Let me start by saying that frittatas are extremely easy to make, impressive looking for guests (they'll think you slaved for hours), and you can put pretty much anything in them! Basically, there is no way to "fork up" a frittata! A frittata is Italy's version of the omelette, except that unlike the American version, it's open-faced. It actually looks like a large puffed pancake. Frittatas can be cut into wedges or served whole, and eaten hot, cold, or at room temperature. A frittata is a great thing to make for a brunch, because you can do the majority of the work ahead of time, and still serve your guests a piping hot dish, without having to stand over the stove scrambling eggs in front of them! Plus, it looks fancy :)
Below is a recipe for a frittata made with kale, asparagus and cheese. If these ingredients aren't to your liking, get the "fork out"! Kidding!! You can sub raw spinach for kale (spinach does not need to be sauteed, because it cooks in the hot egg), zucchini for asparagus, and pretty much any cheese or NO cheese at all. You can use sundried tomatoes, sliced tear drop tomatoes, you can add pesto to the egg mixture, chopped grilled chicken, crumbled bacon, sauteed or fried potatoes, you name it! (I try and keep it as healthy, nutrient-rich, and lo-cal as possible when it's just me and my hubby!)
Below is a recipe for a frittata made with kale, asparagus and cheese. If these ingredients aren't to your liking, get the "fork out"! Kidding!! You can sub raw spinach for kale (spinach does not need to be sauteed, because it cooks in the hot egg), zucchini for asparagus, and pretty much any cheese or NO cheese at all. You can use sundried tomatoes, sliced tear drop tomatoes, you can add pesto to the egg mixture, chopped grilled chicken, crumbled bacon, sauteed or fried potatoes, you name it! (I try and keep it as healthy, nutrient-rich, and lo-cal as possible when it's just me and my hubby!)
A frittata is also a great way to clear out your veggie bin, so you don't feel guilty about chucking all of the not-so-fresh-anymore veggies you bought at the Farmer's Market the weekend before. (I know, everything looks so great when you're there, it's so hard not to buy everything!) Get my drift? Alright, here goes...
Kale, Asparagus & Cheese Frittata
You can adjust the amount of ingredients according to how much you want to make! For a large group, I use a 10” frying pan and 8-10 eggs depending on size. For 2 people, I use an 8” pan or smaller 6" and 3-5 eggs (and have a little left over). Frittata reheats really well as breakfast the next day or as a high-protein snack. It's also great for dinner, accompanied by an organic green salad. The whole thing takes no more than 10-15 minutes to make, even less when you get the process down!
Also, VERY IMPORTANT! Because the last step of the process requires you to put the frying pan under the broiler for a few minutes, it's best to use a stainless steel pan, i.e. no plastic handles! You also want to make sure your pan has high enough sides...a shallow grill pan, for instance, will NOT work.
Ingredients:
Eggs (see above)
Kale (shredded & torn off rib/stem; discard rib) -- half a large leaf per egg!
Onion (diced) -- half or whole depending on the amount of egg!
Asparagus (diced) -- 1/4 to half of a bunch
Parmesan cheese -- I use about 1 cup for a large frittata
Other cheese – I add a couple slices of lite Muenster or lite mozzarella from Trader Joe's, so it's gooey when you cut into it (parmesan is not gooey), but you can use any kind!
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil
Directions:
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Saute desired amount of diced onion in olive oil until slightly brown. Sprinkle onion with a pinch of salt and pepper... the salt helps cook down the onion. Add desired amount of kale to the browned onion and saute until the kale is wilted. Add in diced asparagus, turn off heat, and remove pan from burner. (You do not need to cook the asparagus, as the pan heat will soften it, and it will cook in the eggs.)
In a separate bowl, whisk or beat eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add Parmesan cheese and shredded cheese of your choice. Mix and let stand. Or add them directly to the pan of veggies, but make sure the veggies are spread evenly over the bottom of the frying pan. Otherwise...
Once veggies are cool, transfer them into the egg and cheese mixture and mix. (Make sure the veggies are cool, or they will start cooking the raw egg in your mixing bowl!) Heat up the pan again with a little olive oil (same pan you used for veggies) and spray the sides of the Pan with olive-oil spray if you can, so the egg doesn’t stick. When hot, pour the entire egg-veggie-cheese mixture into the pan. Cook on medium heat (not too hot, or the bottom of the frittata will burn) until egg “pancake” is set – meaning it will be solid around the sides, but a little runny on top. About 5 minutes for a large frittata.
Remove the pan from the stove and put it directly into the oven on broil (turn up the heat from 350 to Broil) until the top solidifies. If it looks solid, but is a little wobbly, cut a slit in the top of it, so it cooks all the way through. Watch it, as it cooks very fast on Broil and burns easily, and there's nothing worse than a dry frittata! (Plus the egg will continue cooking for a few minutes on its own, even after you remove it from the oven, so better to undercook a little.) When the frittata is slightly brown, stick a knife in the top (again) to make sure it is cooked underneath and not just on the surface.
Remove the pan from the oven and let it rest a couple of minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to release the frittata. You can serve it directly from the pan or flip it over on to a round serving platter.
