggs indicated here, you want a medium sized skillet, perhaps 28-30cm/11-12 inches wide.

Of course, for snack or light meal for one, you can halve the measurements given here and use a small (20-23cm) 8-9 inch skillet.

No need to be neat and fussy about your filoscio. Unless you’re very careful, the eggs are so thin they tend to break as you fold them over the filling. And as you can readily see from the pictures, I don’t mind. Personally if you ask me messiness is part of the charm of this homey dish. And it produces a more interesting dish visually, with undulating surface and mozzarella oozing out here and there.

Choosing and prepping the mozzarella

The key to a delicious filoscio is the mozzarella filling. Mozzarella is the soul of this dish. Of course, if you want your filoscio to be really special, you can procure some top quality mozzarella di bufala, buffalo milk mozzarella imported from Italy. But for everyday uses a good quality fior di latte, or cow’s milk mozzarella, will do just fine.

Ideally your mozzarella should be fresh but not too wet. Most Italian recipes will tell you that “day old” mozzarella is best. That assumes you’re dealing with the kind of freshly made mozzarella that comes in its own liquid. You should eat this kind of mozzarella the same day you purchase it, while it still veritably oozes its whey when you bite into it. If you’ve ever had this kind of mozzarella—that is to say real mozzarella—on its native turf in Campania and southern Lazio, you know it’s out of this world delicious!

That said, just made fresh mozzarella is rather too “juicy” to melt properly. After an overnight stay in the fridge out of its liquid, it will have dried out enough for use in this dish and others like lasagna. If you don’t have that kind of time, then you can cut your mozzarella into slices, pat them dry and let them sit on paper towels to dry further for a half an hour or so.

Another approach is to buy the kind of “fresh” mozzarella that is packed in plastic. It’s rather bland eating on its own, frankly, and not nearly as creamy as true fresh mozzarella, but makes a decent filoscio, especially with a slight assist from a pinch of salt.

A tip for North American readers. If you can, avoid the so called low moisture “mozzarella” sold in plastic wrapped blocks or, God forbid, the shredded stuff. The block cheese will melt but it won’t have anything like the creaminess that makes a filoscio, well, a filoscio. Pre-shredded cheese won’t melt properly since it’s treated with corn starch to prevent caking.

Variations

A classic filoscio napoletano is in bianco as per above. But some people to simmer their filoscio in tomato sauce, which you can make separately or right in the same skillet where you’ve made your omelette. In the latter case, remove the filoscio from the skillet while you make a quick sauce of your choice, then return the filoscio to the skillet just long enough so it reheats and gets acquainted, so the speak, with the sauce.

As indicated above, adding grated parmigiano-reggiano to the beaten egg is optional but for me it’s almost obligatory. A little minced parsley also wouldn’t be amiss either, if you like a bit of color. And obviously, you could opt for other meltable cheeses for the filling. In Naples, provola or provola affumicata (smoked) are popular alternative choices. They’re not quite as creamy but they have a more assertive flavor.

And if you’re in the mood for something more substantial, there’s also a “rich” version of filoscio where you add slices of cooked ham to your filling along with the mozzarella.

Where the name filoscio comes from

Italian sources say that the name filoscio comes from the French word filoche, meaning “stringy”. Or at least that’s dictionary translation of filante. The thing is that the Italian word sounds appetizing, conjuring up the way that a semi-soft cheese like mozzarella pulls when it melts. “Stringy” doesn’t quite convey the idea…

The other thing is that, according to Larousse, string in modern French is filandreux. Filoche is a noun meaning something like “mesh” or “net”. And the verb filocher means to get away quickly. All these words do derive from fil, which means wire or string. No doubt the word has simply fallen out of use as an adjective in French, while it enjoys an afterlife as an Italian egg dish.

Print Recipe