Frittata For Two

A frittata is a hearty omelette that is generally cooked first on the stovetop and then finished in under the broiler. It is one large, flat egg cake, rather than the french style rolled or folded omelette. It’s fast, the whole thing comes together in 20 minutes or less.

It’s another one of those concept recipes: follow a few basic principles and you can vary the flavors with whatever you have on hand or want to use. It’s also easy to multiply if you need to make more servings. Frittatas are good for a make ahead dish because they are just as good at room temperature as they are hot. You can slice them up into any sized wedges or squares for serving.

The only “special” equipment you need is an oven/broiler safe skillet. Mine is cast iron. 10 inches is a good size for a frittata for two. If you don’t have a skillet that you can put under the broiler, I’ve included a variation on the technique that will get around that problem.

Note that the handle completely lacks any plastic or wood.

Really you can put anything in a frittata, veggies, cheeses, grains, whatever you’ve got. It’s a terrific way to use up those small amounts of leftovers that you didn’t want to throw out, but that aren’t really enough for another meal. If you’ve got ingredients that are already cooked, it will come together that much faster. Instead of actually cooking these ingredients in the first step, you can just heat them up and then proceed.

Whatever you put in them, you just don’t need all that much of it. If you put in to0 much stuff, it will be more like “eggs in vegetables and cheese, etc.” instead of “cheese and veggies etc in eggs”.

How much is enough?

The photo above illustrates the approximate proportions to be used with 5 eggs:

• 1 cup or so of filling
  In this recipe that’s 1/2 cup broccoli and cauliflower and 1/2 cup mushrooms (about 5 average sized). Since everything is raw, it will all shrink a bit as it cooks, so I’ve used a very generous measurement of a cup. If you were going to use a leafy green, such as spinach, it works best if it’s a) already cooked or frozen and thawed, b) been squeezed to remove excess water prior to measuring and cooking.

• 2-3 tablespoons of onions/garlic/fresh herbs
  In this example, it’s just minced onion.

• 1/3 cup of grated cheese (packed)
  In this example, it’s smoked gouda–you can skip the cheese and go for a little more of the other filling of you’d like.

These measurements are not super precise. You can have a little more or a little less and your frittata will still turn out fine.

Broccoli Cauliflower Mushroom Frittata for Two (Printer Friendly PDF)

This serves two in my house (my husband usually has a pretty good appetite). Depending on what else you serve with it, it may serve another person or two. Double it and you can serve 4-6 for sure.

1/2 cup combined of broccoli and cauliflower, chopped small (frozen and thawed is just fine, by the way)

1/2 cup crimini mushrooms (about 5 average sized)

3 tablespoons of minced onions

1/3 cup of grated cheese (cheddar, gouda, havarti, etc.)

5 large eggs

2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

oilve oil

salt and pepper

Adjust your oven rack to the middle position in your oven. Turn on your broiler.

Crack the eggs in a bowl. Beat lightly until yolks and whites are mixed. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the grated cheese (not the Parmesan).

Heat your skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms and onions. Cook, stirring occasionally until everything has just started to brown, about 3 minutes. Lower heat to medium. If the pan seems very dry, add another teaspoon or so of olive oil.

Broccoli, cauliflower and mushrooms and onions cooked until everything just starts to brown.

Pour the egg mixture into the skillet right over the vegetables. Cook stirring constantly until the eggs start to set up a bit, about 30 seconds.

Sprinkle Parmesan over the top if you’re using it. Then put the skillet under your preheated broiler. (Do not walk away during this time. Keep checking it every 30 seconds or so until it’s done. Trust me, it’s better this way.) Broil until the top just starts to brown, 2-3 minutes.

Serve hot, warm or at room temperature. It’s fine to let it rest while you make some toast.

Variation if you don’t have a broiler safe skillet:

Prepare the egg mixture and cook the filling ingredients as directed. Place the filling ingredients in a lightly oiled broiler safe pan of your choice. Pour the egg mixture over the filling, sprinkle with Parmesan and broil as directed.

Finished Frittata

Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce

I was looking for a break from the Tempeh Chili and a way to use up the rest of the cream from Thanksgiving before it spoiled. I had been meaning to try the Creamy Tomato Recipe from the May/June 2008 issue of Cook’s Illustrated (subscription necessary) and never got around to it. This was the perfect opportunity.

You might be thinking that this is just marinara with cream stirred in. It’s more deliberate than that. The base is typical, sauted finely diced onion, bay leaf, red pepper flakes and garlic. It calls for butter rather than olive oil as the fat, which is a sensible pairing with the cream, but I think olive oil would work, too. The recipe also calls for a little prosciutto in the mix, but I of course left that out. Tomato paste is added at the end of the saute and allowed to darken. This and chopped sundried tomato help to add tomato dimensions beyond what the canned tomato would have offered. Dry white wine for acidity to balance the sweetness of the tomatoes seems essential. I was considering using lemon juice instead, but the brightness of it would probably be lost in the time needed to cook the sauce until thick. The cream is stirred in at the very end, with a dash more wine, cooking water from your pasta as needed and of course salt and pepper. It came together quickly, in under an hour. The step of simmering the sauce until thick provides enough time to boil pasta and pull together a salad.

Pasta w/ Creamy Tomato Sauce

For the salad I just went with straight romaine dressed with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette from The Grit Cookbook (which is another stupendous veggie cookbook title you should totally get). I like garlic in my vinaigrette anyway, but the roasted version is a wonderful mellow change of pace. When you make it in a blender or food processor it emulsifies into a beautiful creamy dressing that still has the acidity of your typical vinaigrette. I like the contrast of a rich dish like this pasta sauce with the sharpness of the vinegar.

By the way, The Grit is like the Moosewood of Athens, GA. I’ve never been there, but If I’m ever within even a day’s drive I will totally go out of my way to dine there. I mean just look at that menu. A lot of those goodies are in the cookbook.