Note, when making a large frittata for a bunch of guests, follow all of the above steps, but wait to put the frittata into the oven until 5 minutes before you are ready to serve it. It's okay to let the two-thirds cooked frittata sit on your stove for 10 minutes, as long as you take it off the heat. If this makes you nervous, cook the whole thing as directed, but cover it very well in aluminum foil to lock in the heat and moisture.
This recipe probably seems a lot harder than it actually is. When I tell you it's easy, I mean it! Always read recipes all the way through before making them. It will speed up the process by a lot and minimize error, though it's pretty hard to "fork up" a frittata.
This is my first recipe blog entry. Hopefully I'll get better at writing them (i.e. keep my entries shorter)... I just wanted to give you as much information as possible, so it's as if we were in the kitchen together. After a while, you'll learn more about my cooking style and techniques, so it should become easier for you to pinch and grab and estimate, which is pretty much how I cook. I RARELY use measuring cups, but did a run through of this recipe to help my readers out :)
Enjoy!!!
Kale, Asparagus & Cheese Frittata
You can adjust the amount of ingredients according to how much you want to make! For a large group, I use a 10” frying pan and 8-10 eggs depending on size. For 2 people, I use an 8” pan or smaller 6" and 3-5 eggs (and have a little left over). Frittata reheats really well as breakfast the next day or as a high-protein snack. It's also great for dinner, accompanied by an organic green salad. The whole thing takes no more than 10-15 minutes to make, even less when you get the process down!
Also, VERY IMPORTANT! Because the last step of the process requires you to put the frying pan under the broiler for a few minutes, it's best to use a stainless steel pan, i.e. no plastic handles! You also want to make sure your pan has high enough sides...a shallow grill pan, for instance, will NOT work.
Ingredients:
Eggs (see above)
Kale (shredded & torn off rib/stem; discard rib) -- half a large leaf per egg!
Onion (diced) -- half or whole depending on the amount of egg!
Asparagus (diced) -- 1/4 to half of a bunch
Parmesan cheese -- I use about 1 cup for a large frittata
Other cheese – I add a couple slices of lite Muenster or lite mozzarella from Trader Joe's, so it's gooey when you cut into it (parmesan is not gooey), but you can use any kind!
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil
Directions:
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Saute desired amount of diced onion in olive oil until slightly brown. Sprinkle onion with a pinch of salt and pepper... the salt helps cook down the onion. Add desired amount of kale to the browned onion and saute until the kale is wilted. Add in diced asparagus, turn off heat, and remove pan from burner. (You do not need to cook the asparagus, as the pan heat will soften it, and it will cook in the eggs.)
In a separate bowl, whisk or beat eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add Parmesan cheese and shredded cheese of your choice. Mix and let stand. Or add them directly to the pan of veggies, but make sure the veggies are spread evenly over the bottom of the frying pan. Otherwise...
Once veggies are cool, transfer them into the egg and cheese mixture and mix. (Make sure the veggies are cool, or they will start cooking the raw egg in your mixing bowl!) Heat up the pan again with a little olive oil (same pan you used for veggies) and spray the sides of the Pan with olive-oil spray if you can, so the egg doesn’t stick. When hot, pour the entire egg-veggie-cheese mixture into the pan. Cook on medium heat (not too hot, or the bottom of the frittata will burn) until egg “pancake” is set – meaning it will be solid around the sides, but a little runny on top. About 5 minutes for a large frittata.
Remove the pan from the stove and put it directly into the oven on broil (turn up the heat from 350 to Broil) until the top solidifies. If it looks solid, but is a little wobbly, cut a slit in the top of it, so it cooks all the way through. Watch it, as it cooks very fast on Broil and burns easily, and there's nothing worse than a dry frittata! (Plus the egg will continue cooking for a few minutes on its own, even after you remove it from the oven, so better to undercook a little.) When the frittata is slightly brown, stick a knife in the top (again) to make sure it is cooked underneath and not just on the surface.
Remove the pan from the oven and let it rest a couple of minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to release the frittata. You can serve it directly from the pan or flip it over on to a round serving platter.
Note, when making a large frittata for a bunch of guests, follow all of the above steps, but wait to put the frittata into the oven until 5 minutes before you are ready to serve it. It's okay to let the two-thirds cooked frittata sit on your stove for 10 minutes, as long as you take it off the heat. If this makes you nervous, cook the whole thing as directed, but cover it very well in aluminum foil to lock in the heat and moisture.
This recipe probably seems a lot harder than it actually is. When I tell you it's easy, I mean it! Always read recipes all the way through before making them. It will speed up the process by a lot and minimize error, though it's pretty hard to "fork up" a frittata.
This is my first recipe blog entry. Hopefully I'll get better at writing them (i.e. keep my entries shorter)... I just wanted to give you as much information as possible, so it's as if we were in the kitchen together. After a while, you'll learn more about my cooking style and techniques, so it should become easier for you to pinch and grab and estimate, which is pretty much how I cook. I RARELY use measuring cups, but did a run through of this recipe to help my readers out :)
Enjoy!!!
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